Calico

OK this is tough. I start by saying its a good thing I’m secure in my manhood. First, the name of this place is unacceptable. But they do better than their name suggests– most of their fabrics are far from the catlady, country kitsch craftey junk I expected. It’s like they got stuck with the name, like dress barn or something, and they just can’t pull the trigger on fixin it.
Going in here at lunch was an estrogen packed experience. But all the Barrington ladies were super nice helping me find the fabric I went here looking for… even if I sensed they were trying to figure out if I was really straight the whole time.
Fabric prices aren’t outrageous, but aren’t cheap either. But 99% of the time I think you get what you pay for with fabric. I didn’t really consider their rates for sewing up stuff; they were more cash than I was interested in paying for rainnostain lined rectangles with a buckram header.
The fourth star is for what inspired me to drag my ass in here in the first place– whomever at Calico headquarters had the good sense to stock the thomas paul for Duralee fabrics. Being able to drop in and check out samples overnight for free saved me a lot of wasted time and expense dealing with buying swatches online. Once I knew exactly what I wanted, Calico shipped be 20 yards in about a week. A weekend of sweatshop labor sewing at my dining table and I have the coolest new set of dining room drapery in town. They have momma birds feeding worms to baby birds on ‘em– yeah, they’re pretty damned cute. Thanks Calico Corners!