I went into a new Walmart in Appomattox, VA today and much to my amazement there was a whole isle of fabric.....that's right ladies, fabric in two yard lengths for $7.00. There were cottons, flannel and fleece. There were actually some pretty pieces and the quality felt good. It was hanging with lablels attached. I'm just curious if this is going to be in all Walmarts. Has anyone else seen this yet? Somebody is obviously listening to the quilters........let's see where it takes us.

My family no longer work for walmart So I can't get the information.

I don't hold out much hope here in southeast Michigan. They remodeled the store six months ago and it is gone.

Hanging? Already cut? Now they don't have to hire someone to cut fabric!

went in ours last night, and the same thing, a whole aisle of material. all kinds. and it was cut in 2 yard pieces. Also all kind of tote kits. lots of new things.

That's right.....already cut and hanging.

Exactly! My sister lives in Bentonville, AR, and she said the Wal-mart there has been doing that for awhile. I think she said there were also FQ and half-yards.

Ours has jelly rolls, FQ's, and packaged coordinating pairs of 1 yard cuts and charm squares. They are still carrying fabric too.

Mine has started carrying all the "cuts" too but still had fabric on the bolt.

Our store just started their remodel on Monday. Our fabric dept will still carry some fabric but we are also loosing a lot! We are getting a smaller cutting table, but will still be cutting fabric for our customers.
Our craft portion of the department is shrinking a LOT too!
I had 3 customers tell me today that they won't shop at the store AT ALL if the fabric goes away! And they are some of our regular customers! I hate if for them! I'll miss them!

I very rarely shop at Walmart but my husband and I needed something really quick on the way home at 10 o'clock. Not a lot still open then. We swung by the Walmart that's on the way home. I hadn't been in it in a loooong time so I was surprised at all the remodeling going on. They no longer had the fabric section but in the craft area had the same cut and hanging fabric that other posters mentioned above. There were fat quarters on up to 2 yard cuts.

Ours----45 miles from home.....none

Our local Walmart has barely anything left in the craft dept. No fabric at all, just sewing machines and now they've brought the kids crafts to the aisles from the toy section. I think shortly I am going to be totally out of luck.

The last time I went end they had an end cap with some of their craft items at reduced prices. Not that reduced!

They still have yarn but it has shrunk from 2 1/2 aisles to 1/2 an aisle.

I am so dissapointed as there isn't a fabric store less than 20 miles from my house, and I live near 5 malls.

I live in Halifax Va and our WM still has just bolts.

Our Wal-Mart emptied the fabric department about a year ago. Tonight I chewed on the store manager about not having the fabric. Evidently I wasn't the only one he has received complaints from. He said the fabric department was always in the hole. Because some of the employees didn't know how to measure and would over shoot by a couple of inches. So at the end of the year when they did inventory with lots of material over cut and not paid for, they were in the hole.

when our Walmart remodel, all fabric gone

Our newly renovated WM has the fabric of which you speak... two yard choices, one yard choices, fat quarters and jelly rolls - still have to be careful of the quality - oh and charm packs also - 170 charms for 13.00!!

I live almost the same distance to four Wal-Marts and only one still has fabric on bolts. Why only two yd. cuts? What if someone wanted three yards for a queen size quilt backing? They'd have to buy 4 - 2yd. cuts and sew them together in sections and have alot of waste of fabric. I'd definitely have to go somewhere else - Internet sales or LQS!!

Note to Walmart, I will not buy the two yard cuts. I usually buy more than that and I don't want to piece it. So you can keep the ready cut stuff!

I'm with you! What were they thinking, two yards?

How far is 2 yards gonna go for a backing??

I wouldn't know about ours. I try not to go there. They don't listen to us so I don't shop there.

Went to my Walmart today...where there were 3 aisles is now only 2. Doesn't appear they're restocking fabric either...I guess the writing's on the wall.

From an "insider" that I know, many W-M stores are getting rid of fabric and the rest are going to go to the lengths you described. They consider cutting fabric to be "labor intensive" and don't want to pay staff. If you look at what's left of the crafts, it's almost all kits. They are getting rid of the single items like packages of stickers and going to scrapbooking kits with everything included. I am furious!! Those of us with experience don't want kits, we just want the pieces we need! But to them it cuts down on inventory. To me, it says they don't care enough about their customers to give them what they want. It also means that I need to travel several hours one way to get what I need. Well, guess what? I'll get everything else I need while I'm there and no longer support my local store.
And don't kid yourself--the craft department is one of the biggest money-makers they have, after health and beauty. At least in my town (and most smaller towns without access to the larger chain fabric and craft stores)! That's why it is located in the very back of the store--so customers have to pass by everything else in the store to get there.....

i was the department manager or my stores fabric department and i never even knew when they would do away with the fabric until i went in one day and the fabric was scanning 25% off we no longer have sewing machines or anything to do with sewing very little fat quarters

It seems like the stores in areas with any sort of other fabric/craft stores within 30 miles are getting rid of fabric and crafts. The ones with greater distance to other options seem to have been more successful in retaining their fabric and craft departments.

Ladies, if you want your fabric department back, flood Walmart with letters. It worked at one Walmart. The genius that decided to take all the fabric out, shows how out of touch with reality he/she is. Walmart was the only fabric store within 25+ miles of our town, I don't go in as much as I use to, I don't like the the way they changed everything around.

