Chicago Fabric Yarn & Button Sales

This place has been here for decades and for that reason I’ll patronize it every once in a while, but that’s the only reason. I agree with another reviewer who thinks the owner decides on a price at the register. It’s chaotic, musty, and God knows how long some of the inventory has been sitting on the shelves. Go to Vogue in Evanston or Fishman’s in the southwest Loop.

Even if you don’t need a button today, go in there and buy one! These are the type of stores that need to be preserved in Chicago.
PS — ask about button thread — who knew?

Came here for the first time today because it was close to me, plus I wanted to check it out for myself. The owner was so friendly and helpful. The variety of color and fabric are pretty great. I was able to get what I wanted without having to travel to great distances to get it. I’ll definitely be back!

Buddy, the owner is a bit quirky, but Oh so helpful. If you know what you want, you just ask him and he knows right where it is located. The store carries most modern day fabrics at a fraction of the cost of other ‘mood– like” stores. He is even willing to mail fabric for those of us that do not have a decent fabric store in our neck of the woods!
Keep it up Buddy!

I went with a very specific purpose and got what I wanted. I said what I was looking for, he pointed me in the direction and gave me his opinion on the fabrics based on what I wanted (after I asked him for it). The price was marked on the bolt and is AT LEAST half of what I would have paid at Joann (upholstery fabric). The guy seemed a bit eccentric, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. He was very friendly and personable and wanted to chat. The place itself gives me extreme anxiety as I am not much of a digger (overly-​full, unorganized spaces make me panic), but if you can handle digging for treasures, this is the place for you. All kinds of crazy stuff. Definite thumbs up.

Only went due to the time constraint I had and the proximity from me .
I do not recommend students or designers to go here. The shop is very unorganized and the service is horrible. I recommend Fishman’s Fabrics

I will ONLY shop here if I’m desperate.
It took me a couple visits to realize I was getting ripped off. The prices are WAY too high, and sometimes I even think the man marks them up at the register, because not all the fabrics are marked with a price.
I went in the other day because I procrastinated, and I needed fabric for my class the next day, and I asked for two yards of this particular fabric. I got one full yard, and the second one had chunks missing from it. I’m going back today to complain.
If you do decide to shop here, and you’re an SAIC student, DO NOT tell him. I’m pretty sure he marks up the prices because he knows its an expensive school, and that its the closest fabric store to the school.
Overall. Big rip off. Only shop here if you absolutely have to. Expect to spend maybe $ 20 more than if you were to visit Vogue Fabrics, or Jo Anns. I recommend the Textile Discount Outlet in Pilsen the most.

Rude. Unkept. Will happily travel further out the way to not have to deal with these schmucks. Ever.

Decent store, close to downtown area which is great when you’re in a pinch and can’t make it out to a bigger, more distant place (Textile Discount Outlet, I’m looking at you). Selection is alright, but rather disorganized.
Basically nothing is self-​service here (zippers! I had no idea they required such intense protection from theft) and both times I was in here, there was only one person working. So, if you come in for one zipper and there are three ladies in front of you all with like 8 bolts of lace and they want to do some price comparisons… be prepared for a long wait. The prices aren’t marked on each bolt, but on the wall to the right of the door as you come in most fabrics are 4.99/yd, which isn’t too shabby as most of them are interesting apparel fabrics and also 60″ wide.
As for the «yarn» in their name — nope. Narrow, ancient selection.

This place DOES NOT sell LESS THAN a YARD. Negative.
After digging — gotta pack it in, people, NYC garment district fabric stores are similar– fabric selection is great. Positive.
The (owner?) salesperson kept trying to sell me more that I didn’t need (just doing his job). Negative/​Positive?
The PRICES AREN’T POSTED on bolts of fabric. Negative.
I dunno — if you need fabric and are in the area, I suggest stopping by. Other than that, I’m glad it’s down the street from where I work because I would’ve been disappointed if I made a special trip here.
Just can’t get over that ONE YARD minimum.

to love this place, you have to love digging. it is a mess — but one with potential. i got a really nice quality cotton with swiss dots for three dollars a yard! it was such a good deal. there were lots of other fabrics i wanted and at great prices too, but didn’t have a project in mind for them so wasn’t sure how much to get.
this strikes me as the kind of place where a lot of regulars come, maybe the design students, and they know what they want and can ask for it. i don’t mind browsing the mess though — it’s still fun. it’s true that the measuring isn’t the most precise… i’d ask for a quarter yard more than what you need. i also don’t know why the guy cut the fabric rather than ripping it since it was a cotton woven. that could have helped a little maybe?
anyway, i may not make a dedicated trip here, but i really did enjoy stumbling upon this place and will be back when i’m in the area!

