Fabric Outlet, the decades-old store on Mission Street for all things sewing — fabrics, trims, notions, yarn and crochet supplies — will close its doors on Nov. 23, its owners announced on Thursday.
“This decision has been anything but easy,” the owners said in an Instagram post. “Serving you over the years — sharing in your creativity, your projects, and your love for fabrics — has truly been one of the great joys of our lives.”
A closing sale will start on Saturday, with 40 to 75 percent off on fabrics and trims, and 25 percent off on crochet supplies. The owners advised customers to arrive early “for the best selection.”
Business has declined since the pandemic, said Gina Cooney, co-owner of Fabric Outlet, in an interview with Mission Local. Located in the basement of 2109 Mission St. at 17th Street, the store has been around since 1995.
“Every year you’re looking at numbers and thinking, ‘Okay, maybe this is the point it’s going to escalate up.’ And it really hasn’t,” Cooney said. “Every year it’s gone down just a little bit more.”
Even though fabric shoppers prefer to buy wares in person, feeling and touching the textile themselves, they shifted their shopping habits during the early months of the pandemic, said Cooney.
With the store’s lease up at the end of the year, its owners felt it would be risky to commit to another lease and opted to close.
“It’s not terribly surprising,” said Ryen Motzek, president of the Mission Merchants Association. It’s a common problem for Mission Street businesses, where the commercial space is usually bigger and having a larger square footage means paying more rent. “It’s hard for businesses to keep up.”
The store will continue to sell fabrics through its online store, Cali Fabrics.
One customer comes early to the sale
Walking down the stairs into the Fabric Outlet basement, customers are transported into a colorful world. On the left, there are rolls of textiles and the service counter where employees cut them up. On the right, trinkets like buttons and charms are displayed in plastic boxes, priced at less than a dollar.
“Coming down the stairs always brings a sense of anticipation and wonder,” said Soad Kader, an artist living in the Mission since 1997.
Kader arrived on Friday afternoon — before the sale starts — to guarantee getting the best selection. She had started taking a class at City College on sewing with knits, and had been at Fabric Outlet just a week ago.
Kader selected some fabrics and put them on hold at the counter: One is a flannel in mustard yellow, and the other a pink fabric with hollowed lace rectangles. “I saw this the other day and didn’t get it, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she said.
Although Kader had gone on and off with sewing over the years, she has always incorporated fabrics in her collage art, and Fabric Outlet has been her neighborhood store for years.
“It’s always fun. You come here and see these colors and fabrics,” Kader said. “It’s a source of inspiration in and out of itself.”
Every kind of sewer
“There’s every version of sewer that comes through the doors here,” Cooney, the store’s owner, said.
There are expert seamstresses, who need someone to cut their fabric, no questions asked. But beginning sewers also come in and ask about what needles and thread to use for a specific type of material, or how to fix a broken sewing machine.
And Fabric Outlet plays a part in people’s creative projects too, Cooney said. This was evident on Friday: A photographer, with his camera strapped on, was shopping for a backdrop for portraits. Just this morning, someone bought a bunch of lace to make an eight-feet tall corset display as a period piece.
For Anne Hwang, Fabric Outlet is a place that contributed to her family memories. She’s been coming to the store for 15 years and she made her then-6-year-old daughter a travel bag for her first time on an airplane.
It was made of a waterproof nylon material from the store: “It’s so tough and you need a special needle in the sewing machine, or it will break,” Hwang recalled, smiling. She picked the fabric in bright purple — “little girls especially love that color” — and sewed sakura flowers from her daughter’s favorite Ghibli film “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” on top.
“It didn’t look super professional, but she loved it,” Hwang said.
For Halloween one year, Hwang made her daughter an “incredibly stuffed tall Totoro hat” with big eyes and ears that could stand up, from the poly stuffing at the corner of the store.
“After Halloween, she just wanted to wear it all the time,” Hwang said. “So she’d be on the playground in North Beach or in Soma with this giant Totoro hat on for months.”
Hwang started sewing about 20 years ago, simply because she didn’t like anything sold at the stores. “Nothing felt like me, so I started making things for myself,” she said.
And now, Hwang’s daughter also thinks she can make anything. “She understands that you don’t have to just accept what’s in the store. You can adjust it. You can customize it. You can make it fit you better,” Hwang said.
“Do what you want, you know? Wear one sleeve if you want. Wear one long pant leg and one short pant leg,” she continued. “Just do what you want. It’s a freedom thing.”
