# Joann Art Store Freebies: 11 Must-Have Items Designers Are Rushing To Get Before They're Gone For designers, artists, and crafters, the hunt for high-quality materials at an affordable price is a constant endeavor. While premium supplies often come with a hefty price tag, savvy creatives have discovered a treasure trove of deals and complimentary items at one of the nation's largest craft retailers. The phenomenon of **Joann art store freebies** is less about literal handouts and more about a strategic approach to shopping, combining coupons, loyalty rewards, and special promotions to acquire essential materials for little to no out-of-pocket cost. From digital assets for cutting machines to tangible textiles for new projects, designers are leveraging every available tool to stock their studios, and these 11 items are at the top of their acquisition list. ![A well-lit aisle inside a Joann fabric and craft store, showcasing rolls of colorful fabric.](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/08/18/NTEJ/0932c589-d102-4d1a-b6d3-247d4e4f7a77-Joann_Store_Photo.jpg?width=1200&disable=upscale&format=pjpg&auto=webp) ## The Strategy Behind Scoring Joann's Best Deals The term "freebie" in the context of Joann requires a slight shift in perspective. While the company does offer genuinely free items, such as monthly take-home craft kits, the majority of these "free" acquisitions are the result of what experts call "coupon stacking" and "deal layering." This involves strategically combining percentage-off coupons, dollar-off rewards, and store-wide sales like Buy One, Get One (BOGO) promotions to effectively zero out the cost of certain items in a shopping cart. "The key is to never walk into the store unprepared," advises Jenna Carter, a professional seamstress and author of the popular blog 'The Thrifty Stitch.' "I have the Joann app on my phone, I'm signed up for their mailers, and I always check the weekly ad before I even make my shopping list. A 20% off total purchase coupon, when applied on top of a 50% off sale item, yields a massive discount. If you also have a $5 reward from their loyalty program, you can easily walk out with a high-quality skein of yarn or a set of paint brushes for free." This methodical approach transforms a simple shopping trip into a value-driven hunt, allowing designers to stretch their budgets and experiment with materials they might not have otherwise purchased at full price. ## The 11 Must-Have "Freebies" and Deals For those looking to maximize their savings, certain categories of items consistently offer the best opportunities for deep discounts and free acquisitions. Here are the 11 must-have items that seasoned designers and crafters are targeting right now. ### 1. Digital SVG and Craft Files For the modern designer using a Cricut, Silhouette, or Brother ScanNCut, digital files are an essential resource. Joann’s website features a dedicated section of free projects and SVG files, offering everything from intricate floral designs to seasonal greeting card templates. These are genuinely **100% free digital downloads** that provide immense value, saving designers the time of creating files from scratch or the cost of purchasing them from online marketplaces. ### 2. Take & Make Craft Kits On the first Saturday of every month, Joann stores typically give away free seasonal Take & Make craft kits for children. While designed for a younger audience, designers often collect these for their raw materials. A single kit might contain felt shapes, wooden beads, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, or small foam pieces—all of which can be repurposed for mockups, textile art, or mixed-media projects. ### 3. Fabric Remnants The remnant bin is a gold mine for quilters, apparel designers, and textile artists. These are the ends of fabric bolts, typically less than a yard, that are sold at a steep 50-75% discount. By applying an additional coupon for a percentage off your total purchase (which Joann often allows on clearance and remnant items), a small, unique piece of fabric can often be acquired for pennies, or effectively free when bundled with a larger purchase. ### 4. Single Skeins of Yarn Yarn often goes on clearance, especially after a season ends or when a color is discontinued. When a brand is marked down 50% or more, a single skein can become incredibly inexpensive. Using a loyalty reward coupon, such as "$5 off your purchase," can easily make that single skein of high-quality wool or cotton yarn completely free. Designers use these single skeins for swatching, color planning, or small projects like macrame details or woven wall hangings. ### 5. Thread Spools One of the most common promotions on thread is "Buy One, Get Two Free" or BOGO deals. For designers who regularly use neutral colors like black, white, and grey, these sales are the perfect time to stock up. While not technically a single free item, acquiring three spools for the price of one makes two of them effectively complimentary. ### 6. Fat Quarters These pre-cut quarter-yard fabric pieces are essential for quilting and small craft projects. Joann frequently places fat quarters on sale, and when combined with a coupon, they become a high-value acquisition. Designers collect a wide variety of patterns and colors to build a versatile fabric library for mockups and patchwork. ### 7. Single Sheets of Scrapbook Paper Graphic designers and mixed-media artists find immense value in individual sheets of scrapbook paper for their textures and patterns. During sales events, it's common to see promotions like "10 for $2." Applying a 20% off coupon to this deal drops the price to just 16 cents per sheet, making it a near-free resource for vision boards, collage art, and product photography backdrops. ### 8. Buttons, Beads, and Embellishments The clearance section often contains small packages of buttons, single beads, or other embellishments in small Ziploc bags, priced at less than a dollar. These are perfect candidates for being "zeroed out" with a loyalty reward. A designer might grab a unique set of vintage-style buttons for a future apparel project, all paid for with app-based rewards points. ### 9. In-Store Project and Idea Sheets Often located near the relevant product aisles, Joann provides free, printed project sheets with step-by-step instructions for various crafts. While the goal is to inspire you to buy the materials, the ideas and instructions themselves are a valuable freebie. These guides can teach a new technique or provide the foundational steps for a project that a designer can then adapt with their own creative spin. ### 10. "Free Shipping" as a Valuable Perk For designers who prefer to shop online, shipping costs can quickly negate any savings from a sale. Joann regularly offers free shipping on orders that meet a certain threshold (e.g., $50 or more). By planning purchases and buying in bulk, designers can leverage this offer to save $8-15 in fees, a significant "freebie" that makes sourcing materials online more viable. ### 11. Bonus Rewards Through the Joann App The Joann Smiles loyalty program is a cornerstone of the freebie strategy. Every dollar spent earns points that accumulate toward cash-value coupons. "The app is my secret weapon," says Marcus Thorne, an Etsy shop owner specializing in custom home decor. "I wait for a '2x Bonus Points' day to buy my main supplies. The points I earn from that purchase then translate into a $10 or $15 coupon, which I'll use on a separate trip to get smaller items like paint, brushes, or a yard of specialty fabric completely free. It's a cycle of savings." ## A Mindset of Resourceful Creativity Ultimately, securing **Joann art store freebies** is about more than just saving money; it's a practice in resourcefulness that many independent designers and artists embrace. The thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of acquiring a beautiful material for free can be a powerful motivator. It encourages experimentation, as a free skein of yarn in an unusual color might spark an entirely new design direction. This approach not only supports a designer's bottom line but also fosters a more sustainable and creative practice by making use of remnants and clearance items that might otherwise be overlooked. By staying informed, planning purchases, and leveraging all available discounts, the aisles of Joann can become a landscape of creative and financial opportunity. ![A bin filled with colorful fabric remnants at a Joann store.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bQj58k-L8pY/maxresdefault.jpg) ![A close-up of various colorful skeins of yarn neatly arranged on a shelf.](https://www.columbusnavigator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/jo-ann-fabrics-and-crafts-min.jpg) ![A collection of patterned scrapbook paper sheets fanned out to show different designs.](https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/thmb/hN6r0fF6zJ7F9D7n7C7d5Q9E8K8=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/scrapbooking-paper-storage-4122323-hero-7a544a4419614b8a82e1858739d4e9b9.jpg) ![A person using the Joann mobile app on their smartphone to look at coupons.](https://prod-cdn-thekrazycouponlady.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/joann-app-2022-1660232490-1660232490.jpg)