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                                                                    Exhibit 10.1

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                               JO-ANN STORES, INC.
                                 AS THE BORROWER

                            THE LENDERS NAMED HEREIN
                                   AS LENDERS

                                  BANK ONE, NA
                             AS DOCUMENTATION AGENT

                                  COMERICA BANK
                               NATIONAL CITY BANK
                                  AS CO-AGENTS

                                 [KEYBANK LOGO]



                          KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
            AS A LENDER, THE SWING LINE LENDER, THE ISSUING BANK AND
                             AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

                               -------------------

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 4
                                   DATED AS OF
                                DECEMBER 11, 2000
                                       TO
                                CREDIT AGREEMENT
                                   DATED AS OF
                                   MAY 5, 1999

                               -------------------



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                       AMENDMENT NO. 4 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

     THIS AMENDMENT NO. 4 TO CREDIT AGREEMENT, dated as of December 11, 2000
("THIS AMENDMENT"), among:

          (i) JO-ANN STORES, INC., an Ohio corporation (herein, together with
     its successors and assigns, the "BORROWER");

          (ii) the Lenders party hereto (the "LENDERS");

          (iii) BANK ONE, NA, as Documentation Agent; and COMERICA BANK and
     NATIONAL CITY BANK, as Co-Agents; and

          (iv) KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, a national banking association, as
     a Lender, the Swing Line Lender, the Issuing Bank and as the Administrative
     Agent under the Credit Agreement:

     PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS:

     (1) The Borrower, the Lenders named therein, and the Administrative Agent
entered into the Credit Agreement, dated as of May 5, 1999, as amended by
Amendment No. 1 thereto, dated as of December 14, 1999, Amendment No. 2 thereto,
dated as of March 7, 2000 and Amendment No. 3 thereto, dated as of March 22,
2000 (as so amended, the "CREDIT AGREEMENT"). Capitalized terms used herein
without definition shall have the respective meanings ascribed thereto in the
Credit Agreement.

     (2) The Borrower, the Lenders party hereto and the Administrative Agent
desire to amend certain of the provisions of the Credit Agreement, all as more
fully set forth below.

     NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereby agree as follows:

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS, ETC.

     1.1. FIXED CHARGE COVERAGE. Effective on the Effective Date of this
Amendment provided for in section 4 hereof, section 9.9 of the Credit Agreement
is amended in its entirety to read as follows:

          The Borrower will not permit its Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (i) for
          the Testing Period ended on or nearest to January 31, 1999, or for any
          Testing Period thereafter and ended on or nearest to July 31, 2000, to
          be less than 1.50 to 1.00, (ii) for the Testing Period ended on or
          nearest to October 31, 2000, to be less than 1.475 to 1.00 and (iii)
          for the Testing Period ended on or nearest to January 31, 2001, and
          for any Testing Period ended thereafter, to be less than 1.50 to 1.00.

     1.2. PRICING CHANGES.

     (a) FOR GENERAL REVOLVING LOANS. Effective on the Effective Date of this
Amendment provided for in section 4 hereof, for all General Revolving Loans then
or thereafter outstanding (including any portions of any Interest Periods), and
until changed in accordance with the applicable provisions of section 2.6(h) of
the Credit Agreement based on the audited consolidated financial statements of
the Borrower for the fiscal year ended on or nearest to January 31, 2001 or on
the consolidated financial


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statements of the Borrower for any fiscal quarter ended thereafter, the
Applicable Eurodollar Margin for General Revolving Loans will be 200 basis
points per annum.

     (a) FOR FACILITY FEE. Effective on and as of the Effective Date of this
Amendment provided for in section 4 hereof, and until changed in accordance with
the applicable provisions of section 4.1(a) of the Credit Agreement based on the
audited consolidated financial statements of the Borrower for the fiscal year
ended on or nearest to January 31, 2001 or on the consolidated financial
statements of the Borrower for any fiscal quarter ended thereafter, the
Applicable Facility Fee Rate will be 50 basis points per annum.

     (b) FOR LETTERS OF CREDIT. Effective on and as of the Effective Date of
this Amendment provided for in section 4 hereof, for all Letters of Credit then
or thereafter outstanding, and until changed in accordance with the applicable
provisions of section 2.6(h) of the Credit Agreement based on the audited
consolidated financial statements of the Borrower for the fiscal year ended on
or nearest to January 31, 2001 or thereafter, the Applicable Eurodollar Margin
will be 200 basis points per annum.

     SECTION 2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

     The Borrower hereby represents and warrants to the Administrative Agent and
the Lenders as follows:

     2.1. AUTHORIZATION, VALIDITY AND BINDING EFFECT. This Amendment has been
duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Borrower,
has been duly executed and delivered by a duly authorized officer or officers of
the Borrower, and constitutes the valid and binding agreement of the Borrower,
enforceable against the Borrower in accordance with its terms.

     2.2. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES TRUE AND CORRECT. The representations
and warranties of the Borrower contained in the Credit Agreement, as amended
hereby, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof as though made on and
as of the date hereof, except to the extent that such representations and
warranties expressly relate to a specified date, in which case such
representations and warranties are hereby reaffirmed as true and correct when
made.

     2.3. NO EVENT OF DEFAULT, ETC. No condition or event has occurred or exists
which constitutes or which, after notice or lapse of time or both, would
constitute an Event of Default.

     2.4. COMPLIANCE. The Borrower is in full compliance with all covenants and
agreements contained in the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby.

