Fabrics For Less

I love this place! They’re a great resource for costume fabrics, basics and embroidered/​sequined sheers. I love their trims.
The space is tidy enough, seems very organized, as fabric stores go. Prices range from pretty good to incredibly good (quality ranges from fair to good. lol)
It’s a fun place to spend an hour or two, for sure.

Honestly, you need to have realistic expectations when coming in. They are cheeeaaap and you can find some really cool fabric here that you wont find elsewhere. That being said, it is dusty and eerily quite and I cant say the fabric is going to be top of the line, but for a costume or small project the fabric is great and much easier on your wallet then going to Jo-Ann’s. If your a serious seamstress and you plan on selling your clothing, then you may want to check out Fabric Depot instead. But if your working on a personal project and you don’t need super quality materials then this place does just fine.

I love this shop. They have a great selection of beautiful fabrics– lots of silky, shimmery, soft, fun and colorful things at good prices. I always receive good service as well. Contrary to one quick tip, they do indeed allow you to buy in half yards (in my experience).

They do have super cheap prices on typically higher priced material but often, you get what you pay for. And in my case, what you OVER pay for. Watch these guys, they WILL over charge you if you are not vigilant about calculating the price while the fabric is being cut. ie. Getting 3 yards of fabric at $ 6/​yard=$ 18. When you get up to the counter, suddenly your total becomes $ 21 etc. Then they accuse YOU of trying to cheat THEM! I guess math isn’t as universal as I thought.

I love this place. It has so many fun and frilly fabrics! I bring all my clients here who are looking to make something for a special occassion. You just can’t beat the price and selections. You can’t find a lot of what they have here anywhere else.

This place is a pretty out of the way in a large warehouse space with flickering lights and rude staff. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind jumping through a few hoops for bargains. However, I’m not sure if this hoop is worth it. One guy snapped at me for asking a question, and another man followed me around the shop asking what fabric I was getting. This shop almost seems like a cover for something else. They did not seem very concerned with running a good business or treating their customers in an appropriate manner. The slightly discounted fabric is not worth it. I felt very uncomfortable in this shop.

I love digging around in this shop. I wish there were more shops like it in town.
Unlike reviewer Flory, who seems to mostly review things that she hates, I find the guys in this shop to be pleasant enough. I have been in this shop numerous times, and they are as friendly as I am to them. (That about says it.) They are generally really helpful if you walk in looking for something specific. You need to ask. They are ready to help you. This is an atypical fabric store for Portland, and a little more like what you’d find back East or in a small town.
Yes, the fabrics aren’t the best, but dig around, knowing what you’re doing and what you’re looking for, and you’re bound to leave with something exciting. It’s always a good idea to inspect fabric before or while it’s being cut, so that you don’t leave the building with damaged or sub par fabric.
I run a business where I sew every day, so I know what to expect out of a place like this. Not much. And I’m always happy when I leave. Fun place!

Buyer Beware! It takes a perfectionist to know there’s a reason why they’re cheaper than Joan’s or Fabric Depot, because they are selling defective merchandise. You won’t notice it while you’re in the store but you’ll know, when they don’t hang properly. It doesn’t matter how much you know sewing, but if you don’t know fabric, and I do. .…but they’re really mean and loud when you complain to them, like they accused you of not knowing HOW to cut/​sew.
I brought the defective fabric back to the store, he won’t even look at it. I just left it there and let my Credit Card take care of my refund. They told me to watch my statement, it’s possible people who behave like they did, could charge it back to my credit card. All I was asking back was $ 100 for my fabric.
Watch all the signs on the wall. You’ve been warned! People who’ve been burned by them, won’t be going back «Fabric for less» it really means defective quality!
AN UPDATE: A copy from another user on Yahoo, that told me about DEFECTIVE FABRIC STORES:
Defected fabrics imported Clothes sheets?
Sheets, clothing fabrics imported from china pakistan, India, Defecteted fabrics fall apart. Every thing from pajamas to sheets fall apart when I get them. Cheap poorly made a lot more. Does this happen to others?
There you go, this store is just another one of those STORES. Like I said, you can buy fabric that’s better quality, from Craigslist, trying to get rid of their inventories, but try not to spend your hard earned cash, to stores that try to rip people off.
The person who wrote something negative about me, reviewed only TWO places, and have 4 friends.. .. What gives?

This is where the Dragon Lady, Madam Chaing, Madame Nu buy
opulent silks & velvets. A lovely selection of exotic fabric. When I went to the store (by bus, easy to reach) I was looking for cotton prints. This is not the place to find cotton, but I came out with yards of purple fleece, for a blanket, and I couldn’t help buying a piece of silk velvet burnout (blue-​green) which I don’t know what I’m going to use for, but lovely to have around.
It is not a fancy store, and the lighting isn’t good, but there are bins& bins and rolls & rolls of silks, velvets, sheer, shiny stuff, satin, that sort of thing, and the prices are very good.
The young man in charge was super-​helpful and told me where the $ store is, and about the Discount Grocery down in Hollywood.
Another plus for this place is that it’s right across the street from a Vietnamese Restaurant (Tien Hong?)that serves very good fried squid.

This is a crazy bargain basement scavenger hunt of a place. It’s great for silks, suiting and random «one of a kinds» — yes snoopy print and weird prints that were made overseas and translated. I saw a crazy print that had road signs on it and said brunette, blond and redhead. Weird. The bargain basement is amazing … $ 2 a yard and the bolts are rolls so they are extremely wide. It reminds me of the fabric stores in New York, no thrills just mounds and mounds of fabric.
This place is also great for ribbon, thread and zippers. It’s a little gem hidden on the sometimes hairy Sandy Blvd.