Universal Fabric Center

The five star is for their selection of floor to ceiling silk in every color of the rainbow plus silk prints.
The store has a small front but is full of floor to ceiling fabric. It appears to be family owned but I am not sure. The workers appear to speak a language from Asia but also speak clear English. They were not overly polite which was okay because most people are not polite to me. I asked for silks and was shown them. The prices are incredibly high when compared to Joann, Hobby Lobby, and quilting stores which typically do not sell quality silks.
Silk is not cotton. Silk is made from the cocoons of thousands of silk worms who give their lives for the silk. Dupioni silk is cheaper than silk crêpe. Why? Dupioni is not a quality silk. It is bumpy. We have been trained to love dupioni. Quality silk can be heirloom. Quality silk is strong and smoother.
Polyester is cheap plastic that ruins the environment.
Cotton is made from the protective fluffy seed covering of the cotton plant. Cotton takes months to grow. European demand for cotton played a role in the use of slaves to care for cotton until harvest. We are spoiled to cheap cotton but cotton can be. woven beautifully and fl like silk. I did not see beautiful cotton in Universal Fabrics.
By its nature, silk is a luxury fabric. I have purchased silk for far less — and silk can be purchased cheaper online. Their silk appears to be imported from Korea — but again — I am unsure. Their selection of silk was wonderful.
Universal Fabric has a decent selection of various weights of wool. It has a small selection of upholstery fabric. The rest of the fabric is a tiny amount of cotton with the other fabrics being polyester. Polyester has serious environmental and earth hazards.
I am seeking Ahimsa or Peace Silk where the worms survive the process. I refuse to condemn a store for not having what I want.
Their button supply is truly amazing. If they cost more than people want to pay, then don’t buy them. Don’t condemn them.
Our mentality wants those cheap made in China prices. Most don’t want to pay for quality. Perhaps this business does not want to serve that made in China tightwad mentality.
My other half was mortified that I paid $ 69 a yard for 4 ply beautifully dyed silk. Eventually I will find an affordable Ahimsa silk crêpe supplier. Until then I will «Praise the bridge that brought you over safely.» My other said this means that a bridge might be old and worn but it got people fo one side to the other. Some people cursed the bridge but her mother praised it. So if this isn’t the right bridge for you, choose a different one
Some silk prints were less than $ 6 a yard. No one mentioned that reality.
Some said the fabric content was mislabeled. Hum. Maybe — but did not see it.
Their other fabrics were not impressive — so I understand customer disappointment. I did not smell anything bad. I did not see dirt but textiles collect dust.
When I want cheap prices I shop with coupons at the box stores or go to Golden D’or and the Dallas fabric warehouse district. Fr. cheap buttons I go to C.I. Castro in San Antonio. These rest I order online. I hope you find this review helpful and a bit funny.
Tip: No public restroom for customers.
Don’t take kids or negative people.
Be prepared to pay more an browse slowly.
Fabric is in and under and up and down.
They have lots of Vogue and Butterick patterns.
Don’t expect southern hospitality.
Don’t expect quilt store fabrics.
Don’t expect lots of upholstery fabrics.
Expect top costs for silks of many colors and weights.
Expect more silk crêpe than dupioni.
Lots of notions, trim, buttons, and hidden bridal colors so ask if you need help.
Store has a few dedicated parking spaces.
The sharp voice may not be rude — it’s just not Amercanized. Be careful what you say and how you say it in the store. Save your negative comments for when you leave.

Seriously, I don’t know why people complain a lot about this place. It has the best selection of fabrics. The quantity of the materials is greater and the quality of the fabrics is better than any other stores for making clothes, curtains, or some other big, professional projects. In other stores, for example, I only saw a few rolls of the silk; they only had 5 or 6 colors for you to choose from, and the quality of the fabrics was very poor. And what’s wrong with the smell? That’s the smell from the cotton, silk, polyester, linen, wool, …and all kinds of fabric. I feel really bad to see someone only gave the store 1 or 2 stars. So just to be fair, I have a 5 star rating for it. The lady of the store has rough attitude towards her customers, but if you spend more than $ 500 at her store, she may treat you nicer.

I just can’t get over how expensive this place is! Huge selection, but most fabrics I liked were at least $ 15 to $ 30 per yard! I’ve never seen prices that high! I don’t know how they stay in existence with prices this high.

