Fabric World

There are big ‘For Rent’ signs all around this building now. I think it may have gone out of business, or at least that’s how it looks when I drive by it every day.

Fabric World is now closed. Apparently they’re having a liquidation sale this weekend.

Believe me, you should be very thankful for this store! I left the Portland area 4 ½ years ago for Chicago IL. You would think there are many fabric stores here around a big city. .. NOT! Joann’s are pretty much the only places with clothing fabric choices. There is a Hancock about 15 miles from me which is still like walking into another Joann’s, meaning maybe ¼ −1÷3 is fabrics and the rest flowers, crafts, picture frames, etc. Enjoy the diversity, it is so rare! And a little dust never hurt anyone! Gee, I miss it!

I really like this place. The selection is HUGE, and it’s unbelievably cheap. Seriously, it’s unbelievable. Yards of fabric for .75 cents. It’s a bit musty and they don’t have some up to date things, but I’m willing to accept that.

I stopped by the shop and found the woman working (maybe owner?) to be very pleasant and helpful. Unfortunately, they didn’t have what I was looking for, but the customer service was good. I also liked that I wasn’t hounded immediately when I walked through the door and was allowed to browse without interruption. They have some interesting fabrics and a lot of used clothing, but nothing really «my style» and mostly outdated stuff. I might stop back in when I have a bit more time to look around and see what treasures I am sure there are to be found. I do agree with others though, it does smell very musty in the store.

How do you disappoint me… let me count the ways. This place is huge. They could hold classes, a yard sale and still have room to throw a party. But they do none of these things. I chatted with the woman working there, she confirmed that the owner simply had no desire to make changes — for the store or the community, and I guess her son might simply be waiting for her to die before he can t turn it into a trendy cigar bar. Ok — I have no idea if that’s true. But still, this place could be so much more.
I had waited years before I ever went in, and it’s true — I went in more to look at craft items than fabric. But everything to me was disappointing. No craft stuff, the place is poorly set up, big and confusing, giant carouses of crappy used clothing (another missed opportunity).
In a part of town where community pride and crafting is so very big… I would really have liked to see more. Did I not make that clear before?

Ok. So yes. This fabric store is dated (as in not being a Joann’s Fabric where you can’t find a decent cotton fabric for less than $ 5 a yard). But instead of reading this book by it’s cover, invest in the time a wander around. They offer a WIDE range of fabrics and sewing supplies at such a reasonable prices. Being originally from California and having the garment district at your back door… It’s nice to have this store at arms reach. This store is such a gem. I would recommend anyone who just loves fabric to give this place a chance. I usually go in once a month or if I’m about to start a project and just stock up on fabrics, thread, lace, trim, buttons… you name it. The ladies that watch over the store are as sweet as pie. You’ll definitely get a bang for your buck here.

Like others have said, this place doesn’t have everything you want but it does have something that will do the job. The prices are really low, and it’s so close that I just can’t resist. The clerk is always friendly, though the credit card machine never takes my card in less than 3 tries.
Pro-​tip: they have upholstery samples for 50 cents to $ 1.19 each; great for those patchwork projects.

Wanted needles with a large eye but dull point, (for beadwork, not sewing). Got a pack of 6 tapestry needles for just under $ 2; great price to me. The lady working inside was super nice, friendly and helpful.
Fabric World is at a big intersection; N Lombard has a frequent bus and N Portsmouth has bike lanes. Wish there was a bike rack in front the store but oh well, this is still a cool shop.

Time warp-​check
Precious collection of crazy old patterned fabric of indeterminate composition– check
Inexpensive– check
Friendly salesperson– check
I don’t need fancy displays– the treasure hunt is awesome– not for weary or unimaginative types. This place is a one of a kind gem. Wish they posted thier hours of operation on Unilocal– or had a message machine with that info, but that is the short end of old school eccentricity.

Half-​ass is, as half-​ass does, baby.
Christ, this store has been missing about 60% of the letterhead on the marquee since the 70s! Actually, it has had a completely informal ceremony of dropping another letter about once every 5 years or so ever since the early 70s. But all that’s changed now, since they moved away from 3-​dimensional letters on the marquee, and straight to two– dimensional paint-​by-​numbers.
Uh, yes. Vanna, can you give me an R?
So much awesomeness used to be associated with this intersection! First, the former Pop Shoppe, where the carwash and changes-​by-​the-​month gas station brand now reside! A major former endorser of Ramblin’ Rod’s cartoon show on channel 12 (Pop Shoppe, that is), tell me, those who remember, that you don’t in some way at least a little long for those days??? Then was Everybody’s records — - long before the hipster douchebags of today’s record stores, telling you so very fervently why their bands MATTER; were their forebears, the earnest alternative-​rock clerks like this. Also, remember Curtis Mathis, right by the AM-​PM? I bought many VHS tapes, as well as movie posters from them (Terminator, Dawn of the Dead, etc), that little Filipino Woman drove a hard bargain, and its a damn shame she’s gone now. The world, and the hood were DEFINITELY more interesting, with her in them…
Speaking of which, what about said AM-​PM? They have been de-​commissioned so many times over the past 30 years (including presently) I have honestly lost count. WTF is the deal w/​your tanks, that you have to be completely shut down, fenced off, and put completely out-​of-​business every few years? What is it about your product that is so friggin’ toxic? I am officially TERRIFIED, the more I think of it…
Back to F — ic W — d. I don’t care if you FINALLY got around to painting in the long-​standing blanks on your marquee. The blanks remained stamped on my heart (indeed, all our hearts) FOREVER. Those cobwebs hanging in the rafters? Yeah, they are our collective hopes and dreams for this place. Those bejeweled cocoons in said webs? Yeah, those are our frail human tears. Enveloped in decades of disillusionment and in-​action. Way to live DOWN to the dream of unending big-​government hand outs and selling the occasional lacy frilly overseas menagerie, for the sake of grammy’s precious doily collection. Someday I buy you, and open REAL No Po shoppe! Grarrrrrrrrr!!!