     SECTION 3. RATIFICATIONS.

     The terms and provisions set forth in this Amendment shall modify and
supersede all inconsistent terms and provisions set forth in the Credit
Agreement, and except as expressly modified and superseded by this Amendment,
the terms and provisions of the Credit Agreement are ratified and confirmed and
shall continue in full force and effect.

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     SECTION 4. EFFECTIVENESS.

     The amendments to the Credit Agreement provided for in this Amendment shall
become effective on December 11, 2000 (the "EFFECTIVE DATE") if on or prior to
the Effective Date the following conditions shall have been satisfied:

          (a) this Amendment shall have been executed by the Borrower and the
     Administrative Agent and counterparts hereof as so executed shall have been
     delivered to the Administrative Agent;

          (b) the Acknowledgment and Consent appended hereto shall have been
     executed by the Subsidiary Guarantors named therein, and counterparts
     thereof as so executed shall have been delivered to the Administrative
     Agent;

          (c) the Administrative Agent shall have been notified by all of the
     Lenders that such Lenders have executed this Amendment (which notification
     may be by facsimile or other written confirmation of such execution); and

          (d) the Borrower shall have paid to the Administrative Agent, for
     immediate distribution to the Lenders executing this Amendment pro rata
     based on their respective General Revolving Commitments, an amendment fee
     at a rate equal to 5 basis points on the amount of the aggregate General
     Revolving Commitments.

After this Amendment becomes effective as provided herein, the Administrative
Agent will promptly furnish a copy of this Amendment to each Lender and the
Borrower and confirm the specific Effective Date hereof.

     SECTION 5. MISCELLANEOUS.

     5.1. SURVIVAL OF REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES. All representations and
warranties made in this Amendment shall survive the execution and delivery of
this Amendment, and no investigation by the Administrative Agent or any Lender
or any subsequent Loan or other Credit Event shall affect the representations
and warranties or the right of the Administrative Agent or any Lender to rely
upon them.

     5.2. REFERENCE TO CREDIT AGREEMENT. The Credit Agreement and any and all
other agreements, instruments or documentation now or hereafter executed and
delivered pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement as amended hereby, are
hereby amended so that any reference therein to the Credit Agreement shall mean
a reference to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby.

     5.3. EXPENSES. As provided in the Credit Agreement, but without limiting
any terms or provisions thereof, the Borrower agrees to pay on demand all costs
and expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent in connection with the
preparation, negotiation, and execution of this Amendment, including without
limitation the costs and fees of the Administrative Agent's special legal
counsel, regardless of whether the amendments to the Credit Agreement
contemplated by this Amendment become effective in accordance with the terms
hereof, and all costs and expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent or any
Lender in connection with the enforcement or preservation of any rights under
the Credit Agreement, as amended hereby.

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     5.4. SEVERABILITY. Any term or provision of this Amendment held by a court
of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable shall not impair or
invalidate the remainder of this Amendment and the effect thereof shall be
confined to the term or provision so held to be invalid or unenforceable.

     5.5. APPLICABLE LAW. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio.

     5.6. HEADINGS. The headings, captions and arrangements used in this
Amendment are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of
this Amendment.

     5.7. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Amendment is specifically limited to the
matters expressly set forth herein. This Amendment and all other instruments,
agreements and documentation executed and delivered in connection with this
Amendment embody the final, entire agreement among the parties hereto with
respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all prior
commitments, agreements, representations and understandings, whether written or
oral, relating to the matters covered by this Amendment, and may not be
contradicted or varied by evidence of prior, contemporaneous or subsequent oral
agreements or discussions of the parties hereto. There are no oral agreements
among the parties hereto relating to the subject matter hereof or any other
subject matter relating to the Credit Agreement.

     5.8. COUNTERPARTS. This Amendment may be executed by the parties hereto
separately in one or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be
deemed to be an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute
one and the same agreement.

               [The balance of this page is intentionally blank.]


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     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amendment has been duly executed and delivered as
of the date first above written.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

<S>                                                        <C>
JO-ANN STORES, INC.                                         KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
                                                                    INDIVIDUALLY AS A  LENDER, THE ISSUING
                                                                    BANK  AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT

BY:_______________________________
        EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT                            BY:_______________________________
            & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER                               SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

BANK ONE, NA (FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE FIRST                   NATIONAL CITY BANK,
NATIONAL BANK OF CHICAGO),                                       INDIVIDUALLY AS A LENDER AND
     INDIVIDUALLY AS A LENDER AND                                AS A CO-AGENT
     AS DOCUMENTATION AGENT

                                                            BY:_______________________________
BY:_______________________________                                   TITLE:
         TITLE:

COMERICA BANK,                                              FIRSTAR BANK, N. A.
     INDIVIDUALLY AS A LENDER AND
     AS A CO-AGENT

                                                            BY:_______________________________
BY:_______________________________                                   TITLE:
         TITLE:

FLEET NATIONAL BANK                                         UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA, N. A.


BY:_______________________________                          BY:_______________________________
         TITLE:                                                      TITLE:

HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK                               MERCANTILE BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

BY:_______________________________                          BY:_______________________________
         TITLE:                                                      TITLE:

MELLON BANK, N. A.                                          THE HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK

BY:_______________________________                          BY:_______________________________
          TITLE:                                                     TITLE:

FIFTH THIRD BANK, NORTHEASTERN OHIO

BY:_______________________________
           TITLE:
</TABLE>


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