Nancy’s Sewing Basket

Ok I agree service is lacking but good fabric stores are SUPPOSED to rip certain fabrics. Nancy’s doesn’t deserve bad marks for that. More info:
The selection is good, definitely some stuff you can’t find elsewhere in town. I find the trims high but after living near Chicago’s Textile Discount Outlet, I find everyone’s trims high.
Better quality than Joann for sure (that’s not too hard to accomplish, but hey, I need a baseline for comparison. And believe me, I give Joann plenty of money even so.) It’s just so much nicer to sew with high quality fabric. And I appreciate that stores like this continue to exist, because you just can’t really buy fabric online, or at least I can’t. I want to see and feel it.
I haven’t had great service so far but that’s true of many places. Last time I was there it looked like there were some interesting classes (make your own motorcycle jacket?!) Good outweighs the bad so far, I’ll keep trying.

There’s a great selection of fabric and buttons and they even have a small room in the back full of ribbons. One thing though, is that if you are using public transportation, it’s a bit difficult getting to and from this location.

This is a gem in Seattle! I’ve been coming here off and on for roughly 10 years. The customer service is exceptional, and the staff is very knowledgeable. They have a great variety of fabrics, and I love the button wall and ribbon/​trim room. They carry some amazing vintage glass buttons and hand dyed silk ribbons! The staff has helped me trouble shoot multiple projects and made great recommendations on fabrics, trims, and techniques. Jessica and Tamara have recently helped me so much when I was in a pinch on my wedding dress. Thank you, ladies! It’s boutique size but with a great variety of options. Highly recommend for your fabric and trim needs!

I loooove Nancy’s selection-​amazing for a small store. Even better are the women who work there-​they know everything :)

It’s great to go into a fabric store where I can touch and feel the fabric. Nancy’s has a great selection and the salespeople are knowledgeable and pleasant. I found just what I was looking for.

I enjoy shopping here. I am often here for the wire bridal combs – it’s one of the only places to get it in Seattle (that I have found, anyway). I also peek at their lace selection – which is sometimes amazing and sometimes ok.
The ribbon room is definitely a must-​see if you like to sew, diy or just like pretty things. They also have a pretty good selection of silk flowers in there.
I wouldn’t except super speedy service – but when do you ever get speedy service at any type of crafts/​fabric store or even boutique store, so just keep that in mind! But, I’ve never had any bad customer service here; it’s always been great.

Fantastic selection of vintage millenary and lace. The buttons are breathtaking. You could easily spend a fortune here. A bit pricey but everything is well looked after and organized. You can spend hours here and not see everything. I love Nancy’s!

The customer service has definitely improved! There is still one person who is not pleasant to deal with, but otherwise everyone has been very nice and extremely helpful. Nancy’s has the best selection of apparel fabrics in the city.

Fantastic! This store has it all. It’s not a big box store so you can’t expect it to literally have everything. But the quality of the customer service, the items for sale, and the layout are all great. They also have a rewards program where you fill out an info card and get entered into monthly raffles.
When buying some fabric recently I was even offered some great advice from the woman at the register. She shared some ideas with me about possible ways to improve things and basically helped me decide what to do and gave me some suggestions I’d never heard or thought of. So helpful and thoughtful to get advice from someone who clearly knows their way around the world of crafts, fabric and sewing. I’ll definitely come here before ever considering going someplace less helpful. A big selection doesn’t always mean that it’s a good business. And for the size of this space, they’ve really, truly got more than you could ever need for making quilts, clothes, and various accessories and crafts.

As ever, I am confused by the negative service reviews. I have always had the best time in that store, and the staff is happy to puzzle out a solution to a sewing problem. Or ever recommend another store if they don’t have what the customer is looking for. I don’t recall anyone greeting me when I walked in; I don’t recall not getting my questions answered promptly and kindly.
There are a couple of new fabric shops in town, however. With worse parking.
I do want to point out that they rip the goods when appropriate. It’s how you ‘grain up’ the piece so you can cut it out ongrain (so it doesn’t twist around and self destruct once you make it up). If the piece is not perpendicular to the selvedge, it will be after you wash or steam iron it. And if it doesn’t at that point, you should return it to the store, cut or not. Just a thought, kids.

I was able to find fabrics and patterns for garment sewing that I had not seen in other Seattle-​area fabric stores, but beyond that I was not impressed. Prices seemed a bit steep, and the staff wasn’t very friendly. Parking can be a hassle, as is the case for any of the nearby shops on Queen Anne. The store was not particularly well-​marked, and I missed it driving by the first time.

I’ve been excited to go to this place for a couple days, finally came here today looking for bridal stuff (lace, patterns, etc.)
I wasn’t very impressed just from walking in the door. There weren’t very many displays which I found odd for a sewing store and their bridal selection (from what I saw) was limited to a small corner on the lower entrance level.
I sat down and found a pattern that I liked, the only one they had for bridal veils. After looking through the file cabinet I noticed they were out. I altered the staff, the lady at the counter recommended Joann or going to the Butterick website itself.
I showed her the pattern I was interested in and asked if they had any lace to go with it. I was given a suggestion and shown some examples of lace, none of which seemed to fit the bill.
The lady who helped me offered suggestions when I asked questions, but I wish she would have been a little more knowledgeable and I left feeling rather uninspired. They had a diverse collection of things but a little bit of everything and not enough of one thing in particular. If you looking for bridal, I would find somewhere with a better selection.

