Farewell, Joann, from a Sewing Aficionado

Matching green stegosaurus Halloween costumes for my kids. A mama-and-baby elephant quilt for my granddaughter Eleanor. A pink linen suit I wore to my youngest son’s baptism.

Felt Christmas ornaments for our first tree. A chuppah cover for a wedding made of white handkerchief material. The dozens of costumes I made one semester for the high-school theater group’s production of Tobias and the Angel.

And the time I wept in the remnants aisle of Joann Fabrics, as it was once called, after my grandmother, a seamstress who made everything from First Communion dresses to prom gowns, had died. We had spent so much time in that store and sewing together, I was overwhelmed the first time I walked in there alone.

All these memories were triggered by word that Joann, the major national retailer of fabric and craft supplies, is going out of business and closing most of its 800 stories in the U.S.

For a lover of textile arts like me, the end of Joann hits hard. 

It means no more Saturday afternoons spent flipping through Vogue, Simplicity and Butterick pattern books. Fewer opportunities to touch fabric instead of trying to imagine its softness or heft from an online description. No more chatting at the counter for advice about the latest craft projects. Forced to buy thread, tulle and embroidery transfer patterns from Amazon? You’re kidding.

Still, it’s hard to admit I’ve had something to do with Joann’s demise. 

I’ve been sewing less and less lately. When I was a pre-teen, I was busy making pajamas for my younger brother, Sixties shift dresses for myself, and Christmas wreaths for relatives. I sewed throughout college, into my first job and through the early years of my marriage, everything from quilts to curtains. Like my grandmother, I own two sewing machines.

Last weekend, I did hem a too-long black jumpsuit for one of my granddaughters – an Abercrombie Kids purchase. But it’s been far too easy to spend $10 on a pair of leggings for the kids at Target instead of making them myself. Craft projects can seem excessive as my husband and I think about downsizing. And, at my age, it is getting harder to thread a needle without bright light. I’ve shed tears over sewing, and pricked my fingers countless times on needles like some princess in a fairy tale. Is the end of Joann a signal to stop?

Nah. More like a goad. I plan to attend a workshop on “Invisible Machine Applique” at the local quilt guild and sign up for the class “Why We Quilt” to “learn how art and life can come together.” What about that “Wearable Art Workshop”? Sounds fascinating!

In mourning for Joann, but already looking for fabric online.