Note 13 - Segment Information - Wholesale Shipments by Type (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Aug. 29, 2020	Aug. 31, 2019	Aug. 29, 2020	Aug. 31, 2019
Sales revenue		$ 91,559	$ 109,419	$ 267,480	$ 338,450
Wholesale Segment [Member]
Sales revenue		$ 55,443	$ 62,690	$ 153,588	$ 198,602
Sales, revenue, percent		100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Wholesale Segment [Member] | Upholstery [Member]
Sales revenue		$ 31,016	$ 36,809	$ 90,283	$ 115,200
Sales, revenue, percent		55.90%	58.70%	58.80%	58.00%
Wholesale Segment [Member] | Bassett Leather [Member]
Sales revenue		$ 5,804	$ 4,480	$ 13,559	$ 14,714
Sales, revenue, percent		10.50%	7.10%	8.80%	7.40%
Wholesale Segment [Member] | Bassett Custom Wood [Member]
Sales revenue		$ 9,582	$ 11,757	$ 26,504	$ 33,958
Sales, revenue, percent		17.30%	18.80%	17.30%	17.10%
Wholesale Segment [Member] | Bassett Casegoods [Member]
Sales revenue		$ 9,041	$ 9,644	$ 23,242	$ 32,263
Sales, revenue, percent		16.30%	15.40%	15.10%	16.20%
Wholesale Segment [Member] | Accessories [Member]
Sales revenue	[1]	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 2,467
Sales, revenue, percent	[1]	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	1.20%

[1] Beginning with the third quarter of fiscal 2019, our wholesale segment no longer purchases accessory items for resale to our retail segment or to third party customers such as licensees or independent furniture retailers. Our retail segment and third-party customers now source their accessory items directly from the accessory vendors.