Long-running fabric and craft retailer Lincraft has announced it will close its remaining physical stores across Australia and New Zealand and shift to an online-only model.
Lincraft, one of Australia and New Zealand’s best-known fabric, yarn and craft retailers, has announced it will close the remainder of its physical store network and move fully online.
For generations of sewists, quilters, knitters, crocheters, school-project parents, last-minute costume makers and “I only came in for one zipper” shoppers, Lincraft has been part of the creative landscape. The retailer began as a Melbourne market stall in 1938 and grew into a familiar name for fabric, haberdashery, yarn, patterns, homewares and craft supplies.
According to ABC News, the company has confirmed that the closure of its store network will take place progressively, with Lincraft citing changing customer behaviour, rising operating costs and pressure from low-cost overseas competitors as part of the decision. Around 300 staff are expected to be affected, with the company stating that employee entitlements will be paid.
Lincraft will continue trading online while the transition takes place.
What This Means For Crafters
For many Australian and New Zealand crafters, this news will feel like the end of an era. Online shopping is wonderfully convenient — especially when you know exactly what brand, weight, colour or fabric type you want — but there is something very different about being able to wander an aisle, feel the fabric, compare yarn colours in real light and convince yourself that yes, you absolutely do need another metre “just in case.”
Fabric and yarn shopping has always been a tactile experience. Quilters like to see how prints sit beside each other. Sewists want to check the drape of a fabric. Knitters and crocheters want to squish the yarn. And let’s be honest, half the joy of a craft store visit is discovering something you had no intention of buying but suddenly cannot possibly live without.
The move also comes at a time when many crafters are already changing how they buy supplies. Some are shopping more online, some are turning to independent local stores, and others are digging deeper into their stash — which, in many of our cases, could probably qualify as its own postcode.
If you are using this as a gentle nudge to sort through your fabric shelves, our guide to decluttering your quilting stash is a good place to start. And if you are trying to use what you already have, these scrap quilting ideas and fabric scrap projects are exactly the sort of practical, stash-friendly inspiration we all need.
Lincraft’s Online Future
While the shopfronts are closing, Lincraft is not disappearing entirely. The company has said it will continue to operate online, allowing customers to keep purchasing craft, sewing, yarn and home supplies through its website.
That does soften the blow a little, especially for crafters in regional areas who already rely heavily on mail order. But it is still a big shift for shoppers who depended on a local store for matching thread, emergency interfacing, school concert fabric, last-minute buttons or that one ball of yarn needed to finish a blanket.
For beginners, physical stores can also be a quiet kind of teacher. You learn by touching different fabrics, reading labels, comparing tools and asking questions. Losing more bricks-and-mortar craft spaces means crafters may need to rely even more on tutorials, online communities and trusted supply sources.
If you are new to sewing or quilting and feeling a little overwhelmed by online supply shopping, start with the basics: a good rotary cutter, a self-healing cutting mat, quality thread, sharp scissors and fabric you actually love. For quilting fabrics and precuts, shops like Fat Quarter Shop, Connecting Threads and AccuQuilt can be useful online alternatives, while Amazon is handy for basic tools, storage tubs, cutting mats and those boring-but-essential supplies that always vanish when you need them.
A Sad Moment For The Craft Aisle
There is no denying this will be sad news for many makers. Lincraft has been part of school projects, first sewing machines, handmade Christmas gifts, baby blankets, charity knitting, costume emergencies and countless “just browsing” craft trips that somehow ended with a full basket.
Craft retail has changed enormously over the past decade, and this announcement is another reminder that the way we shop for supplies is shifting quickly. Online shopping gives us access to more choice than ever, but local craft stores — whether big chains or small independents — offer something that is harder to replace: community, inspiration and the joy of seeing colours and textures in person.
If you still have an independent fabric shop, yarn store or quilting store nearby, this might be the week to pop in, buy that thread, book that class, or finally pick up the backing fabric you have been putting off. These shops are more than shelves of supplies. They are where beginners get brave, where experienced makers find inspiration, and where many of us remember why we started crafting in the first place.
For now, Lincraft customers will be watching for closure timelines and online updates as the retailer works through the transition.
And somewhere, in craft rooms across Australia and New Zealand, there are probably quite a few of us looking at our fabric stash and thinking, “Well… maybe I should go and get one last metre.”