Hancock Fabrics

The employees are very helpful and make everything very easy! There are always coupons and the staff will answer any questions you have.

This store is OK in a pinch, but it is definitely inferior to a lot of other fabric stores. It is very small, but it does carry a limited selection of quilting and fashion fabrics. They also have a lot of notions and patterns available. It always seems kind of disorganized, and getting someone to cut your fabric takes a long time even if there isn’t a line.
My biggest problem when I come here is the mislabeled pricing. I can’t remember a time when I picked out a fabric to have it cut and had it be the price I expected. So just make sure you ask about the price before they make the cut. The last time I went they were having a «big sale». I found a fabric with a blue sticker indicating 70% off. Went to have it cut– was informed it was not on sale. When I pressed, the employee informed me that it «must have been from a previous sale.» Frustrating.

I think the usefulness of this store ultimately comes down to what you are looking for. Though I didn’t find what I needed on my one trip here, the store was clean, well-​organized, and sufficiently staffed. I was able to get in, get the information I needed, and get back out very quickly. When compared to the Michael’s next door, I found the customer service experience friendly and expedient.

As a former employee of the store, I can tell you that the two biggest complaints people have about this store is there are not enough staff on hand, resulting in waiting in line at cutting table and checkout, and the second complaint is not enough high-​end fabrics like silks, linens and wools. I can tell you that the district office only allows for a certain amount of staff hours, so the manager (who is a very hard-​working person who always tries her best to make her customers happy) is prevented from scheduling enough salespeople. Also, the individual stores have no say in what fabrics are shipped to them. Even if our customers constantly asked for better quality fabrics, the manager has no authority to order what her customers are looking for. All of these things are decided by the District Office. They are constantly sending cheap home knick-​knicks and polyester leece. So my point is, if you have complaints about how the store is run, you have to contact home office. The employees at the store are completely powerless to make any changes in staff or inventory. That being said, the store does maintain an ample collection of Polar Fleece and discount fabrics, plus a lot of cute cotton prints for sundresses, pajamas or quilting. It has fantastic sales on a weekly basis where you can get amazing deals, and the hours are great — very convenient — with ample parking.

I find this store really frustrating. It’s pretty small, and kind of disorganized and tends to be a mess. It’s often understaffed and the employees aren’t in much of a hurry. They just recently upgraded the registers to computers (it was very old school before that), but as of my last purchase they still hand-​write the fabric size & number when they cut it, and sometimes errors are made and prices are wrong. They share a parking lot with 2 strip malls and it is often crowded — if you have to go in the winter when there is snow — ugh! Unless I’m being lazy or am in a hurry, I would rather drive out to one of the Jo-​Ann stores (Countryside or Chicago) where the selection is way better.

A little small. I feel like between this place and the Michael’s next-​door they make one Jo-Ann’s. Still, they had what I needed and it was on sale, though it seems like something is on sale here all the time. Even something that wasn’t labeled as on sale actually was. And its defintely much closer than any Jo-Ann’s.

At some point, the entire store was remodeled. There is still an array of random useless junk like wrought iron flower stands, but it’s better than before. The store no longer looks like it was straight out of 1973 and the layout is clear.
Hancock still has some of the best sales around on notions and patterns, but I’m not thrilled with the cotton fabrics. They are all located towards the front of the store, but there is a definite lack of designers like Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman. Overall, it’s an alright place!

i like this hancock’s a lot. Big and a very, very good selection of craft items along with the usual yarn/​fabric/​etc.