Ragfinery

I love their selection of fabrics. It is so much fun to browse. I always find more than I am looking for. It is well organized and has a great staff of friendly volunteers PLUS great low prices… literally far less than half of what you would pay at a retail store!

I LOVE this place! It’s so inspiring to see how creative people can be, and to get some inspiration for my own creations. I only know how to knit, but I have so much fun looking at all of the variety of materials that are available. I hope to take one of the sewing classes soon so I can make my kiddos some fun costumes one day. Clean, well lighted building with helpful staff. Everything is sold by the pound, so there are some great bargains to be had. Also, you are recycling, so win-​win-​win!

This is the most fun second-​hand textile store that I could imagine! Bins of so many different, wonderful fabrics. I only wish that I lived in Bham so that I could take some of the classes. It’s a store with a cause, too. Actually, many causes, if you count recycling.

Do you love fabric? Do you love to create things with it? Do you dream of buying cast-​off thrift store clothing, cutting it apart, and re-​assembling it into something fantastic? Do you want to learn to do these things, even though you’ve never touched a sewing maching? Are you just a creative person looking for new things to do? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Ragfinery, as defined on its website, is a place that «sells upcycled goods, fabric, yarn, sewing notions, and much more.» You will find fabric in every variety, some of it in flat-​folds but a lot of it in the form of dresses and other clothing that are sold by the pound (anywhere for $ 1.60/pound to $ 5.50/pound depending what you’re looking at). On a recent trip I bought a LOT of stuff (including four, yes FOUR spools of serger thread, plus tons of fabric, fat quarters, and several articles of interesting clothing that I upcycled into a new dress) for less than $ 20. They also offer vintage patterns for just 50-​cents/​each, plus a huge variety of magazines and books. In the front of the store you can peruse the racks to see what sorts of interesting creations people are coming up with using Ragfinery products. Personally I was inspired by several lovely bags and purses made out of donated upholstery fabric. I’m adding that to my «to do» list when I’ve finished the other 472 projects I’m currently working on!
In addition to their fun selection of items to buy, Ragfinery also offers sewing classes. They also have fun events (last night I attended a fashion show featuring items made from old wedding gowns — the creativity demonstrated at this event blew my mind)! And if you really want to get involved, you can even volunteer your time to work in the store or teach classes.
Come here, you will definitely find plenty of things you «need» to feed your sewing addiction!

Ragfinery is a wonderful place to donate and purchase textiles of all sorts — yarns, fabric remnants, clothing, notions, patterns. They offer beginner-​level craft classes. The location is very convenient and there’s free street parking.