- Michaels acquired JOANN's intellectual property and private label brands, and will carry products from now-closed JOANN stores.
- This includes the popular JOANN brand Big Twist yarn, a cult-favorite product.
- This is part of a big expansion into sewing supplies and notions for the craft store.
If you’re anything like me, the news that JOANN is closing was a devastating blow. I've spent hundreds of hours in the aisles of JOANN, and even though I stocked up at the going out of business sales, I’m going to miss shopping there.
The final JOANN locations just closed their doors at the end of May. But a surprising hero is stepping in to save some cult-favorite products from the grave.
Michaels stores just announced they have acquired the intellectual property and private label brands of JOANN. The Joann.com website now automatically redirects to the Michaels website, which reads "Welcome to Michaels, JOANN fans! It’s hard to lose a store you love. We’re here to help."
Michaels will be carrying select JOANN brands in stores, expanding their offerings in yarn, sewing supplies and sewing notions with more than 600 new items. The move is part of Michaels's larger expansion into sewing supplies and fabric. The chain did not acquire the physical storefront locations that JOANN used to occupy, but will be offering some bestselling JOANN items in Michaels stores.
What’s the biggest JOANN product that’s being rescued? It’s the cult-favorite Big Twist yarn, which is popular among budget crafters (not to mention my go-to yarn brand). Big Twist is beloved because it has a lot of different colors and is a low-cost option for a hobby that can quickly get expensive. ($5 per skein of yarn doesn’t seem like a big deal until you need 6 different colors — and don’t get me started on running out of yarn halfway through a project!)
Big Twist yarn is noticeably softer and nicer to work with than other inexpensive acrylic yarn brands, which can be scratchy. But I’ll admit I’m biased — sitting on my desk next to me as I write are coasters I made from Big Twist yarn.
Beyond my personal excitement (and the good news for crafters!), this is a big deal for two other reasons.
It’s a big product expansion for Michaels.
Michaels is on the move. They recently announced a 200% expansion to their party supplies, trying to fill the hole left by Party City closing. Now they are expanding their yarn and sewing supplies to help close the gap left by JOANN.
According to a press release we received, searches for “sewing” are up 39% since last year on Michaels.com. Their expanded offerings featuring 600 new products will include sewing machines, thread, interfacing, batting, specialty scissors, sewing notions and more, aimed at both beginner and expert sewists. They are also expanding their yarn assortment by 25% to help feed the crochet crafting trend, ensuring a well-stocked yarn aisle for fiber arts fans.
It’s niche yarn drama.
Big Twist was JOANN’s house brand yarn. It’s a bold move for Michaels to carry Big Twist because Michaels already has a house brand yarn called Loops and Threads. Big Twist and Loops and Threads were direct competitors in the budget yarn space. It’s like if Walmart started selling Target brands — it’s a definite surprise, if you care about the niche world of cheap yarn, that is.
In my opinion, Big Twist is better quality. To put it politely, Loops and Threads does not have the cult-favorite product following that Big Twist does. With Michaels snapping up Big Twist to put back into distribution, it looks like Big Twist wins this round of the battle of the yarns, while crafters win overall with the expansion of Michaels's products.
Sarah Vincent (she/her) covers the latest and greatest in books and all things pets for Good Housekeeping. She double majored in Creative Writing and Criminal Justice at Loyola University Chicago, where she sat in the front row for every basketball game. In her spare time, she loves cooking, crafting, studying Japanese, and, of course, reading.
