Torrance Quilt Shop With $45 Classes: AAA Sewing & Fabric

AAA Sewing & Fabric is where South Bay quilters go when they need fabric, a class and a machine fixed in the same stop. The family-run shop at 3873 Pacific Coast Hwy in Torrance stocks quilting cotton, notions and patterns, sells eight machine brands, and runs a repair bench staffed by factory-trained technicians. Its website says it has worked on sewing machines for 49 years.

The business is older than its current address. A 2014 press release from Bernina described AAA Sewing and Fabric as an authorized dealer that had served the South Bay for 37 years, owned and operated by a second-generation family, and placed it then on Pacific Coast Highway in Lomita. The shop has since moved east along the same highway to Torrance, and its web page title still mentions Lomita.

Those decades show up in the repair department. The website says the technicians have worked on vintage, basic and state-of-the-art machines for 49 years, and that every repair is done on site rather than shipped away. The service desk handles all models and brands of sewing machines, sergers and embroidery machines, so you can bring in a grandmother's metal workhorse or a new computerised model.

AAA is an authorized sales and service retailer for Bernina, Baby Lock, Brother, Pfaff, Arrow, Viking, Koala and Horn, which means you can compare several brands side by side before buying, and sit at a cabinet from Arrow, Koala or Horn to see how a machine would fit your sewing room. That breadth is rare for an independent shop and is the main reason people drive in from the Peninsula and the beach cities.

The fabric side leans toward quilters. The shop carries a large variety of quilting cotton, along with a full line of notions, threads, quilting supplies and patterns. It also stocks AccuQuilt cutting systems, Kimberbell designs, OESD embroidery products and designs from smaller embroidery houses such as Sweet Pea and Embroidery Garden, so machine embroiderers can buy their designs and stabilizer at the same counter.

The in-person class list is built as a ladder for new sewists. The Sewing Made Simple series includes a Zip N Dash Bag, which teaches zipper insertion in a single session, and a Drawstring Bag, each priced at $45. The next step is a Quilted Table Runner, pieced and finished over two Saturday sessions for $60, with the supply list provided at checkout so you arrive ready to cut.

If you buy a machine here, the New Machine Owner Class is free. Owners of machines bought elsewhere pay a fee of $100 to $300 per class depending on the model, which is a strong nudge to buy locally. The shop also runs virtual events. A Kimberbell one-day virtual event called Mrs. Claus is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, from 9am to 4pm Pacific, at $109 with everything but thread and stabilizer included.

Much of the teaching comes from Salima, whose Salima Creates blog and machine-software clubs are linked from the shop's site. Customer reviews posted by the shop single her out for patient, well-organised lessons on embroidery software such as My Design Center. The store also streams classes and sales on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube, which keeps regulars connected between visits.

Finishing a big quilt is the hurdle for many hobbyists, and AAA has a neat answer. Bubba's Quilting & More, a long-arm quilting service run by Kathy, says on its own website that it is at AAA Sewing & Fabric in Torrance on the first and third Tuesday of each month. You can bring a finished quilt top, talk through pantograph designs and thread colours, and hand it off for quilting.

Bubba's offers free pickup and delivery, and its site shows photos of the pantographs it stitches, so it is worth browsing those before your Tuesday visit. Pairing the two businesses makes AAA a practical one-stop shop: buy the backing and binding fabric inside, then meet Kathy at the same address to get the quilting scheduled.

The website lists the hours as Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and closed on Sunday and Monday. Those hours are shorter than many retail shops, so plan repairs and fabric runs for weekday mornings or Saturday. If you are dropping off a machine for service, bring the power cord, foot pedal and any presser feet you use, so the technicians can test it properly.

The shop is on Pacific Coast Highway in the southern part of Torrance, where the highway runs between the beach cities and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Most visitors drive, and the highway is a straightforward route from Redondo Beach to the west or from Lomita and Harbor City to the east.

A fabric run here pairs easily with the coast. Heading west on Pacific Coast Highway brings you to Riviera Village in Redondo Beach, a walkable cluster of boutiques, cafes and restaurants a few blocks from the sand. Torrance Beach and the bluffs at the edge of Palos Verdes are close by, which makes for a good walk to clear your head after an hour among bolts.

If you came for a repair drop-off, use the waiting time well. Drive up into the Palos Verdes hills for ocean views, or head back toward Old Torrance for a lunch stop before returning for your machine. Either way, ask the service desk for an estimated pickup day when you hand the machine over, since turnaround depends on how busy the bench is.

Address: 3873 Pacific Coast Hwy, Torrance, CA 90505. Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Closed Sunday and Monday. Brands: Bernina, Baby Lock, Brother, Pfaff, Viking, plus Arrow, Koala and Horn cabinets. Classes: Sewing Made Simple projects at $45, Quilted Table Runner at $60. Long-arm service: Bubba's Quilting at the shop on the first and third Tuesday. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for more quilt and sewing shops in the South Bay.