Americana Fabrics — Attraction in Rocky Hill

1st time in to this store after seeing someone on FB saying it was a great place to buy nice, affordable fabrics. Drove almost an hour to get to Rocky Hill because we needed to see if we could find upholstery fabric for a car my husband is restoring & me to re-cover our dining room chairs. And we found both! However, the problems arose while we were checking out & having our fabrics cut. I've sewn for 47 yrs & have NEVER found someone that cuts off a bolt like I saw today. I watched the person in front of me having hers lifted up to cut with short uneven cuts I & was ??. Then it was my turn with the same woman...When I tried smoothing the fabric flat (happened twice) I smoothed my fabric flat to ensure it was equal, I was yelled at to not touch the fabric & she knew, after 15yrs of cutting, I knew what she was doing. I pointed out she needed to cut flat with a smooth, one stroke to ensure an even cut, she threw down her scissors & yelled for someone else to finish. She came back out as we were leaving, told me to just walk away & walked into the staff room slamming the door. VERY unprofessional to rest of the people waiting to check out. I know this may seem like not a big thing, but I really wanted to make sure our large fabric purchases were uniform for what we needed. I have never seen cuts done so uneven after being told we were getting "extra fabric" (we weren't, I watched the measuring). Don't know if she was having a bad day or what. Long story short, great selection of fabric at great prices, but left really upset at how we...

First, the good. Nothing beats Affordable Fabrics when it comes to pricing. On my most recent trip, I bought 5 yds of decorator fabric, 5 yds of 1/4" elastic and 4 spools of thread for a total of $33. 05 (see the attached copy of my receipt)! The fabric I bought would've been at least that much per yard at Joanne's.

Even the selection is significant considering it's a discount store. They don't always have what I'm looking for, but no store has what I want all of the time. I usually end up going home with something I WASN'T looking for.

Now the not so good. The reason for the 3 stars is because of the staff. Every time I have been to Affordable Fabrics, there is someone working there who is just plain rude. Case in point: I couldn't find some fabric I had just put down so I asked an employee if she had seen it and/or maybe put it away. She hadn't so she asked the other employees if they had. A male employee commented "maybe she's drunk". The impertinence in his voice was palpable. I could tell I wasn't supposed to hear his remark because when I quickly responded "No, I'm not drunk and was that really necessary?", the man's eyes doubled in size. But no apology followed.

Was this a huge issue? No. Will I make a return visit to Affordable Fabrics? Of course. Only I would be adversely effected by my not returning. Besides, the 2 other women I dealt with were absolutely lovely. They more than made up for their...

Staff is friendly and super helpful and knowledgeable. Large selection of fabrics and it’s constantly changing so it’s always a shopping adventure. If you see something you love grab it because it probably won’t be there the next time! Still “affordable” even though they changed their name.

In response to those that think it’s isn’t affordable, I buy quilting cottons which run $9-$17 a yard at quilt shops and online, even at the big chain stores, so 4.99 is still super affordable. Everything is going up. The owner here is paying more for the fabric she gets so she has no choice but to pass it along. She’s even kept the older stock at 2.99.

They changed their name because they bought a big warehouse in another town. That warehouse used to be a local furniture store called Americana. That name is painted huge on the side of the building and had been a local icon for years. The owner didn’t want to remove the name (out of respect for the town) so she changed the name of her whole business. I...