Fabric store statistics: how many fabric stores are left?
By Suresh Patel, Editor · Published October 20, 2026 · Data updated October 8, 2026
We count 10,710 open fabric stores, quilt shops and sewing shops in the US (9,322) and Canada (1,388). 79% are independent shops; the rest are craft chains such as Michaels and Hobby Lobby. Since JOANN closed, the median former JOANN location is 3.2 miles from the nearest independent fabric store or quilt shop.
Key numbers
| Open fabric stores (US + Canada) | 10,710 |
| Independent shops | 8,467 (79%) |
| Shops selling quilting fabric | 4,533 (42%) |
| Average rating, independents with 10+ reviews | 4.68★ (4,751 shops) |
| Open on Sunday (of stores with listed hours) | 24% |
| Former JOANN locations | 848 |
| Other fabric listings marked permanently closed | 1,548 |
How many fabric stores are there in each state?
California has the most fabric stores (1,062), followed by Texas and New York. Counting only independent shops, the leader is California (885).
Which cities have the most fabric stores?
Los Angeles, CA leads with 309 stores.
- Los Angeles, CA: 309 stores
- New York, NY: 139 stores
- Montreal, QC: 73 stores
- Houston, TX: 56 stores
- Brooklyn, NY: 49 stores
- Miami, FL: 48 stores
- Calgary, AB: 38 stores
- San Antonio, TX: 32 stores
- Portland, OR: 31 stores
- Québec City, QC: 31 stores
- Toronto, ON: 30 stores
- Dallas, TX: 30 stores
- Phoenix, AZ: 29 stores
- Vancouver, BC: 28 stores
- Oklahoma City, OK: 28 stores
Independent shops vs chains
Of 10,710 stores, 8,467 are independent. The chain stores in our data:
| Hobby Lobby | 1,082 |
| Michaels | 1,065 |
| Fabricland | 62 |
| Fabricville | 14 |
| Len's Mill | 11 |
| Mood Fabrics | 7 |
| JOANN | 2 |
What do independent fabric stores specialize in?
Quilting is the most common specialty among independent shops. Counts below are independent shops tagged with each specialty (a shop can have several).
| Quilting | 4,495 (53%) |
| Sewing classes | 1,922 (23%) |
| Apparel & garment | 1,674 (20%) |
| Sewing machines | 1,318 (16%) |
| Discount & wholesale | 1,143 (13%) |
| Upholstery & home décor | 832 (10%) |
| Yarn | 490 (6%) |
| African & Indian fabric | 65 (1%) |
How far is the nearest fabric store from a former JOANN?
For each of 848 former JOANN locations, we measured the straight-line distance to the nearest open independent fabric store or quilt shop (with 5+ reviews).
| Median distance | 3.2 mi |
| Within 5 miles | 64% |
| Within 10 miles | 83% |
| Within 25 miles | 98% |
| More than 25 miles | 15 locations |
See the nearest stores to every former location on JOANN closed: where to buy fabric now.
Most-reviewed independent fabric stores
- Linda's, McKinney, TX: 3,454 reviews, 5.0★
- Fabric Wholesale Direct, Farmingdale, NY: 3,396 reviews, 4.8★
- Sew Yeah Quilting, Las Vegas, NV: 2,391 reviews, 4.9★
- Bhatia Cloth House, Calgary, AB: 2,346 reviews, 4.7★
- Project Repat, Morganton, NC: 2,315 reviews, 5.0★
- Mangelsen's, Omaha, NE: 1,920 reviews, 4.6★
- Missouri Star Quilt Company, Hamilton, MO: 1,728 reviews, 4.6★
- Dressew Supply, Vancouver, BC: 1,694 reviews, 4.5★
- OregonPatchWorks Inc, Eugene, OR: 1,675 reviews, 5.0★
- Craft Warehouse, Gresham, OR: 1,659 reviews, 4.4★
Methodology
Data comes from public Google business listings in fabric-related categories, collected through the DataForSEO Business Listings API and last refreshed October 8, 2026. We remove alteration and repair services, trade-only showrooms, non-retail businesses, unverifiable listings and duplicates; see how we build the directory. “Independent” means not one of the chains listed above. Specialties are inferred from categories, names, descriptions and review topics, so counts are estimates. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
You may cite these figures with a link to this page.