Sew Pinellas was on my radar after shopping with their sister company Porcelynne and picking up at their old warehouse. I knew the owner found this space and was expanding to have a true retail location that could also host sewing classes. After Joann's closed and Jays had been closed for a while, it was depressing thinking about how the closest garment fabric stores are all a road trip away. Enter: sew Pinellas
This isn't the type of shop where you'll be able to find a thousand mind-blowing fabrics. But it is the type of shop that builds a community and offers good deals. I went in today since I finally had a few minutes and they were open (note: don't trust google for times, go to their facebook page and see what they post for a given week). The owner and one employee were there and asked if I was looking for anything (not really) and left me to wander some after letting me know about the $1 grab bags, $1 patterns, $2 books, and a special selection of fabric marked down to $2/yard for a limited time.
I ended up pulling two precut fabrics (1.25y of solid red woven cotton for $5, 2y of an obnoxious synthetic knit for $16) and had them cut a few yards of elastic for a couple bucks. I know this location has tons of classes and camps for kids to learn, which gives me a lot of hope that they'll be around for a long while. The sister company still sells all the cool bra and lingerie materials, but it's sectioned off from the customer area, barring some of the specialty elastics/casings/materials available in the shop.
I had a lot of fun digging through things I didn't need! read more