I think all Wal Marts around here are getting rid of fabrics, some craft stuff and crap that would seem not to be very profitable, I don't think most people would buy. Expanded the electronics dept., which I don't buy, okay for now as I have tons and tons of fabrics, if I need a match for something I will go to a Jo Anns, we several not too far away.

On another thread I mentioned last a couple weeks ago. I had been to knoxville, kentucky. They had just alittle fabric left. The assoc. thier said that after they remodel that they were to have 2 and 3 or 2 and 5 yards for sale. So far here in Ga. I haven't seen that yet in the stores who have already lost all of theirs. I guess I will have to ask if they may be getting it back, or if it is just certain stores. It would be nice if they would all get some again.

We have 2 stores left around me here in Ga. that are at least an hr. away. When they get rid of theirs I hope they go to precut also. At least they are thinking of us again!!! Who knows maybe the precut will sell better than the bolts and then they will decide to bring it back to all the stores.
So everyone lets SHOP,SHOP,SHOP!!!!!!!!

hmmmm ... this is very interesting. i wonder what i'll find when i hit my local wallyworld today.

for me as an individual, the precuts could be both a "glass half empty" and a "glass half full". unless i buy the extra-wide fabs made especially for backing, i always piece mine anyway. i usually buy either 4 or 6 yards, depending on the finished size of the quilt. so the 2-yard precuts would work for me if they have something i like. a 5-yard precut is a bit wierd so i'd probably pass on those (although that might be just the right amount for a quilt that uses that fab on both back and front).

also, i don't mind having fabric left over from a project. i nearly always find a use for it.

if my store starts to carry the precuts, whether or not i buy any will depend on two things: (1) do they have something i like; and (2) is that material worth $3.50 per yard. some are. some aren't.

since the walmart prices keep creeping up, it's now possible for me to find name brand snooty fabs online at clearance prices that are lower than the highest prices at walmart. i've decided that their corporate boobs actually did me a favor when they forced me to search for alternatives to the local department. (we still have one but the selection is not so hot anymore.)

the AE Nathan Quilt of the Month fabs will be a different story altogether. i haven't found a solution to that yet. it's nearly impossible to find alternate fabs at those prices - let alone the bonus of being able to buy snooty fabs instead. so, for eliminating those in most of their stores they still get a loud, long raspberry. (we need an emoticon that says THHHHHHHHHHHHHPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!) :hunf: :lol:

my WM just remodeled, took out the fabric and added larger craft aisle...I don't see that moving at all!!!! off to Hobby Lobby these days for fabric. Haven't checked the prices yet but I am sure they will rise also.

the WM near me ,PI maine has a samller fabric dept.butyou can't buy a button in the whole store! .they used to carry pillow forms and they don't anylonger.I'm not pleased with what they have done with most of their depts. so my shopping there isn't as good as it used to be. I would wish for a fabric store to open in the area that would work with people that like to craft either clothing , quilting or even uphosltery.

I work for Wal-Mart and yes, that is the way they are going to be selling fabric. I am just as upset as everyone else is that they are getting rid of the fabric departments, but I am glad to know that they will be having "some".

I emailed Wal-Mart's headquarters (customer service will give you their email address) a few months back and let them know what I thought about them removing the fabric out of our store. Mind you, I live in a small town, Wal-Mart is the only store in town (and they act that way, too) and the closest fabric store is 20 miles away. Anyway, I got a reply from the manager that oversee's that department, fabric/crafts. In a nut shell, she told me that the fabric and quilting was a thing of the past, a dying art, so to speak, and the trend is moving towards family celebrations. Therefore, the fabric will be removed from all the stores within two years and the craft/celebration dept will their replacement.
I wrote her back and let her know that she did not know what she was talking about regarding the dying art of quilting. If she did her research, she would know that quilting is MORE popular now that it ever was. I also informed her that I would NOT be shopping or using anything out of their NEW family celebration department. My last words in my email to her was: It's a real shame that Wal-Mart is more concerned with bottom line profits, than giving their customers what they want.
I am not sure it more emails/letters to them would do any good, but, I sure felt better when I hit the send button.

ok ... we're starting to drift off-topic here.

we do not want this topic to turn into yet another rant about the closing of walmart fab departments. we already know that our fellow WalMartians give a unanimous :thumbdown: to that development. there are other topics about that which you can search out and add comments to.

the subject of this topic is the precuts appearing in some walmarts. will they be a useful substitute for a full-blown fabric department? are the prices of the precuts in keeping with the actual value of the fabrics? are they better than no department at all?

and now, back to our regularly scheduled program ...

go into any walmart and they will tell you, as the store gets re-modeled, the fabric will be gone!! so when i find a store with it, I BUY!!!!!!

Our Walmart moved and became a SuperWalmart. They have almost nothing in the carft aisle and NO fabric at all.
HOWEVER, we are lucky in that the local Mardens moved into the old Walmart building and has TONS of fabric, notions etc., including FQs. I bought packages aof FQs there (12 to a package) for $9.95. Some where beautiful lightweight flannel and some were excellent quality cotton.

My best buys, however,are still online.

We have the prepackaged fabric also, some of it is for baby things, some for scrubs, but everything is in two yard packages so if you need 2 1/2 half yards you have to purchase 4 which is 14.00 plus tax . I won't do it ,I'll travel 60 miles to Jackson or Nashville for fabric.

Wal-Mart in Vancouver,Wa and in the Portland, Or and other small towns have done away with the fabric dept. I was sorry to see that. I wish they would do what the other posters said and get hanging 2 yds, FQS and etc.