The Cotton Cupboard quilt and sew shop was officially open for business last July.
It is located southwest of Austin by Lake Travis and is the only fabric store of any kind that is less than 20 miles from Lakeway. Owned by former mortgage underwriter Jessica Dieterle who has been sewing and quilting for 30 years, The Cotton Cupboard has proven to be quite a success among the sewing and quilting community of Lakeway.
A large selection of fabrics and different tools for quilting and sewing are offered at The Cotton Cupboard. These include over 2000 bolts of fabric, 500 of those belonging on a massive color wall, along with a notions wall displaying different typed of fabric scissors, needles, and other notions necessary for quilting and sewing. There is also a Mettler thread case and fat quarters cut for every fabric offered in the store.
There are quilting and sewing classes offered every week from sewing classes for five year olds to home decor and fashion classes. In between there is a bag of the month class offered the first Wednesday of each month, a block of the month class offered the first Monday of each month, up cycle classes offered every Monday and Wednesday from 1-4 p.m., and a finish me night offered every Wednesday from 5-9 p.m. for people to come in and get expert advice on pieces they’ve been working on.
“All the classes are hands on teaching,” said the owner of The Cotton Cupboard Jessica Dieterle, “No lecture teaching.”
These classes are held in the design studio in the back of the store which has a 12-foot sewing table and a design wall. There are also sewing machines on site for those that don’t have one or don’t want to bring their own. These things are available for use by anyone when classes are not in session.
Other services offered at The Cotton Cupboard include embroidery and monogramming. There are staff members that will even make a custom quilt specifically for the customer. For those that prefer to quilt themselves there is purple Melting long arm machine, the only one in Texas, available for rent by the hour.
“We have named her Polly,” said Dieterle.
Being a local of Lakeway, Jessica tries to use the store give back to the community as much as she can. Some of the stores current involvements are instructional classes for girl scouts and boy scouts as well as one donation quilt for each school in the district to raffle off in fundraisers. The Cotton Cupboard is currently working on quilts for Serene Hills elementary and the Lake Travis high school marching band.
“At The Cotton Cupboard we welcome all additional opportunities to contribute to our community,” said Dieterle.
Along with being a community-based shop, everything from furniture to artwork displayed in the store is all bought or made locally. Even coffee from the locally owned Java Dive is brewed in the store and available to the customers for free along with fresh baked cookies made by Jessica’s own daughter.
“Everything in the store was bought in support of out own community,” said Dieterle.
The staff of The Cotton Cupboard prides themselves in excellent customer service by doing their best to make every customer feel like they’ve come home.
“The store is dedicated to my mom,” said Dieterle. “She always made everyone feel at home and taught me how to sew.”
To go along with the homey feel, there is a lounge area in one corner of the store with free wi-fi.
“For husbands to sit and relax while their wives shop,” said Dieterle. “It feels like you’re sitting in someone’s living room.”
The Cotton Cupboard is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. On Wednesdays the store is open until 9 p.m.