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!
