One thing that I’ve learned in 9 years of owning Fabrications is that customers will communicate to you their desires and their interests by where they invest their hard-earned dollars.
When we brought in yarn in fall of 2020, we wanted to expand our product assortment into a fibre craft area that was near and dear to my heart and to those of many of our staff. We’ve worked hard over the last five years to bring in an assortment of yarn and yarn related products that aren’t widely available in Ottawa, and we hoped that customers would be as excited and inspired as we were. We’ve loved discovering new brands and finding new products from all over the world, and it has been a joy to teach and share our love of knitting and crochet with so many wonderful people.
However, despite many many customers telling us that they love our yarn selection and how they love how beautiful it is, and how many amazing projects they’ve shared with us, the most important message that customers have communicated to us with their dollars is that yarn is not something they want.
In October and November, as I opened many huge boxes of beautiful new yarns, and all I could see was that I would have to sell most of it at deep discounts and that it would take a very long time to sell. A skein of yarn on our shelves takes about 8 months to sell, whereas everything else in the store takes about 75 days. A skein of yarn makes about 18% profit, which is not sustainable. About 20% of our floor space and inventory value is in yarn, and it is only generating about 8% of total sales.
As much as I would love to continue to carry yarn at Fabrications, I have to stop being sentimental about it, and instead make the hard decision to no longer carry yarn. We’ve given it our very best shot, and we’re not sorry for trying. We have loved the customers and events that yarn has brought into the store, and we’re excited to see what you all knit next!
We’re also excited by our plans for what we can do in the space that yarn used to occupy. Having the freed up cash-flow will allow us to carry even more apparel fabrics, and to make sure that we are always well stocked on the notions and tools that have been difficult to keep in stock.
I want to assure everyone that Fabrications Ottawa is NOT going anywhere. Our business is VERY strong and we are GROWING. In fact, we grew by approximately 18% in 2025, and that growth was not only due to selling sewing machines. Every other department in the store, in particular apparel fabrics, precuts, quilt kits, embroidery and cutting tools grew in 2025 over 2024. We also hit a MAJOR milestone in November that most small businesses, and more so, only about 1% of fabric stores in North America ever achieve.
So, what happens now? As of today, we are no longer taking any returns or exchanges on yarn or yarn products. All yarn and yarn related sales are final. Yarn and yarn related products will be marked down by increasing amounts over the course of January and into February. While you will find better deals the longer you wait, the less variety and the less inventory you will have to choose from. Every yarn or yarn related sale over the $100 (after discounts, before taxes or shipping) will receive a surprise gift! Orders over $100 will get a needle or stitch marker etc. Orders over $250 will get a knitting book or tool etc. Orders over $500 will be a needle set or project bag etc.
I hope that you can understand that this was a very hard decision that I’ve been putting off for about 18months, and I thank you for that understanding and for the trust you place in us by shopping with us at Fabrications.
-Faustina