If you’re in a pinch and need something, they probably won’t have it. If you just need ‘something’, and aren’t fussy, maybe they’ll have something you can use. old OLD stock! The comments about stuff from the 70s is probably true as the bag my purchase came in is from «Montgomery Wards!», no joke! When I paid, my credit card was charged via a charge slip and swiped with an imprinter. Go see for yourself!

My first stop for any of my crafty needs. Cheap. Lots of random stuff plus all of the basics. The smell of the place is a bit off putting– but not enough to stop my shopping sprees.

Charming with tons of deadstock vintage clothing at cheap prices! So many great finds. Was informed that the woman who owns it is 85 and has a whole warehouse of stuff that she brings into the store so there is always new merchandise. The employees are friendly and helpful too.

Everything everyone is saying here is true, except that it has stuff here that you can’t find anywhere else. I heard the owner is a psychopath, which explains why the clerk who always works there might be a bit on edge. I think she is actually very nice. At least most people who go here aren’t also having a bout of emergency gastrointestinal distress. The bathroom in that place is SCARY! My point though… is that although it’s musty and has a lot of garish fabrics, it also has some amazing vintage fabric you could not find anywhere else, and an amazing secret button cabinet that I never even saw until the 5^th time I had been there. All of the buttons are amazing, cheap, and beautiful — pearlescent ones, metal ones, ones that look like candy.

I don’t know what people are expecting here… It is not a trendy, new bright and shiny store, true. But for those who live in the neighborhood, and those fabric hounds that love finding treasure, this place is great!
No, it is not a mini-​mall of hipness, but a true Portland-​style treasure. Retro, secret, and mysterious. They might have what you need and some things you didn’t know you wanted!

So while I’m a short walk away from THE best bead shop anywhere in the Portland area, I’m 45 minutes’ drive from Fabric Depot. There’s a pretty notable dearth of fabric stores on the Peninsula. *Sigh.* Having just recently made the odyssey to Gresham for my summer project extravaganza, I really didn’t want to drive all the way back out for the items I forgot (aren’t there always a few?). I thought I’d try the Peninsula’s own Fabric World, to see if I could save myself the trip.
The outside of the business doesn’t inspire a great deal of confidence (check the photos). The initial gestalt of the inside is… Granny’s attic. Random unknown junk half-​buried under old clothes that weren’t stylish when they were originally made. Narrow, cluttered aisles with landslides of stuff like leaf-​litter and fallen trees in a forest. One crazy collection of wacky trim, and fabrics that aren’t so much retro as original (in shrink-​wrapping 1970s polyester). Minimal and haphazardly-​selected sewing notions… but a wall of thread and embroidery floss. (Embroidery floss? Really?) And first, foremost, and overpowering all else: MOLD. (Life-​threatening levels, if you’re allergic.)
I found about half of the items on my list; many of them looked like they’d sat around for a *long* time, gathering dust and mentally projecting «pick ME!» at dispirited and sporadic shoppers.
The kindly and chatty proprietress rang me up with a manual credit card machine… my copy looks like a blank with my signature on it. I wonder if that was her truck in the back with the bumper sticker that read «Keep Portland Passive-​Aggressive (if you don’t mind)»???
This place screams «boring rainy afternoon» to me. See what treasures you can unearth. Of course, if your Granny actually has an attic like this, that might be preferable… you still have to pay for what you exhume at Fabric World.

Cool place to go to when your looking for original fabric from the 6o’s, 70’s and 80’s. Lots of really neat stuff you just need to dig. Even the clothing section has some great originals and it’s really quite cheap. Many of the notions and other items are ½ off or more all the time.
They also have a ton of foam and upholstery as well.
Not the place to go to if you want new or designer prints. Your better off going to Fabric Depot for that stuff.

I love a good time warp… but does it have to smell so bad?
This place is filled with old fabric, trims and notions. The store is pretty disorganized, parts are inaccessible and everything is dusty & musty.
I’m giving it 2 stars because I found some bitchin stinky dingo balls.

Large store with a decent-​sized selection of fabrics, notions and used clothing (?).
Notion selection is slimmer than at Bolt or JoAnn — but prices are very very low.