Zimman’s

I can’t say enough good about the selection, staff, and prices at Zimman’s! I went in a little nervous after reading reviews about it being overwhelming and some staff being unfriendly. I needed fabric to reupholster dining chairs and make a curtain for the dining room, and had no idea where to start. Like an idiot, I walked in, went up to the first employee I saw, and said «Hi, I have no idea what I’m doing.» For the next ~2 hours Laura and I went around the floor, picked out chair fabrics and coordinating curtain fabrics to match the wallpaper sample I’d brought. She knew EVERY bolt of fabric on that floor — and there were about 4 zillion of them. I walked out with 3 matched sets of fabric samples (which, yes, you have to pay for, but seriously — It came to like $ 25 and was WELL worth it) and went home to discuss with my husband. I called Laura the next day, and she figured out how much I’d need and placed an order to be shipped to me (since it would be a while before I could get back there.)
Let me tell you, it was FUN. We had FUN and Laura took what could have been a terrifying retail experience and made it into a stinking delight. She had brilliant fabric suggestions and stayed very respectful of my budget the whole time. I wish I had more things to upholster so I could go back more often! My dining room is going to look completely amazing, and I owe much of that to Laura and Zimman’s!

I called ZImmans to ask for a specific fabric to assist with a home curtain project I was attempting. I was told to ask for Patty Forster, so I asked for her specifically. As soon as she got on the phone, she said she wasn’t interested and yelled at me, and hung up. When I called back again asking for her, thinking she thought I was somebody else, she went on a tirade saying she wasn’t interested in buying media and she’d call the police if I called again. I had no idea what she was talking about, and was shocked by her behavior. I’m still assuming she thought I was somebody else, but regardless– that’s not the type of attitude she should represent her company with. Needless to say, I never purchased anything from Zimmans. But I certainly let my friends know that the way they treat their customers is simply awful. Management should review her employment status, because she’s probably lost many customers due to her temper.

Well worth the trip from Metrowest! Selection is large, but not over-​powering. My interior designer friend suggested I go here first, before getting swallowed up by the Boston Design Center. I was looking for quality fabric to reupholster two good quality couches that I want to hold on to. I quickly figured out the well-​done fabric organization and zeroed in on my favorite bolt. A pleasant but ultra cool man offered advice when I asked and was very helpful. In the end, I bought 40 yards of pricey fabric which would have been double pricey at the BDC and am having them do the reupholstery. Lots of knowledgeable people in this store willing to help you if you want it, willing to leave you alone if you’re «just looking.» At the end of the transaction, I found out my pleasant gentleman was Mr. Zimman himseslf. Touché.
My only reason for not going to five stars is that there is a lot of fabric there that I couldn’t bear to look at, but I guess other people may appreciate cut velvet/​brocade. Not me. Search and it may be there. They also do custom orders from sample books… I’ll be back.

LOVED my trip to Zimman’s. If you love great fabric & have decorating projects in mind, you will not leave here empty-​handed. There are rows & rows of bolts of fabric, both on big metal racks – even up to the ceiling around the perimeter, plus endcaps with large containers full of more, and more, and more fabric.
While I agree with the reviews who say it is ‘not cheap’, I want to add that everything I looked at was priced fair. I’m thrilled with my $ 18/​yard gorgeous chair cushion fabric, though I fell in love with others that were more expensive, and would have been worth the price.
I found the staff wonderfully helpful. No one hovered while we shopped, but all people I talked with were very helpful, even when asking their opinions on choices for notions, lengths & having enough fabric for my project.
They get 4 stars because I would like to see a few more options for contemporary patterns, but overall, this store rocks. Whether you are decorating a whole house, or re-​covering some chairs, you will be happy you came here.

Not cheap! Was never approached to see if help was needed, which was rather disappointing considering how difficult it is to reach certain fabrics. Will probably go to JoAnn’s next time…

Yes, the selection is HUGE, but it is crazy expensive, whether you are wealthy or not. Not worth the drive, not worth the value. To re-​uphoster my chair using any of their fabric is more expensive than buying the chair new. So I went to Sewfisticated in Framingham and found a cool brown velvet zebra upholstery for $ 6.99/yard!

I’ve heard about Zimmans forever. Now it’s time to reupholster a club chair and ottoman so of course I had to go to Zimmans. They have a large selection at reasonable prices. I didn’t think the service was all that great. No one approached me during the hour and a half I browsed their selection of fabric. I wandered upstairs to their furniture showroom and got a quote to reupholster my chair. The price seemed a little high but maybe it works out in the end with the discounted fabric.
The woman who gave me the quote was very nice, answered all of my questions and I was confident that the work would be done well. I’m not sure about the service in the fabric department… what’s the building 19 saying. suffer and save???

I drove a distance because I thought Zimman’s would have what I needed to re-​cover a special chair. From the moment I walked in, I was turned off by the attitude. Yes, as others have mentioned, Zimman’s has a huge selection of fabrics and notions. It is two floors packed with bolts of fabric. For this reason, service would be helpful. There is no service at Zimman’s. I could barely get directions to where in the store a particular item might be.
I shudder when I think about what an unpleasant experience I had at Zimman’s.

