29 Local Yarn Shops and Counting!

Some folks like to visit a specific something everywhere they visit. Whether it’s a barbecue restaurant, theme park, museum, or campground, I get it. I love to visit all of those places! But my most favorite place to visit — as a destination or pit stop — is a local yarn shop.

I’m passionate about shopping small when it comes to yarn because each shop is an opportunity to discover a new yarn to love and befriend another fiber artist, if only for a few moments. These shops all have a different flavor and feel, as unique as their owners!

Where a shop is located dictates much of their yarn stash, so I wait till I head south to shop for cotton or north for fancier (and warmer) wools. I’m always happy to support local dyers and spinners, too, so I always ask about what’s in stock from independent vendors in the region. I’ve found some real gems this way!

My Visits to Local Yarn Shops

So far, I’ve written about my visits to 29 shops! I went to several more in my years of knitting before blogging, but unfortunately I didn’t keep track before AYL.

Each local yarn shop its own style and I vibe a bit better with some, but I have always been able to discover something new at each shop. And I have always been able to find something to purchase at each shop!

Local Yarn Shops

Backstitches – Lynchburg, Virginia

EWE Fine Fiber Goods – Charlottesville, Virginia

Fibre Space – Alexandria, Virginia

Permanently Closed Finch Knitting + Sewing Studio – Leesburg, Virginia

Permanently Closed The Flying Needles – Williamsburg, Virginia

House Mountain Yarn Co. – Lexington, Virginia

Permanently Closed Hunt Country Yarns – The Plains, Virginia

Knit Wit – Culpeper, Virginia

The Knittin’ Coop – Salem, Virginia

Knitting Addiction – Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

Permanently Closed Laughing Sheep Yarns – Charlottesville, Virginia

A Likely Yarn – Abingdon, Virginia

Magpie Knits – Charlottesville, Virginia

Needles in the Haymarket – Gainesville, Virginia

New River Fiber Co. – Blacksburg, Virginia

Red Fox Yarns – Vienna, Virginia

Permanently Closed Rocktown Yarn – Harrisonburg, Virginia

Rowan at Finnegan’s Run – Fredericksburg, Virginia

Sedona Knit Wits – Sedona, Arizona

The Stitch Witch of Bedford – Bedford, Virginia

Permanently Closed Two Rivers Yarns – Purcellville, Virginia

Untangled Purls – Fredericksburg, Virginia

Permanently Closed Wool Workshop – Roanoke, Virginia

Permanently Closed Yarn & Y’all – Greenville, South Carolina

Permanently Closed Yarn Cloud – Occoquan, Virginia

Permanently Closed Yarn Explosion – Roanoke, Virginia

Yarn Matters – Williamsburg, Virginia

Yarn Seasons – Hardy, Virginia (formerly The Crooked Stitch)

Yarnia of Old Town – Warrenton, Virginia

Other Resources

The Save the Local Yarn Shop Facebook group, established by Sam Barsky in February 2020, supports yarn shops across the country and is an excellent resource. Due to this group, locating and shopping at local yarn shops is even easier! Furthermore, knitters and crocheters have been able to better understand challenges facing local yarn shops.

I often use Ravelry’s Road Trip LYS Finder to help find essential detours. Before leaving for a trip, I plug in the route and how far I’m willing to deviate from it. The Road Trip LYS Finder spits out a list of nearby shops!