Um… whoa. Is this where ugly and/​or leftover fabric goes to die?
The place does look like a tornado just went through it, which I could deal with if they’d had interesting fabrics. But I only saw one thing I liked, there was maybe 2 yards of it and I didn’t actually have a use for it. And they should take «yarn» out of the name. Nothing interesting, and some of what is there, I could get at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, etc.
I didn’t have any interaction with the owner everyone complains about, but he was with another customer and from what I overheard seemed pleasant enough.
I don’t see myself going to this store. For yarn, go to Loopy (or any craft store). For cheaper fabrics, go to the Textile Discount Outlet.

Came here to look at fabric for a halloween costume idea. I agree it was a bit disorganized, but if I were a fashion design student… this would be my heaven. Chaos of fabrics and colors; I would spend hours in here.
It’s not your type of place if there’s something specific you’re looking for since it’s a cluster.
howeverrr…the man was as helpful as he could be for us.
They also have belt buckles, yarn, string, etc. This place has a lot of stuff.

Fabric. Small. Not organized. Prices not posted. Interesting encounter with owner. Locally owned. Some fabric quality is old and messed up. In the loop. Not as crowded as big chains. Not accurately measured.
Take it for what it’s worth; I’ll still shop there.

This is the only fabric store in the Loop.
As other reviews stated, it’s disorganized and prices are a little pricier than the big box stores. (If Project Runway ever came here to buy fabric, they wouldn’t be able to get much in 15 minutes of shopping. I prefer to shop for fabric at a more leisurely pace though.)
Anyway, CFY&B fulfills my needs of fabric backdrops for tabletop photography. ;-)
(Honestly, I don’t think the owner was weird or rude. Perhaps quite the opposite, at least when I was there. Or maybe, he’s just as weird as I am so I don’t notice!)

DO NOT EVER SHOP HERE!!!
Owner is the absolute WORST person I have ever come in contact with as a customer.
First, I called to ask if they had 1″ foam for an upholstery product (for some reason it was sold out everywhere else) He said yes. I got on the blue line and went all the way downtown to find out it wasn’t foam, but foam alternative. He argued with me about it, and I pointed out that on the box it said «Nu-​Foam, the foam ALTERNATIVE». Whatever, I decide to use it anyway, since I am already here.
So I ask for 2 pieces cut to 51 inches long each. He cuts it, and tries to chat with me, but like previous people have mentioned, he is strange. No big deal.
I get home and 2 days later I decide to start my project. Now I find he cut one piece 46″ long and one 47.5″ long. Well, my project is 50″ wide so I have a huge gap on the sides. I call, he agrees to stay open so I can go all the way back down to the loop to have him re-​cut it.
I get all the way down there and he begins to argue with me about it being the wrong length. I had brought a tape measure for this reason exactly. I laid it out on the floor and he continued to argue with me, then telling me I must have cut some off. (Right dude, just so I could come back here, exactly what I wanted to do)
He continued to argue with me, saying the ruler on his table is the only one that can be used. I then take my tape measure over to it, and it is exactly the same. What is wrong with this guy? He finally says it is 48″ (still wrong, but at least I have him admitting it isn’t 51″) and said I can credit you the 3 inches. No, I do not have enough for the project. Finally after 10 minutes going back and forth he agrees to cut new pieces.
Well, turns out they don’t have enough left, awesome. What a waste of 4 hours of my life! So I say, I will make it work if he can give me a discount, he refuses saying he already paid for the material and he can’t give any away. I finally am like, just refund my money. He agrees.
Then he has the audacity to say I have to pay the «visa charge» of 5%. I almost lost it. I said, you are the one who cut the fabric incorrectly, there is no way I am paying that. He says, «I hope you never come back here». CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I mean, what a clueless business owner. He screws up, then tells me not to shop there again.
Don’t worry about it! I WON’T BE BACK! And I will tell everyone I know not to shop there!
Dirty, cluttered store with a clueless owner who can’t measure… and when you own a fabric store, that is a huge problem!

