Store closings leave a hole in Charlotte's fabric scene

Sewing enthusiasts are in a bind as retail shops shut and online options can be inadequate

The following article appeared in the May 21, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.

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As big fabric stores like Joann disappear, Charlotte’s sewing community faces shrinking supply options; zipper conundrum

There are still some craft and sewing items left for purchase at Joann fabric and craft store on South Boulevard, but workers were also dismantling and selling shelving and hooks on Tuesday afternoon. The store’s last day is Friday.

by Cristina Bolling

The panic set in at the Joann fabric and craft store on South Boulevard as soon as the announcement came down in late winter that it would close in a matter of months.

Yarn flew off shelves. The thread aisle was picked bare. Accessories like zippers and buttons took wing as the city’s sewers and crafters realized they were losing their biggest one-stop-shop for their creative projects.

“It was like a zoo in here. You would be at the (fabric cutting) counter your entire shift, no breaks — the line would be to the restroom,” said assistant manager Emily Randall. “It was like Covid all over again.”

Big-box chain stores are seldom mourned the same way people grieve for small mom-and-pop businesses when they close. But in the case of Joann, the closure is a gut punch for sewers and crafters after a string of losses of local fabric giants like Hancock Fabrics and Mary Jo’s Cloth Store in Gastonia.