Bolt

I’m from out of town and I checked out bolt, modern domestic and fabric depot today. Bolt stands out as having the best apparel fabric selection, as well as the most apparel patterns. They carry liberty of London lawn cottons, Nani iro, Alison glass, some colorful ikats… Etc. And the sales person was very friendly. If I lived in Portland, this would be my go to fabric store for apparel!

I love bolt! From their stacks and stacks of gorgeous fabrics, to their many bins of lovely patterns, to the cute little table stacked with books for little ones, they have impressed me! I have been allowed to cut the line because of my tired 3 year old, and they have even given him little jobs so that I can finish shopping. Also, their prices are a little lower than modern domestic, a few blocks over.

Really great little fabric shop with an excellent selection of fabrics. I come to Portland fairly often and always stop by.

2136 NE Alberta Street
It’s a hipster fabric store with decent prints and patterns. I was looking for robot printed material, however, they did not have any. I did find some reasonably priced tail ends and squares under $ 4. Customer service was awesome.

It was a very charming store, but I was not impressed by their fabric collection. They staff was super friendly and warm, but it was a small space with a very small collection of fabric. On the upside, it was nicer fabric.

Very unique prints but a small selection. If you’re looking for basic fabric with a lovely print there are some good ones here. If you’re picky you might walk away with nothing. They don’t have many textured fabrics and definitely no upholstery. The woman at the desk was friendly and the store was clean. The prices are reasonable enough.

This place is absolutely adorable and they have a collection of fabrics and such that you won’t find anywhere else. However they don’t have the staff to handle the volume in their store. I just popped in to get embroidery needles (less thankyou! $ 5) and when I went up to the counter to pay she said I needed to wait in line (behind people cutting fabric and ribbon). I said «im sorry for a $ 2 item you want me to wait behind all of these people and watch them get their fabric cut, that makes no sense.» Even customers in line were like no no check her out and the girl insisted I waited, I put my needles back and will head elsewhere. Maximize your customer service so you can get people in and out.

Super friendly staff and a wonderful selection of unique fabrics. I always find something wonderful when I stop in.

I drive thru Portland maybe 2 – 3 times a year if I’m lucky (from the bay area) and I HAVE to stop at Bolt. They carry great, unique fabric lines that you just don’t find at most fabric stores. It’s not strictly a quilt shop either, they have beautiful dress fabrics, knits, dressmaking patterns, leather bag handles, wax for water proofing, etc. Love this store. If I lived in Portland, I’d be working there.

One of my favorite fabric shops. It boutique but I always find the unique fabrics here and I feel their prices are similar to many places in town. Staff is helpful. I only wish they were bigger so they could have more product!

My favorite fabric store. Great selection and the owner Gina and staff are so helpful. I usually have them help me match and pick out fabrics and they are always happy to help.

What a great little place! We happened to choose a weekend when they were having an excellent sale, which made it even better. The staff is kind and funny and the selection is great – my wife found webbing for bag straps that she’d only been able to find online prior to Bolt.

In spite of a lot of good reviews, I was disappointed with this shop. I buy a lot of my fabric off of Etsy because you can’t find it in Portland so I thought I would give this place a try. Yes, they had a lot of grandma type fabric that you would use for quilting but really no cool stuff modern fabric like block print Japanese fabric for example that is so popular with young craters these days. The prices were also way higher than what you could get online for this stuff. A friend of mine says she will to there to see/​touch the fabric and then go home and order it online for ½ the prices. Yes, a retail store needs to mark up their prices but not by that much.

I am so impressed with the Modern quilting scene in Portland. Impressed and more than a bit jealous!
I was able to visit this charming store stuffed with all kinds of fabric on our last full day. Not only did I find some great stuff but the woman there was super helpful and charming. We had quite a nice discussion about our Jr. High sewing experiences.
Later on, I discovered that I was only wearing one of my diamond earrings. I started retracing my steps and she mentioned that she had noticed I was only wearing one when I was in the store. This was super helpful and hurray, it enabled me to find my earring. Can you believe it?
For superb fabrics, notions and patterns plus sleuth like skills to help you find your earrings, I urge you to shop here.
It’s OK, I’m not mad I live too far away. OK, fine, maybe a little mad.

I run down to Bolt whenever I need an emergency supply: elastic, zipper, thread… for that, it is good, like my corner sewing am/​pm. But like the corner store, it is WOW, crazy expensive. I just came back with something that they have ramped up to 3X other retail stores (a basic, non-​designer item).
I browse the fabrics when I am there, they have a heavily curated selection of patterns that fall into the Scandinavian/​Modernist realm, primarily quilting cotton, which holds modest interest to me due to the prices and my sewing interests. They DO have some interesting independent clothing patterns, but they don’t really carry the appropriate fabrics to match.
The service? I rarely comment on service, if I get what I need, all is good. But there IS a kind of strange vibe to the service there, very similar to high-​end boutiques where you are being subtly informed with social cues that you may or may not be adequate to their vision of who their customer should be. And, well, they are right, I am not it. I have become so used to the friendly and open service in Portland, I forget all about the snobbishness of NYC, Bay Area and LA retail, but I guess it also exists here, just in smaller doses.

Wow, they have really lovely fabrics here. The place is small but packed with interesting and beautiful textiles. I like their selection of indie patterns, too… you won’t find these at your run-​of-​the-​mill fabric store. And the staff is helpful and friendly. I’ve been back twice…

I was looking for a fabric store nearby and based on the awesomeness level of the reviews it sounded like a great place so i high-​tailed it over.
Really?! I mean, really? I don’t mean to be insulting.
Yes: the store is cute, they have lots of pretty notions, the folks are very friendly.
However: this ain’t no fabric store for people who do anything besides make pretty little tops of cute cotton prints. NO selection whatsoever of anything useful e.g., upholstery fabrics, silks, taffetas, toiles, velvety or anything remotely creative. Additionally, prices that I glanced at were $ 12.99 — $ 27.99/yd. REALLY? I’d see the same crap in a real fabric store in a real city for $ 5.99 — $ 7.99/yd!
Let’s see what else I can find in Portland. I’m sure there is something.

Bolt is a cute little shop on NE Alberta St that sells higher quality fabrics and notions. You can find the cutest fabrics here, along with really adorable patterns, notions, and a handful of premade items. The selection is vast, the staff is friendly.
The store is small though. While this may not be an issue all the time, I’ve visited on Saturday afternoons where you have 2 – 3 moms trying their hardest to wheel strollers around the store and it can completely clog the place.
The only reason I deducted a star was because while this place is a great place for beinners to get ideas, I warn you it can be expensive to make projects from this stuff if you are new. The fabric is spendy and runs out quick. So, if you mess up something you can’t just get more fabric and could be wasting money. I bought several gorgeous yards of stuff here that is sitting safely in a drawer until I am experieiced enough to sew with. For newbies, I recommend Jo Anns or Goodwill for cheapy practice fabric.

Beautiful fabrics! Fun! Friendly!
If you sign up for a class a Modern Domestic, you get a 10% discount on your materials! Bolt! Bolt! Bolt!

Omg… what a CUTE fricking shop! I could get lost for hours in here if I could spare the time… and money, hehe. Great little fabric shop, so glad i stopped in. Tons and tons of great sewing/​DIY stuff in here! So cute… and happy i could suppoty local :)
I bought a few fat quarters… but was tempted by cute ribbon, buttons, projects, and sewing essentials. mostly friendly employees here… one had no problem pointing out i didnt pick the sale fabric (which i knew,) but was inquiring about a different fabric i had set aside. otherwise if i lived closer this would easily be my default fabric store! love love love!