Mill End Fabric Store

They advertise on the counter and we were told that they exchange 5 feet of fabric and when we went to return ours at the Beaverton location they rudely refused to return it. Not wise to advertise a policy on your counter and then not honor it.

There’s a reason this store isn’t doing well. The customer service is horrible.
I’ve had employees make mean comments about the fabric I chose. Because, that’s super professional to criticize the stuff that YOUR store carries.
Today, someone told my child to «stop running» — because he’s 2 and barely moving his feet faster than a walking pace and not disturbing anything. I didn’t even bother giving them my business at that point and immediately walked out.

For the most part these comments only pertain to the Beaverton store…
I want so much to say, «idiots», but that would perhaps only apply to management. I don’t blame the worker bees because they may not have been trained properly. And fabric stores need to pay their people better than minimum wage. You will attract and keep happy people.
Sewing is not only hip and trendy but its a wonderful life skill that contributes to great self satisfaction and even a healthier planet. That’s what you should feel when you walk into a store for makers, not sadness and boredom.
One thing that irks me to no end is having to provide a driver’s license when using a debit card. I usually go in and out of places with a debit card and my phone. The policy of asking for a DL is just ignorant. The security is provided by your pin. Think about it. Where else to you do this? No where. This comes from not knowing how things work.
True, they don’t have as much as the big store on McLaughlin but the selection is pretty good.
Good luck getting fabric cut properly. That goes back to training. By the time you go home and straighten your cut, you could loose way more than you should. You’re always going to loose some but if you know how to lay fabric on a table and line up selvages before a cut is made, you will get better results. Invariably they lay the fabric out twisted and I have to reach over and line things up and tell them how to cut and then they get pissy. I don’t care. It’s my money. (See Cynthia T’s review below)
At Mill End, the customer service motto is, «the customer is always wrong» and you will have to fight for and defend any issues you might have with your purchase. It reminds me of the 60’s.
I get disgusted when they offer unsolicited advice because usually its bad advice. I have been sewing for 48ish years… they give bad advice, bad and unsolicited. I feel sorry for those who actually need advice. Give them the dead stare and a heavy sigh, then google your question on your phone.
Know your fabrics because the fabric content is often miss marked. This is expected when you are buying «mill ends».
The fabric is too expensive for «mill end» fabrics. I usually can do better online.
For the most part these comments only pertain to the Beaverton store.

Wanted me to check my diaper bag the second i got in the door. Really? I understand the policy, but how many yards of fabric am i gonna get out the door in my diaper bag while im wrangling my toddler? Their inability to make an exception just cost them a sale and a customer. *my son has a weird association with the bag and would freak if he saw me putting it away not at home. Its his comfort thing. Its weird, i know, but he’s two.

This is the best fabric store ever, better than Joanne’s fabrics. Their selection is really big, and they have always new kinds of fabric coming in. They also carry many other items, beside fabrics. I love their selection of fake swede and fake leather fabrics, it is amazing, I got some very soft black fabric that really looks and feels like real leather, to make a skirt. It is really beautiful. The best part at this store is the people, they are so nice and helpful, always. If you can’t find what you are looking for there is always someone available to help you find it or if they do not have exactly what you look for, then they suggest something very similar. I also like the fact that you never have to wait for ever in long lines like at Joanne’s fabric, in order to pay. Once you have picked all you need, you go and pay and it is fast. Good customer service, amazing fabrics and fast! they deserve 5 stars!

Despite how large this shop is, the selection never impresses me. I have tried shopping here several times, and never feel particularly inspired. They do have a lot of holiday prints, some tacky but some nice. This is not just a quilt shop, so even though there are a ton of fabrics, they fall into every category of fabric, so for any given project you are working on, the selection is somewhat limited. I was desperate for a jelly roll one day, when wanting to try tube quilting, and I found literally one jelly roll in the whole place. It happened to be beautiful, not what I was hoping for, but something I could make myself like. It was on the higher end of prices for a jelly roll– around $ 35. The service was alright. They didn’t seem enthusiastic, but weren’t rude. Overall, I’d pass this place up in favor of Joann, even though I like supporting smaller businesses.

This is like going through a time warp zone. While when you know that the façade of the building is odd and dark, you still go in cause you know, your adventure is just about to start.
I almost sneezed when I went in. I think it’s the textiles that made me do it. It is overwhelmingly odd and it smelled old. It’s like a time lapse from your life to your grandma. Your life of cotton and polyester shirts to veils and satin cords.
You’ll see your childhood printed fleece fabric to some plaids and prints to something weird and sequined. Combine that in a stretchy fabric and you are ready to party! They also have fabrics for serious people. Wools, pinstripes, plaids, and other suit patterns are present in the store. Not your entire scene? They have a small selection of denim and faux fur for you too.
If you feel the need to wrap your house in fabric, they have drapes and upholstery section to cater to your need. I wasn’t lucky enough to see the fabric and pattern that I like but you might!
I think that this is not the store for me and what I like. They mostly have plain and floral pattern. I find it too stuffy and traditional. I tend to like it as it falls on still, being classic.
As far as service is concerned,
I did not have any as I went in like a hurricane and left unnoticed. I did not need any today but a cute old lady say hi to me.

They have an amazing selection of fabrics but this place is not inexpensive. The quality is amazing and selection is endless from tapestry to simple muslin or cotton you have everything you could need under one roof… bring your coupons from competitors because they will be accepted. That’s another aspect which makes it worthwhile.

