Kahlara wrote:
I have noticed that Joanne's sometimes appears to mix things up, but the local one is pretty limited that way...a huge selection of craft supplies, quilting, and home decor fabrics (that part isn't so bad actually). The actual garment fabric section takes up less than 1/4 of the fabric department and is heavily into fleeces and specialty (bridal/prom, baby, holiday) fabrics. Completely natural fabrics are hard to come by. :- (
I find that the Joanne's stores vary quite a bit from location to location, as do their customers. I'm fortunate that there are two within driving distance so I can check both for natural fabrics. What sells out in one often ends up at the end of year clearance in the other, just a different neighborhood. So if you can check more than one store, do, because they don't have identical merchandise all the time.
Joann's carries linen in the spring. If you hit the end of season clearance you can sometimes get it cheap. They've had linen on clearance now for a month or two, and are doing the last couple of blow-out sales this month to get rid of as much spring and summer fabric as possible to make way for the holiday and fleece stuff. I got some almost gauze weight linen in June in black and tan for something like $2 a yard. This late in the summer I'd be hard pressed to find anything, though.
Unfortunately, the last two years embroidered linen has been the thing, and that's mostly what's left on the shelves, if anything. I almost wish they'd go back to electric blue and pink, which can at least be dyed over.
Every now and then they do those $1-$3 a yard sales, where they buy a random truckload of bolt ends from god-knows-where. Most of it is awful, but I've found some nice linen and silk in those piles by getting there early on the first day of the sale.
I have much better luck buying wool at Hancocks, which just seems to carry a better selection of it to begin with. Check the prices carefully, because they will mix plain solid color $5 wool in with the $15 checkered suit wools with no sign alerting you to such bargains.
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