I have a blouse that I love, have hardly worn, that came with some incredibly flimsy buttons, one of which cracked on the second wearing. I took that blouse out of the closet earlier this week and thought really, all it needs is new buttons and I’m good to go (my great grandmother — a very handy sewer — is reading this review from heaven and smiling).
Not a seamstress myself, I came to Unilocal for advice on where to buy buttons and other sewing notions. Despite the reviews here, this place was too close to my office not to try it first before venturing further out. Took blouse to store, and patiently waited while the owner assisted another customer with fabric. True, it’s not really set up for browsing, but I got the impression that the repeat customers pretty much arrive knowing what they’re looking for.
When my turn came, I showed the gentleman the blouse, and he instantly produced samples similar to the current buttons, and suggested some different options to dress it up a bit. I actually went with one of those suggestions, and when I remarked that I was disappointed in how quickly buttons seem to fall off of newly purchased things, he explained that manufacturers often use fabric thread instead of button thread which is more durable (who knew?), and handed me a spool the exact color of my blouse. Total cost of the buttons (I took some extra just in case) and thread: $ 18.00. Of course, it’s sad that I had to spend any extra $$ on an almost brand new item of clothing, but I’d never be able to replace the blouse itself, and actually like the new buttons better.
As for the people unhappy about not getting refunds: there is a fairly big sign right up front that says «All sales final» — so there should be no surprises there. I’m happy I took the chance and would go again.

Diamond in the rough — great selection, depending on what you are looking for. Best described as the «Big Lots» of Mood, from Project Runway, if you catch my drift. Lots of fabric school basics for cheap.
Lone staff person is friendly and helpful, and makes you want to return.

The address seems fuzzy to me since a previous girl mentioned it was near SAIC but later on the guy moved further away in the loop somewhere, I heard he was evicted.
First off, when I encountered this place I was a meek and naïve freshman who like many people in my department were ripped off as punishment for trying to get fabric last minute. I went against my instinct when I felt the a fabric which didn’t feel like cotton, but the guy kept assuring me and who was I to argue against him the expert. It totally burned under the iron. The teachers were less mad at the students because apparently the owner had a history of fleecing students (no pun intended).
I bought a bag of fabric & trims that the math seemed fuzzy on because they were on sale and the price was way over 100 dollars. I was uncomfortable and wanted to put stuff back, but the guy kept insisting on it and ran my credit card through several times despite the fact it was rejecting such a large number on my balance. I mustered up the courage and came back to return most of it since the price was just ridiculous and realized the «no returns» sign was buried under fabric and hidden in the back. I was really lucky that I charmed the guy into taking a good portion of it back (not all) due the fact I just couldn’t afford it. But most people get screwed.
The owner relies on his convenient location, less experienced crafters and tourists to buy his stuff as well as his friendly disposition to make sales. I would never even think of buying from him again.

I walked in to CFYBS yesterday and this was my encounter with the owner:
* Me: Do you have knitting needles and accessories?
* Guy: Yes
* Me: Where are they located?
* Guy: Just tell me what you want and I’ll tell you if we have it.
* Me (slightly annoyed): Do you have point protectors for knitting needles?
* Guy: No
* Me: Do you have circular needles smaller than 26″?
* Guy: No
* Me (racking my brain for what else I need): Um, kthnxbye
I’m a tactile person by nature. I need to touch, feel, write and Google things myself for them to make sense to me, which is why my encounter yesterday was extremely frustrating.
Today, I returned armed with a list so I could hopefully get exactly what I needed. It’s really nice that there’s a fabric store in the Loop proper. They not only sell fabric, but buttons, knitting needles, ribbon and other crafty-​related items. I’ve never purchased fabric here, but it was handy when I needed some last minute items for my Halloween costume.
Here’s why the place only gets 3 stars:
1) I’m not a big sewer, but the fabric selection seems limited and is very disorganized.
2) The owner is nice, but he really creeps me out. From reading other reviews I’m not the only one.
3) Service is slow. It seems like the owner is the only one who mans the store and speed is not one of his strong suits.
4) Non-​fabric items aren’t such a deal, maybe even overpriced
Bottom Line: If you’ve got any sewing projects in mind you may want to pop in since all fabric is on sale. If you want something other than fabric you may want to go elsewhere; I could’ve gotten my needles somewhere else for a few bucks less, but I guess convenience has its price.