mammab

I remember that as a child my mother took us to JCP to purchase fabric for new clothing. We lived in a small rural town, quite distant from any larger city. There were only a couple of stores that sold clothing and I think JCP was the only store in town that sold fabric at the time. I think some Sears stores also sold fabric in the 50's and 60's, but there was not one in our home town. Nice bit of history.

Miss Priss

I well remember fabric at Pennys, Wards and Anthoney's. My grandmother sewed for me and would re-make clothing from some worn out dressed or coats of my mom and aunts. My grandfather was in the Navy when he was young and was a sail maker and taught my grandmother to sew. He made and quilted first baby quilt and I still have it. (I'm 78) He also did beautiful hair pin lace with a real hair pin. Of course they were longer than we see today.

MissQuilter

In the old days you could get fabric in so many stores! I shopped alot for fabric at T G and Y..... Remember them? They had fabric and notions and precut quilt kits! Those were the days... and children did not look at a person like we were an alien from outer space when they found out you SEWED! OH my goodness, YOU SEW?????? Back then, most people did. I met a lady from the Philippines the other day who said that they learned to crochet and sew in school when they were about 8 years old. I learned as a child from my blessed Grandmother.

Dandish

Thank you all! I love the memories in this thread! I'm almost 47, so old enough, but I remember my mother at the sewing machine in my very early childhood (I'm the 6th of 7 kids!), she was pretty much done with it by the time I have real memory. I don't ever remember going to get fabric with her - she probably did that while I was in school. I wish my mom would have shared sewing with me back then. In a way, though she is responsible for my quilting. She kept her Kenmore sewing machine all those years, and not long before she passed she brought it to me. It sat for many years because I didn't know what to do with it, and one day I decided to make a quilt = the rest is "history."

Thanks so much again for sharing your memories, this is so fun!

KwiltyKahy

Kresges started K Mart. The K is for Kresge. In some ways I really miss the 5&10s

ladyslipper

I am 68. When I was in high school, the only place we could purchase fabric in our small town was at Penny's. This was the late 50's, early 60's. I don't remember having such a thing as polyester yet. I used to shop there a lot because I was considered tall and they didn't make pants long enough in the legs to fit me so I had to make my own. Since then, they make pants longer. I think Penny's stopped selling fabric in the mid 70's.

Judiw

I used to buy fabric at Penneys in Escanaba, MI when my kids were small. The store moved to the "Shopping Center" and no more fabric....I can just vision walking down the stairs and seeing all the bolts lined up.....and that little machine for measuring it too. It was a busy place. Ahh...sweet memories!

Lil Lulu

I well remember Penny's selling fabric. When I was a kid I was facinated with the meter? that they run the fabric through and it measured the fabric correctly. I also remember when Sears catalog used to put postage size samples of their fabric in catalog..yes I am 80 years old so remember where a lot of places sold fabric. When I moved to Georgia in 1982 even Belk's sold fabric. Sure miss all the places that you could buy fabric.

Dakota Rose

I worked in the Penneys store in the 50's in a small ND town. Wards had fabric but Penneys was the best quality and we (Mom and I) never bought fabric in Woolworths. The Penneys fabric dept was so bright and well lighted that the fabric was beautiful. I remember Mr. Penney coming to visit and every bolt had to be in a perfect line "so that the customers would get agood impression and know we had good quality dry goods." I made all of my clothes in high school and college. The employee discount sure helped.

grammyj

All the big department stores sold fabric years ago. To bad they don't now.