Worst Management Customer Service EVER!
I WON’T SHOP THERE EVER AGAIN! I will drive across town to FABRIC DEPOT WHICH IS SO MUCH BETTER!
I bought a remnant yesterday. The very nice employee cut it and I was a little concerned that she didn’t take a little extra effort to make sure it was straight. I got home and cut my first piece out (small table so I couldn’t set all the patterns out first… but I’ve done this a million times and I keep it very tight). So, you guessed it, it was short! It also wasn’t cut evenly so I lost some that way as well.
I go to the store to ask them to GIVE me that last 1 yard left of this remnant. There is only one yard and I felt that if I’ve already paid for the amount I needed, they should make a good will effort and just give me the last yard. We’re talking $ 6. THEY SAID NO.
I was very calm and nice and made my case again. They told me it was my fault for not getting more fabric than the pattern required. (I usually do but they would have required me to buy the last yard not just ¹⁄₈ more). The pattern showed quite a bit of free space too.
I’ve been a long time customer.
The manager wouldn’t come out and talk to me.
My daughter is taking sewing lessons as I write this.
I’ve spent a ton of money there.
I am worth $ 6.
They not only lost a customer, they lost a customer who will tell her story to her friends.
I hope they learn from this.

Best selection of luxury fabrics on West side. Prices are fair. They will take a Joann’s coupon but only for 20% off. However, customer service gets a fail. If you aren’t dressed to the nines and look like you have a lot of money you are not welcomed and wander around until they suspect you of shop lifting and then they ask if they can help you if you haven’t explicitly approached a sales associate and ask for help. Not all sales associates are this way, however some are. Especially the luxury & bridal section. Not as bad as it used to be several years ago. I only go there when I need something I know they have and cannot get at Joann’s which is not very often. Snooooty would be a good assessment of SOME of their sales associates. They aren’t very social and act as if it is a chore to help you. Steer you to cheaper stuff thinking you can’t afford the good stuff. Like I said customer service is a fail, quality of merchandise gets an A.

Okay selection, okay prices, blah service — not a single employee greeted me even when I gave one a warm smile that said HELLO I LOVE FABRIC CONVINCE ME TO BUY STUFF. Seriously, three gals up front, two wandering the floor, one behind the cutting counter, yet nothing. My first time in and given the lack of care and reception from the staff, I will be doing my fabric shopping elsewhere and getting the prints I liked here online instead. I wanted to like you!

This store is really hot in the summer and really, really cold in the winter! It is so uncomfortable that I feel sorry for the employees who have to work there. Because of this I will no longer be shopping here for fabric.

Mill End is the best fabric store in the world! So says my 10-​year-​old daughter, who wanted to make a winter scarf out of fleece. The staff were very nice to her, and showed her different knotting techniques. The result turned out amazing, and we’re definitely going to go there again! The fabric was super affordable, and she made four scarves for $ 2 each.

Much better quality than Joanne’s Fabrics. Lots of variety. Great upholstery fabrics, fashion fabrics, selection.

hmmmmm over priced items served up by little old women that looked and acted as though she would rather be bathing a cat than to help the little redhead wearing black.
I was trying to find a couple of quick things to finish up a project I was working on and yea I am sure the rest of the store had lots of items worth viewing a second time… however… with the lack of help I received and the way I was treated I will go else where in the future

I made the mistake of going to this Mill End after visiting the flagship shop in Milwaukie. In comparison, the Beaverton shop does not stock as much Pendleton fabric or have a yarn section. However, given the reduced shop space, the variety of fabric is comparable to a large Jo-​Anns.
Of course, unlike any Jo-​Anns, Mill End does carry high end materials such as waxed cotton and thinsulate.
Overall, a great fabric shop close to Portland.
Notes: Plenty of parking and adjoined to a Montaville Sewing

This is second best fabric store in the Portland metro area behind Mill End’s mother ship store in Portland. Great selection of fabric, very helpful staff. They even take time to explain fabric to a guy. Best of all they actually talk to the a guy about fabric instead of talking to the woman that is with them.
Okay, I’ll admit I’m a closet tailor and the clothing I made look as if it was created by Picasso. At least the dog doesn’t complain about the jackets.

This place is like a fabric Mecca to me.
Pretty much everything you could want at a fabric store and more, quilting cottons, batiks, all types of fabric for clothing, upholstery fabric, and even some high quality laces and stretch sheers for use in underwear and lingerie that you won’t see at any Joann’s type of fabric store.
But the REAL awesomeness is at the back of the store… that’s right… walk to the back… i know its a big store, walk ALL the way back there, you can do it. There you will find flat folds, remnants, and discontinued fabric at amazing discounted prices! You can’t really look through this section having anything specific in mind, but keep your eyes open and you are sure to find something crazy, cheap, and great. Remnant of dark purple fun fur? Sure, that will make a great hat or purse! Blue and pink argyle flannel? Pajama bottoms! Striped and tie dye jersey? Awesome funky colored tshirts! So many possibilities back in this corner.

They claim to have the biggest display of fabrics in America. That’s quite a statement to make, but they certainly do have an amazing variety of cloth.
The staff is amazing here– helpful and attentive and willing to work with you. I came in with a vision and little idea of how to execute it, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with how great everybody was. I found what I was looking for and spent exactly as much as I’d walked in expecting to spend.
They stock everything from curtain and upholstery fabrics, vinyl and velvets and silks, to your basic calicos and canvases. Walking through their massive store, I saw TONS of great stuff that makes me want to create fabulous clothing and bags. Their selection of ribbon made me wish I has more things to do that involve ribbon, and that I had a large enough budget for it (it can be expensive!)
I’ll definitely be back soon.

Lots of beautiful fabrics, ribbon, and buttons. Sometimes finding someone to help you is a little difficult. But associates are usually friendly and helpful. Prices are pretty good.