I still have my mom's Kenmore with the cams! 'Back in the day' you could not only go to the small fabric stores, but you also had fabric sold in Woolworths and Newburys (these were west coast, I'm sure there were the same or similar regional stores). Then they stopped the fabric and small fabric shops opened (biggest were Hancocks, Cloth World and similar). There are still fabric shops available, but most are either specialty stores (Mood Fabrics) or small shops in fabric districts in the large cities. Because most folks could buy clothing for much less than it cost to purchase fabric from the specialty shops, sewing started to decline (apparel clothing - quilters always quilt!). Then the large companies (such as Joanns) who are able to import vast amounts of fabric at reasonable prices, were able to start buying out the other fabric shops. With the massive explosion of online fabric companies and the improved computer pictures of fabric, you will probably not see more fabric shops open. It is simply a matter of the costs. People can not spend $15 + for fabric anymore.