Have you heard the rhyme, «Lynn, Lynn, city of sin, you never come out the way you went in»? It’s an old-​timey rhyme, but it definitely still applies at least in terms of the fabric world! After visiting Zimman’s you will NEVER be able to go to another fabric store without a small amount of disdain. Zimman’s has an amazing staff, a huge selection and an outrageous discount basement. For example, today I was casually scouring the Zimman’s cotton remants pile and found 3.5 yrds of a Scalamadre fabric for $ 35 total! Even a décor amateur like me knows that Scalamandre is usually $ 75/​yd and upwards! I felt like I was committing highway robbery! Definitely visit Zimman’s, just note that it’s NOT open on Sundays. Street parking is pretty abundant in Lynn, and it has retained some old New England industrial charm. Here’s the end of the rhyme:
Lynn, Lynn, city of sin
You never come out the way you went in.
Ask for water they give you a gin
the girls say no but always give in

Zimman’s is awesome! I must have said that at least 14 times to my girlfriend when we left. We went in looking for fabric for curtains for our kitchen windows, we had been to other places and no one comes close to having the amount of selection that Zimman’s.
Zimman’s has a HUGE selection of fabrics, some funky, some older style, some modern, something pretty much for everyone. The prices can be high, but the quality is excellent. Downstairs they have fabrics that have been discontinued or the remains of fabric that was left over, it’s worth a look if you only need a little bit.
Upstairs on the 2^nd and 3^rd floor there is a furniture emporium. While we only got to look around for a few minutes, the pieces that they had upstairs were amazing and inspirational. I can’t wait to go back to Zimman’s, even if it’s only to walk around and check out the furniture emporium more.
We ended up getting our fabric, and it ended up not costing as much as we thought. The curtains are up and it’s official, we picked out a great choice!

This place is dusty, old, and filled with some fun stuff if you take the time to mill through it. It has virtually anything one would want in this kind of store and you could spend hours there.
If it was in a better location with some actual off street parking I think there’d be a bigger draw to it but because of that they’ve probably lost some ground to other bigger chain stores.
This is truly a Lynn Landmark and a good place to go on a treasure hunt if you have the interest and the time.

If you want rows upon rows… upon more rows, of classic home décor fabric, this is your spot. I had high expectations, maybe too high. There is a wide selection of colors, patterns, and types of fabric, it’s just all pretty standard, no unique gems. There was a small selection of some «hipper» fabric but it was thin cotton and not durable enough for what I was going for. So, verdict on the fabric selection: it’s probably worth a shot if you’re going a more traditional route in your project.
The customer service is on the weak side. If the person at the counter is already helping someone else, you’re pretty much out of luck for a while. When I finally did talk to someone, she kind of brushed me off onto another staff member who walked the floor. He helped me as well as he could, but I ended up walking out empty handed.
I had to go online to find what I needed ultimately. Zimman’s is good for what it is, but don’t expect the moon and the stars.

Unfortunately, Zimmans doesn’t really have any competition in the higher-​end home decorating fabric world. If they did, they couldn’t survive. It’s not the best of it’s kind, except in Boston. To get some of these kinds of fabrics you have to go through a decorator and pay tons more. But Zimmans doesn’t know the meaning of customer service. NO WHERE else has the nerve to refuse to give you fabric samples. You have to *buy* a sample of ¹⁄₈ of a yard. It’s ridiculous if you just need small bits to check for color matching.

Excellent selection. Beautiful home decorating fabric. Best to go early when the staff is available to cut fabric and offer advice. Very knowledgeable staff. Overall a pleasant experience in spite of the location. Worth the trip!

Zimman’s is like an amusement park or a toy store for any lover of textiles. They have an enormous selection of home décor fabrics including some very high end designs. You’ll find anything from Ralph Lauren to Marimeko fabrics here at reasonable prices. Some are VERY expensive fabrics that I would still consider reasonably priced for their quality. This is NOT like a Jo-Ann’s which despite their recent addition of more quality home fabrics is still more on the crafty end of the fabric world.
Upstairs you will find a selection of upholstered furniture and other decorative items, though a little pricey and for someone with an older taste.
Downstairs you will find pillow and foam, but also the bargain fabrics, which are leftovers, discontinued and odd amounts from bolts. GREAT place to look if you only need a small amount of fabric or if you’re just looking to experiment. Also good for fabric scraps to make costumes with.
Which leads me to the one reason I can’t give Zimman’s 5 stars — lack of garment fabrics. It’s hard to find good garment fabrics around here and I feel like they’d make a killing if they started carrying them. They do have some fabrics that could be used for clothing, but I’d never consider them a store for that, which is their ONLY downside.
People come from all over to go to Zimman’s which is why it’s location always gave me a chuckle. It’s been there forever and it makes me laugh sometimes to see these hoity-​toity women in expensive cars pull up and ask for drapery fabric for their 50 foot windows in their Martha’s Vineyard summer home.
The staff, for the most part, is friendly and helpful. I’ve encountered a few rude older folks that work there, but the younger employees are very helpful. There’s a few people I went to high school with that still work there too, and they’re all great with customers as well.
Check this place out for home décor needs. As for garment fabric, I guess the Internet is still my best resource.