Fabric Junction-A History Lesson

Fabric Junction hasn't always been this bustling quilting business you see and hear about today.  Yes, Terry has been sewing since before 6th grade.  But the store got its start when Terry wanted to sew clothes for her children, back in the 70's.  As her expertise grew, Terry was asked to create and repair clothes for friends and family.  From there she expanded to baby blankets.  In 1982, she started entering craft fairs.  Crocheted and baby nursery items were her favorite things to enter. 

Soon she started sewing formal wear-prom and wedding dresses for the ladies, and tuxedos for the men.  Along with creating original apparel, she started doing alteration work for the public.  With a daughter who was a dancer, Terry quickly learned how to make dance costumes.  She was hired to create costumes for many dance troupes in the Black Hills.  She was also asked to make costumes for an old west bar in Deadwood, and costumes for various theater productions in Rapid City.  Although she sewed clothes for other people, Terry had been quilting for herself for years. Her earliest quilts were quilted on a sewing machine, taking a week to finish after the piecing.

She opened her store in 1998.  Originally, she offered fabric for clothes and quilting.  In 1999, she bought her first long-arm machine.  This allowed her to add quilting services to her repertoire.

As the store became more successful, she spent most of her time offering fabric, notions, and service for the quilting side.  She started traveling to quilting shows all over the U.S. in 2004.  This allowed her to expand her knowledge in fabric and technique.  She also became well known here in South Dakota.  She eventually needed a business partner to help with all of the responsibilities.  She partnered with one of her sons, Chris, in 2012.  Chris soon became indispensable with his knowledge of sewing machines, embroidery, buying, and administrative duties, to name a few.  The same year, they decided to carry Baby Lock sewing machines.  The store is now an authorized dealer and a huge source of machines and support in our area.

As the store grew, the footprint of the brick and mortar store grew from 600 square feet to 2400 square feet.  At this point, we're busting at the seams with fabric, notions, two long arm machines, and multiple finished projects that beautify the walls in the store!  We boast six employees who are almost as knowledgeable as Chris about our fabrics, notions, and services.  All of our employees are sewers, so they completely understand your struggles and triumphs as you work through your projects.  Online, our store has expanded our business beyond our state borders.  We currently ship nationally and internationally on a regular basis.  It's a fun part of our day to see where all of our customers live.

Throughout Terry's journey, she has been an advocate for teaching what she knows.  Because of this she started a YouTube channel in 2013.  To date, over 24,000 subscribe to her channel to watch her clearly explain how to make quilts, table runners, scarves, pillow cases, and other beautiful projects.  We have also expanded into Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.  We hope to continue to reach people with our quality fabric art.

Terry's history with her store has been one of love, hard work, and service.  We can't wait to see what happens in the next 20 years!