Wait, there’s a Local Yarn Shop Day? Yep! It is like the annual Small Business Saturday, but to highlight and celebrate a particular kind of small business, one that services the fiber community. On this day, there are typically raffle drawings, giveaways, special deals, a free pattern with purchase and other goodies. This year, Local Yarn Shop Day was this past Saturday, April 25th.
Growing up, I don’t remember ever going to a specialty craft store like these. Since my Mom worked at JoAnn Fabrics, we got all our crafting needs met there. I’m not even sure if there were any in the area. It wasn’t until I narrowed my hobbies to knitting and dove into the world of social media (2017) that I was introduced to yarn shops. A whole new world opened up to me. I came across folks who hand-dyed yarn into beautiful colorways. Where did many of them sell their skeins of yarn? Yarn shops.
I was introduced to one, in particular, through an Instagram connection. Gaye, A.K.A. GGMadeit, was someone I found early on in my social media adventure. She’s African American, a knitter and fellow lover of orange. Within her feed, she talked a lot about Four Purls Yarn Shop here in Central Florida, highlighting their featured yarn being hand-dyed by the teenaged daughter of the owners, Emma’s Yarn. I was intrigued. (What started as a chemistry project for school became a business – very cool.) So, when GG said she was coming to visit Four Purls, I made the hour and half to two hour trek to Winter Haven, Florida to meet her in person…and to check out what looked like an amazing shop.
My first, in person, introduction to yarn shops. Wall-to-wall yarn, tools and pattern books. They offer classes of all kinds, from knitting and crochet to spinning your own wool. There’s “knit and crochet nights,” where you come to shop with your project and just sit and fellowship together while stitching. These shops are places to build community, encourage and support one another. It’s a beautiful place.
In 2023, for our wedding anniversary trip, we went to the Washington, DC Supershow Fountain Pen show. While in DC, we went to the second yarn shop I’ve ever been to, Looped Yarn Works.
Tucked in the second floor of a building on a street lined with small shops, it carries the same feel as Four Purls. Wall-to-wall yarn, tools and books, with space for “knit and crochet nights” and classes. You walk in and instantly know, you can take your time perusing all the different types of yarn, squish the softness of the yarn and wonder at all the beautiful colorways.
And the community is there. While browsing, another young lady was there, having some difficulty choosing yarn and then color for sweater she wanted to make. Yes, I was an out of towner and didn’t know who she was, but that didn’t matter. As a fiber community, encourage and support are key, so I was happy to help in any way that I could.
Also, in 2023, a new yarn shop, Knitcessities, opened in our area. For Local Yarn Shop Day in 2024, I was finally able to go visit.
Incredibly cute shop, with wall-to-wall yarn, tools and books. It has a cute little corner for stitching and classes. So cozy and welcoming. (I need to get back there again.)
Maybe because Four Purls was my first experience, but it is still my favorite yarn shop. (I know, there are a plethora of other shops all over the country I have yet to visit.) There’s always something fun going on at a yarn shop, not just on Local Yarn Shop Day.