About the author
“My son was murdered in case of mistaken identity
The heartbroken mum of a teen murdered in a case of mistaken identity described the moment she found out her son had died - and how she couldn’t “protect him”. Nikki Knight’s son, Mason Rist, 15, and his friend, Max Dixon, 16, were “hunted down” and stabbed in a “revenge attack” after being wrongly identified as culprits of an earlier incident. The two pals were on their way to get a pizza when Anthony Snook, 45, arrived in his Audi with Riley Tolliver, 18, Kodi Wescott, 17, and two teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons. CCTV footage - from Nikki's house - captured the horrific 33 second attack which began when four youth jump of the vehicle on Mason's doorstep, just metres from her the family home in Knowle, Bristol, where he grew […]
Jim’s, Mission diner, will keep cooking under nonprofit ownership
Fear not, we won’t be missing the beloved green salsa at Jim’s Restaurant for some time — breakfast is here to stay. Mission Local has learned that the Mission Language and Vocational School will take over neighborhood mainstay Jim’s, which invited customers in today for its last day in business under current ownership. This afternoon, a line was seen reaching the corner of the building at 20th and Mission streets, and the diner had to take a waitlist for people to get in. Mission Language and Vocational School, a nonprofit that offers workforce development and small business supportive services, will staff the restaurant with graduates from its catering program and culinary school. The nonprofit will keep on Beto, the longtime cook. The owners, husband and wife Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, are retiring. MLVS is expected to take over the restaurant […]
Lara Trump withdraws from consideration to replace Rubio in US Senate
By Jasper Ward(Reuters) -Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, said on Saturday she has removed her name from consideration to replace outgoing U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.Rubio was picked by Trump to serve as secretary of state. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will pick a replacement for Rubio, who is expected to resign as senator when Trump takes office on Jan. 20.There was speculation that Lara Trump, who served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee in the lead-up to the 2024 election, would succeed Rubio in the Senate.Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inboxSee for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.However, in a post on X, Trump said she had decided to remove herself from consideration "after an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many.""I could […]
Hawk on the house
Hawk on the house Source: missionlocal.org
Burglars ransack Southern California homes while posing as deliverymen
Residents are frightened and angry as a group of suspects continue ransacking San Fernando Valley homes, leaving a trail of destruction behind.A Valley Village resident said she was stunned and shaken up after thieves targeted her home on Dec. 17 between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.The break-in was captured on home surveillance cameras as a male suspect approached the house and appeared to be disguised as a delivery man.“Ten minutes after we left [our home], someone was knocking at the door and our dog was barking away,” she said. “Then within a minute, someone had broken into the back of the house, smashed the glass door, came in and locked the dog in a room and just trashed the house. They took all of my jewelry.”Photos of the aftermath showed drawers in every room were removed and emptied and all […]
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
Related
Jim’s, Mission diner, will keep cooking under nonprofit ownership
Fear not, we won’t be missing the beloved green salsa at Jim’s Restaurant for some time — breakfast is here to stay. Mission Local has learned that the Mission Language and Vocational School will take over neighborhood mainstay Jim’s, which invited customers in today for its last day in business under current ownership. This afternoon, a line was seen reaching the corner of the building at 20th and Mission streets, and the diner had to take a waitlist for people to get in. Mission Language and Vocational School, a nonprofit that offers workforce development and small business supportive services, will staff the restaurant with graduates from its catering program and culinary school. The nonprofit will keep on Beto, the longtime cook. The owners, husband and wife Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, are retiring. MLVS is expected to take over the restaurant […]
Hawk on the house
Hawk on the house Source: missionlocal.org
Jim’s owners retiring, leaving future of Mission diner unclear
The mom-and-pop owners of Jim’s Restaurant on Mission Street, a community staple for over three decades, will have their last day of work this Saturday, according to the restaurant.Jim’s Restaurant announced that its owners will be retiring after Saturday. It’s unclear, however, whether Jim’s will continue operating under new management. What is clear is it will no longer be the same without Ms. and Mr. Kim. The current owners, Kim Ok Un and Kim Jung Nyun, declined to comment about their retirement or whether Jim’s would continue operating. An Instagram commenter says, “So so sooo happy for you guys!! So well deserved but Jim’s will never be the same without you”.Another says, “Legendary spot just up the street from KPOO. Thanks y’all for the decades of service to the community.”On Friday around noon, the restaurant at 2420 Mission St. between 20th and […]
S.F. police shoot, kill Dior guard turned alleged hit-and-run driver
San Francisco police shot and killed a purportedly armed man they say they tracked down — after he allegedly hit pedestrians and a cyclist with a car on Thursday evening. Assistant Chief David Lazar, who gave a press conference this morning, said the man was believed to be a security guard at Dior, and said he discovered a firearm “on the ground” at the scene that he believed belonged to the guard. He did not give any details about whether the man was armed at the time police shot him. Lazar also could not confirm how many police officers fired their weapons at the man. The driver was allegedly driving on the sidewalk around 6:30 p.m. at Kearny and Post streets and hit two pedestrians, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old, Lazar said, in pursuit of a man on an electric bicycle. After hitting […]
Street sheet – Mission Local
Mission Local produces enterprise reporting on San Francisco's most critical issues: police reform, corruption, public health, housing and homelessness. Learn more about us, and donate below keep us reporting.Subscribe to Mission Local's daily newsletter Source: missionlocal.org
Supervisor Melgar won, now the trick will be to manage her constituents’ competing interests
District 7 incumbent Myrna Melgar faced a particularly bruising re-election campaign. She squared off against significant numbers of her own constituents by supporting hot-button issues like Proposition K to close the Great Highway to cars, and upzoning parts of her district that have been previously limited to single-family housing. “If I lose this election on this issue, then that’s the right thing to do,” Melgar said in June, after a particularly contentious meeting about zoning changes coming to her district, and the rest of the city. But she didn’t lose the election. No matter the ideological differences, most of her constituents agree: She’s good at the actual work of being a district supervisor. “When I call — somebody does get back to me,” said Peggy da Silva, a West Portal resident who has reached out to Melgar’s office over concerns like city […]