I really, really want to have a good experience at Nancy’s…even a marginal experience would be good:).
The fabrics are lovely, the ribbons are glorious, the selection is amazing, but I feel like the service is a big situation. It’s like walking Into shrewville.

If you do much garment sewing, you will really appreciate this shop! I haven’t found many fabric stores in the area that offer much outside of quilting cottons, so I was thrilled to see such a huge selection of high quality cotton voile, silk, cotton lawn, wools and shirting fabrics. They also have a good selection of patterns and notions, along with their extensive Ribbon Room.
I am surprised by how many reviews have negative comments about the staff. My first impression was that the staff seemed slightly aloof. For example, I wasn’t greeted when I came in, nor was my presence acknowledged while I was browsing. However, as soon as I asked for assistance, everyone was eager to help. Frankly, I like to be left alone while shopping, so I didn’t really mind, but I can see where some people could perceive their «hands off» approach as chilly.
This isn’t a shop I can afford to visit often, since the fabrics I yearn for tend to be upwards of $ 30+ per yard, but this is a fantastic shop to peruse if you’re looking for inspiration. As for the staff, give them a chance! I found everyone to be exceedingly helpful and knowledgeable,

I went in a couple times before and haven’t purchased anything, just looking around. I thought they were reasonably nice, pretty much left me alone to wander around without giving me side-​eye or anything. Today I went in again but this time with a specific goal, and the ladies there were both nice and helpful. I work retail too, and yeah sometimes you’ll come across people (both employees & customers) who are just jerks for no reason, so after reading the heinous experiences others had here I prepared myself mentally for possibly having to pull a «Julia Roberts/​Pretty Woman» comeback, but… surprise! I had a good time! Not trying to be accusatory or anything, but I think we all need to treat people like actual human beings with feelings, maybe they were having a bad day or something, a little smile and a «thank you» goes a long way…
Oh yeah, they have very nice quality fabrics there too. Yes the price may be steep for some people and that’s cool if you have a budget, but for those who has the extra funds I think this place is definitely worth a visit. I will definitely return!

I had an unfriendly experience here. I came here for fabric for my wedding dress, and when I told the staff member my budget (which was agreed upon by my dressmaker) she chuckled and told me my dress design would «never happen» for my budget.
Not everyone charges $ 200/​yd for lace. I had the most wonderful experience at Pacific Fabrics, with Carol. They had gorgeous, pricey things, too, but she made me feel like my budget was absolutely appropriate for my design. I’m purchasing beautiful lace, and my dress is 100% going to «happen.»
I won’t buy a button from Nancy’s.

Nancy’s probably has the best fabric selection in Seattle, at least that I’ve found. They have a lot of really gorgeous fabrics, a ribbon room (!), and a good button selection.
I was disappointed by a few things. One, the button selection seemed awesome, but once you pick out your buttons and open the box to retreive them, you may find they they are out of stock on your first choice. And second and third and fourth. I found this so frustrating — if you want to offer all of those buttons, why not keep them in stock so people can acually buy them?
I also found the staff to be rude as some others have mentioned. No eye contact, not paying attenion to me when I was right in front of them, and just kind of giving off the vibe that they would rather not be cutting fabric for me.
I’ll be back when I need a large fabric selection, but this isn’t going to be a regular stop for me.

I visited Nancy’s Sewing Basket today for the very first time and I find the staff to be very rude. No on acknowledge me or even offer to help and when I ask for help it the old woman was very condescending and acted and made me feel inept. I get the feeling that they don’t get too many African-​Americans in their establishment and that would explain their attitude.
Finally, I am ready to pay with my CC that originally on the back I wrote «SHOW ID», but I had to sign the card at another establishment that wanted my signature I believe it was at the post office last year. It was clear my signature was on the CC, she rang me up then made a statement and ask to show my ID. That was clearly her being a bitch.
They are rude, condescending and prejudice. I am not asking for a pity party here and rarely place the race card, but in this case it was warranted.
They do not deserve any ratings from me. I clearly will not be visiting this establishing ever again.

Everyone, especially the woman in the Ribbon room, was incredibly helpful to my mother and me for helping me figure out things concerning my wedding dress. They were so knowledgeable about anything and everything I asked about and walked away feeling better that my mom could make my veil for me rather than have to pay absurd amounts for a ready-​made one. I’m considering taking sewing classes here once the wedding hubbub dies down.

Lovely fabrics, lovely notions, a lovely ribbon room, lovely button selection. Fancy as all get out. If you need high end materials for a princess wedding dress this is where you should come.
I needed fabric and other materials to finish a skirt and decorate some pasties. The only craft store I frequent is Jo-​Ann Fabrics in Southcenter and I just didn’t feel like going down there. I searched Unilocal and found Nancy’s Sewing Basket.
I visited Nancy’s and found the staff to be very friendly. All my questions were answered and someone always checked in on me to see if I needed help. The fabrics were beautiful and high end. Expensive but this is quality fabric here. There was a wall of buttons, all kinds of buttons, and since my costume was steampunk themed I found the perfect gear buttons to adorn my pasties. The ribbon room was a treasure. Thick ribbon, thin ribbon, silk ribbon, rope, chains, oh my! All beautiful and pricier than any ribbon I have encountered before.
Nancy’s was a great find and I am glad I have another craft store on my list.