Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft

This Jo-Ann’s gets an A plus for convenience. It’s in the back of Hyde Park plaza, over by Remke, so it’s super close to my house. But other than being conveniently located, it’s not that great. This is a particularly small Jo-Ann’s with a very limited selection of fabrics and craft accessories. The people that work here are very friendly and helpful, but if you want a lot of options, this is probably not the place for you.

I choose to shop at the store rather than online in order to support their business. But after today I will no longer be going to the store. Every time I go the staff is always rude and act like they’re being inconvenienced by my presence. I tried to use a 50% off regular priced item a check out today. The sales clerk told me that both of my items are on sale. I told her that I thought one of my fabrics was not on sale and she reassured me that it was on sale and that I could not use my coupon. After looking at my receipt in the car, I realized that I did in fact pay full price for my fabric. I’m really frustrated because I could’ve saved almost $ 15 on my purchase.

I have been shopping at Jo-​Ann Fabrics in Hyde Park for years, and my experiences have ranged from no stars to five gold stars, mostly — like a lot of shopping experiences — depending on the staff.
The store itself is very small — maybe one-​sixth the size of the stores in Mason and Florence — densely packed, and a little claustrophobia-​inducing, especially when it’s crowded. I come here for supplies and basics because it’s close, but it’s not great for browsing, especially when I’m looking for a range of fabrics that coordinate with something I already have.
The selection of fabrics is wide, but there are a lot of gaps. They seem to carry just a part of a lot of different collections, and higher quality quilting fabrics are particularly under-​represented. Because of their size, this location is a lot more likely to be out of the particular color of quilt binding (for example) that I need, or to have only two when I need three, than the bigger stores.
I’ve interacted with the staff often (I always need fabric cut) and observed so many transactions with other customers that I am pretty confident that they are, in general, helpful, patient, kind people. I was in the store once when a customer needed a small amount of more than 50 different fabrics for a quilt she was making, and the staff person cheerfully and efficiently cut the fabric and chatted with her about her project. More than once, I’ve heard them gently explain to a confused customer that Jo-​Ann doesn’t actually work here.
On the other hand, it is not unusual for the same staff to seem so frustrated and stressed out that it’s uncomfortable to ask them to cut fabric or ring me out. Every retail store has busy times when employees are harried, but it happens here often enough that it seems like a management problem — in scheduling, mostly, but also things like having sharp scissors at the cutting table, and not having employees bounce back and forth between the registers in the front and the register at the cutting table so that neither they nor the customers know where someone ought to go to pay for their merchandise.
In summary, I’m glad the store is here, even though it’s small — it’s convenient and the employees do a good job, but it doesn’t seem to be well-​run.

Right off the bat I gotta give a shout-​out to my girl Carol who works here, who I am pretty sure is Jo-​Ann herself…
Jo-​Ann Fabrics, if you have never been is a giant fabric store with everything from bridal to fleece for blankets. If you are looking for patterns, textures, warmth you got it, they have it!
I come here a lot as an event planner. My most recent trip was for a photo booth background. I ended up going with a shiny textured white bridal patten that was perfect AND 40% off! Whut Whut!
I also came here for those iron on stickers to put on t-​shirts. I was making «Bridesmaid» t-​shirts for a bachelorette party. Although they didn’t have the decal «Bridesmaid» to buy and just iron on, I ended up going with some silver sparkly letters and it worked perfectly. Since I needed a ton of packs, Carol helped me with the math and patiently walked me through the instructions for how to pull this off.
This place has a really knowledgeable/​creative staff. And I also want to mention that they have a ton of other stuff besides fabrics. If you are looking for patterns, supplies, sewing kits, craft kits, etc they have a wide variety.

I usually go to Michael’s but needed a Denim repair kit. As soon as I walked in, like Michaels, confused on where everything is at. Thankfully a staff was able to tell me exactly what aisle it is in.
I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. I had a 10 percent coupon that was able to use (printed from the computer).
This place is more for people who want to make clothing, bedding, etc. I noticed they had a wide selection of fabrics and a decent sale.
Located in Hyde Park Plaza near Biggs and next to Michael’s.
I can’t complain, I needed one thing and they had it in stock. Staff very friendly and helpful.
Plenty of parking.

This JoAnn’s store is musty, a little dirty and I don’t think the staff is that helpful. I only come here if absolutely necessary. I usually try to meet my fabric and sewing notions needs someplace else.

I’ve got to agree with the review written before me. This is Jo-​Ann Fabrics Classic, which is a nice way of saying that it is an old, old store, and feels that way. Everything in here feels a little rundown, a little musty, a little disorganized, a little gross.
However, the staff? Right on the money. I came in here to buy some fleece for a blanket to be donated to Project Linus and the woman working helped me pick the right kind, color, cut it for me and got me on my way within 10 minutes. Awesome and more awesome.
So come for the staff, stay for the staff … ignore everything else.

This Jo-Ann’s store is OLD. And sort of musty. The selection of fabrics is decent, but if you’ve ever been to one of the new super stores, this is just disappointing.
That being said, the staff at this Jo-Ann’s is awesome. They are incredibly knowledgeable and always willing to answer questions. Just don’t ask if we’re going to get a super store… that makes them cranky!