I had to buy satin buttons from this place because I needed them for my tux. First of all their service was terrible I waited 20 minutes for help and when she came to help, she just tossed some overprice buttons on the table and said pick some and she left. I got 10 buttons for $ 40. My advice buy whatever you need from Amazon. I didn’t have the luxury to do so but I with I did. On Amazon 10 buttons is $ 8. Yeah I got screwed but you don’t have to. BTW they don’t have a trying policy.

As you will notice from the reviews here, this is not the place for those whose fabric needs can be easily satisfied by the selections at Hobby Lobby or Walmart. If what you’re looking for is 200 quilters’ weight prints of teddy bears and cowboy hats, this might not be for you. Likewise, if you’re not interested in paying good money for quality fabrics, stay away.
What you will find is an extensive selection of specialty silks, wool suiting, designer shirting, and notions to finish just about any piece you can imagine. It is tightly packed and piled high but not difficult to navigate. I’ve found the attendants polite and helpful both in knowledge of the store and of fabric working generally.

OVER PRICED CRAP! Fake designer material! Stinky disorganized store! AND $ 4.99 for ONE brass button? I needed to replace all 20 on my jacket. it would have cost me $ 100 in just buttons! LMFAO! That’s more than I paid for the jacket. I went on Amazon and bought exactly what I wanted for $ 9.98 with free shipping.

Very rude and no sense of customer service. This store does not even deserve a single star!

Crowded, smells odd, and EXPENSIVE! You will easily spend 3x as much here than any regular fabric store. Spare the pain and just go to Hobby Lobby!

First thing’s first: Universal Fabric Center is not JoAnn’s or even High Fashion Fabric. They don’t have a lot of craft fabric or a ton of fancy frock fabric. But what they do have is a really unique selection and any style of button you can think of. Universal Fabric Center is one of the true specialty fabric stores left in Houston. Yes, their prices can be a bit high, but their selection is truly unique, and you will find many fabrics here that aren’t available anywhere else. Case in point: I’d been just about everywhere looking for tulle for a veil to match my ivory wedding dress. I was looking for a pretty specific color and also a tulle that wasn’t too stiff or cheap looking. I thought I would find it at High Fashion, but nope. Their selection of tulle is abysmal, which was surprising considering the amount of other fancy stuff they have. Then I remembered Universal Fabric Center and, sure enough, they had just what I was looking for and at $ 7.99 a yard. So, see, sometimes their prices are good! Universal has a wonderful selection of tulle and other bridal fabrics as well. And if you like to make your own clothes and accessories and want something that will truly stand out in a crowd, then this is your store!

Never have I seen prices as unreasonable as those at Universal Fabric Center.
In the last 8 months I’ve been to over 40 fabric stores all over North America*, and this one is the worst. For example:
— Poly cotton ¼″ gingham for $ 15.99/yd. Are you kidding me? That should be $ 5/​yd, $ 7 at most.
— Cotton shirtings for $ 49.99/yd. The same would be $ 25 – 35 a yard at High Fashion Fabrics (Louisiana St, Houston).
I honestly do not know how this store survives considering the prices they’re trying to charge, and the fact that there is at least one other viable option for fabrics in central Houston. Do not bother with this store.
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* Honestly, at least 40, and almost all of them have been independent fabric stores (i.e. not chain stores like JoAnn). I’ve visited stores in CA, OR, AK, SD, MN, IL, MI, VT, ME, PA, NY (including almost every fabric store the New York fashion district), KY, SC, FL, AL, MS, LA, KS, and TX. Also stores in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec.

I ran in because I was in the area and was looking for some white fleece. I found some white fabric that would do but it was pilled, under a huge pile of other bolts and quite frankly looked dirty. I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to yank out. The odd odor of the room also left me concerned that my fabric would smell too. I finally gave up wandering around and asked for help and was told they didn’t have any fleece and I should go to JoAnn’s. I prefer to help local businesses but it was clear they were too lazy and disinterested to make a sale. I went to JoAnn’s and got perfectly white, unpilled and odorless fabric and I was in and out in 5 minutes. I would never go back. For those who think this is the best selection in Houston should check out my go-​to fabric store, High Fashion and High Fashion Home in midtown.

Wayyy to expensive, unorganized and crowded. I felt like if I took one wrong step bolts and bolts of fabric would come crashing down on me.

They have a pretty good selection of fabrics but they totally jack up the prices and not to mention they are so stingy when it comes to swatching!
But this place is pretty much the only place in Houston to get good fabrics.