Sew What Fabrics in Crystal City is moving to a new, larger location just down the street.
Sew What opened last summer inside Old Towne Furniture, located at 312 Bailey Road, not long after Joann Fabric closed in the Twin City Mall.
Mike Cords, 61, of Crystal City, owner of Old Towne Furniture, said he opened Sew What to fill the gap left by Joann’s closure.
“This town needs sewing. You wouldn’t believe how many people just love sewing,” he said.
Sew What quickly outgrew the small area inside of Old Town Furniture, Cords said, and it was time to expand.
Luckily, Cords also owns a building just a few doors down at 302 Bailey Road.
Cords said he was able to renovate the building by painting, adding new flooring, installing custom shelving for fabric and adding a custom-built checkout counter.
The larger location will allow Sew What to expand its material and batting selections, as well as to offer more sewing and quilting supplies and items.
The new space will also have a classroom space, which will allow Sew What to offer sewing classes for up to six students, starting June 6.
The classes will be taught by Roger Thompson, who has been teaching sewing for more than 20 years, most recently for more than four years at Joann Fabrics.
The sewing classes will be welcoming for all skill levels, with beginning and intermediate classes available.
Children 12 and older may enroll in a sewing class as long as the parent is in the class with them.
“There’s a lot of younger people who come in, and they really want to learn,” Cords said.
The classes will take place during daytime hours, but they could eventually offer evening classes as well, he said.
Upcoming sewing projects include an envelope pillow, pajama pants or shorts and a feed sack tote.
All items needed for the sewing class will be available for purchase at the store.
Current classes cost between $25 and $40 per person. The classroom also will have free open studio hours where people can come in for help with their personal projects or to ask any questions.
In addition to Sew What moving to the new location, Cords said his current vendors in Old Towne Furniture, which include sellers of handmade jewelry, vintage items, crafts items and more, will move down to the new building as well.
“We’re hoping when we’re completely done to have around 100 vendors,” he said. “The neat part over there is there’s going to be creator space, which nobody has done around here. People don’t get to see that stuff unless you go to somewhere like St. Louis or Silver Dollar City.”
Cords said he plans on having days where creators of all different types demonstrate how they do their craft, such as artists who cut and polish geodes, blow glass or perform metalwork.
Cords said it will offer a unique experience for shoppers.
“It’s seeing something that people don’t normally see. Maybe it’s a hands-on experience, or maybe it’s just a watch and learn experience,” he said.
In tandem with moving Sew What to its new location, Cords has been renovating Old Towne Furniture as well, putting in updated flooring, new windows, new lighting and repainting.
Cords also plans on rearranging his stock, separating furniture onto one side of the store and putting bedding on the other.
Cords said Old Towne Furniture has been open for close to four years, and he has purchased many of the buildings on the block during that time.
He said he plans to renovate the buildings and be selective about who he rents the finished spaces to so he can hopefully restore the entire area to its former glory.
“It’s nowhere near what it used to be, and that was kind of the disheartening thing for me,” he said. “I grew up in the area, so I saw a lot of businesses that were here that really weren’t doing anything, and it was because they didn’t know how, or they didn’t have the means to.
“When I bought it, my primary goal was not to run my business, but to rejuvenate the whole block.”
Both Old Towne Furniture and Sew What Fabric’s hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. They are closed on Sunday.
Cords said it is possible that hours at Sew What may eventually change based on different shopping patterns they see emerge at the new location.
The upcoming class schedule can be found on Sew What’s Facebook page.
To sign up for classes, call the shop at 636-937-4469.