I went to Fabricland in person on the weekend to shop for some fabric for a slip dress I am sewing. Lately I have been buying a lot of fabric online because it’s easier to sort through the different fabric blends on a website. I had a $275 fabric order all cued up on Fabricville’s site (Fabriclands online store) but couldn’t push purchase because the shipping was insane. They usually have free shipping for large orders every few weeks but it never came so I had to go to the store to buy some fabric in person. I am full of summer fabrics but my winter fabric collection is little light.
I don’t like to shop in person at Fabricland because the fabric content is all mixed up. They have them sorted by collections, not types of fabric. The clearance section is a free for all with everything mixed together. I wanted to buy lining for an evening gown, fabric and lining for a slip dress and a print for a day day dress. My husband was waiting patiently in the car so I had to work fast….luckily I knew what type of fabric I needed in regards to feel. It took a while but I found great fabrics for all in the discount section.
While I was getting my fabric cut (which is all other horror story on it’s own) a beginner sewer came to ask the clerks some advice on fabric choice for a blouse. She kept pulling fabric by colour and not by use and of course they were all terrible choices to sew with. The assistance she received from the clerks was a nightmare….I swear they never sewed anything in their lives. At one point she pulled craft cotton and asked if that would be ok for her flowy blouse and they said it would work…???? At which point I intervened and told her what to look for because although you can sew in craft cotton….it has a totally different drape and doesn’t work for everything. I have sewn 2 dresses in it and although it is a dream to sew, those dresses crinkle and crease with the slightest amount of sweat. Both clerks looked at me and thanked me because they didn’t know what to tell her.
I feel like the staff shouldn’t offer advice if they don’t really know and if the staff need to offer advice, they should be instructed in what are the right answers. When I sold pantyhose at Eaton’s years ago we had product nights in which we learned everything about pantyhose and the different fits. We got samples to use to see how they worked for us and to this day, I can tell someone what kind of hose to buy for what use. (Ie. if you are over 5 ft 5″ just say no to Wonderbra pantyhose) .They also served wine and cheese so it was a win win night for everyone.
The new sewer needs to have a lot of guidance to help them have successful projects. Every successful project means you are more likely to have a repeat customer. If Fabricland can’t offer staff with that trained knowledge, they need to organize their store so a new sewer can find the right fabric for their project. Patterns call for challis, broadcloth, nylon, crepe, linen…etc. A new sewer should be able to identify those fabrics quickly in the store and then be able to choose the colour/print they want. They shouldn’t have to dig through a sea of fabrics organized by collection name….what does a collection name when you are looking for Challis? When I was first starting I received a lot of terrible advice and misdirection in Fabricland. ‘Do you have any swimwear fabric?’ ‘No’……10 minutes later, I found the swimwear fabric. Don’t even get me started on the whole swimwear elastic debacle…
My husband says I should get a PT job at Fabricland to sort people out but I don’t really want to spend 15 hours a week working for super low wages trying to save one new sewer at a time. I think I will be more helpful in the store when I come across people who obviously need help….and not leave them to the clutches of the store staff who should only be allowed to find the matching zipper or thread.
I am ok with not shopping in person for a while because I spent about an hour getting a small amount of fabrics cut. The woman told me about 20 random stories for every 2 inches she cut about her family, beauty standards during the civil war and about everything else non-sewing related. It felt like purgatory and my husband came in to see if I was ok because it was taking so long. At once I felt I was saved! She would see my husband and get on with the cutting…nope, it was just one more audience member. We finally left the table with my husband spewing all of the terrible Italian swears he could muster…which actually sound quite lovely if you don’t know the meaning.
So stay safe and don’t shop at Fabricland and if you are a new sewer, I would stick to online shops or bring a friend to help you pick fabric in person rather than ask for help at Fabricland.
Style Sewciety 