OMG! Yarn Shops

Beginning knitting or crochet needs very few tools and almost no space which is a premium in New York City. All you need is a pair of needles or a hook and some yarn!

But even that was hard to find when I started up knitting again several years ago. Googling “yarn store, nyc” turned up a humble handful of shops with very meager selections. Showing up to a store was even more dubious. Odd buildings, weird floors with no storefront, eccentric proprietors in dingy rundown spaces were what I found. And no ball winders! When I did find some decent yarns, they were pricey! Note: A decent yarn shop will have a ball winder! And will convert your hanks to balls as a courtesy.

Nowadays doing a google search brings up so many new ones that look promising. There was also a yarn renaissance of sorts a few years ago and stores began popping up all over. Anyway, here’s my list of yarn shops in Manhattan. It now includes Brooklyn, Queens, and Online stores.

For those who aren’t anywhere near us, try KnitMap! It’s a cute little website that is also a super comprehensive directory. It has shops from all over the world including contact info, hours, reviews, and ratings!

Purl Soho
459 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 420-8796

This lovely little store was located in Soho when it first opened. Right down the street from its fabric store. Now it’s moved to Broome Street. I consider it a high-end boutique store with exquisite yarns and notions. But on the pricey side. Most yarns and fabrics are double the price of an average skein or yard! However, most are quite worth it. A great place to browse and see some very nice high end tools and notions in person. A bonus is that all their helpers are really nice and helpful! They also have lovely classes at their workshop called Purl Bee.

School Products
1201 Broadway Suite 301
New York, NY 10001
(212)679-3516

This was my third favorite store back in the dark ages of yarn stores in NYC. It’s huge compared to the rest. It is one of those “odd” locations and has a weird warehouse vibe. But it’s loaded with the widest selection of yarns in both quality and price. They stock a lot of mid-range (good mid-range) brands like Debbie Bliss, lots of different fibers, great sales all the time, and free patterns! If you buy the materials for a project you see hanging on the wall, you get the pattern for free. Wide range of selection for your budget and many well-known national brands.

Downtown Yarns
45 Avenue A
New York, NY 10009
(212) 995-5991

Don’t be fooled by the rustic style of this store. It has really lovely yarns if you know your yarns. This store has a nice selection of mid to high-end yarns also for decent prices. They had a whole cache of Noro yarns which I love.

Seaport Yarn
181 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10007
(800) 347-2662

I’ve never been here but have been meaning to for awhile. Their online store boasts a mecca of exotic fibers and yarn brands. From Irish Tweeds (imported from Ireland) to hand-spun yarns from Maine.

Knitty City
208 West 79th Street
New York, NY 10024
(212)787-5896

Great selection of tools here for both knitting and crochet!

Vardhman, Inc
269 West 39 Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 840-6950
In the Garment District! New to me!

The Wool Gathering
318 East 84th Street
New York, NY 10028
(212) 734-4747

Wool and The Gang
98 Thompson Street (between Spring St & Prince St)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 966-9266

Gotham Fine Yarn
148 Orchard St (between Rivington St & Stanton St)
New York, NY 10002
(646) 863-3504

K2Geter
15 Elizabeth Street, Unit 4
At the Elizabeth Street Mall in Chinatown
New York, NY 10013
(646) 592-7366
This little stall is located in the Chinatown Mall. Downstairs just off the escalator. They carry a small selection of popular nationwide brand yarns and most notably lots of Chiao Goo and Clover circular knitting needles as well as Boye aluminum crochet hooks. For great prices! They also sell Cross-Stitch kits for great prices with the pattern printed right on the sheets! A great little time-saver for Cross-Stitch! Diagonally across is another little stall with random knitting books from Asia and some yarn and tools!

Lion Brand Yarn Studio
34 W. 15th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 243-9070

This store is my latest find and current favorite. Lion Brand is a well-known large national yarn manufacturer and they recently opened up a studio downtown! I went for visit the other day and it is lovely! The people are wonderfully helpful, the store clean, bright, and spacious. And above all the prices aren’t outrageous for Manhattan where high-end luxury yarns are easier to find but not economical for the rabid knitter. No exotic fibers or yarns from far flung places here but they have a giant wall of yarn that is free to sample. Take some home to knit a swatch and check your gauge! They teach classes there too! Excellent prices, mid-range yarns, great for beginner projects.

Loopy Mango
78 Grand Street
Between Wooster & Greene
New York, NY 10013
(212) 343-7425

A unique selection of yarns. Exquisitely curated. Sick of the boring (yet high quality yarns) at say Purl Soho? Find a wonderfully original collection of high end art yarns in this very unique yarn/retail shop. It’s beautiful to browse in and a nice change from your traditional yarn shop. Most definitely worth a visit if only for the beautiful store and its wares.

Knit New York
307 East 14th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 387-0707

This place has lovely yarns for mid-range prices. Large selection in a cute bright space. They have a great selection of notions from Clover, Addi, and Crystal Palace. It’s closed now but you can shop through their sister store Yarn Yankee.

Yarn Connection
218 Madison Ave, Suite 2
New York, NY 10016
(212) 684-5099

This place was my all-time favorite. One of the “eccentric” shops, it was a little cubby hole of a store with lovely helpful ladies, great selection of beautiful yarns from Peruvian Alpacas to Noro. And all comparably priced. I have not been back in awhile but I heard it closed in 2009. Here’s a lovely review New York Minknit wrote about it.

The following are from NY Yarn Crawl:
String Yarns
33 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
(212) 288-9276

The Yarn Co.
2274 Broadway (82nd St.), 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10024
(212) 787-7878

Annie & Co. Needlepoint and Knitting
1325 Madison Avenue
New York, NY
(212) 360-7266

Habu Textiles
135 West 29th Street, Suite 804
New York, NY 10001
(212) 239-3546

Yarntopia
97 Amsterdam Avenue (@108th)
New York, NY 10025
(212) 316-YARN

Smiley’s Yarns
92-06 Jamaica Ave
Woodhaven, NY 11421
(718) 849-9873

Spacecraft
355 Bedford Ave (between 3rd St & 4th St)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 599-2718
Worth a look. Potentially gimmicky!

The Yarn Tree
347 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 384-8030
Really awesome hours
Mon – Thu 2:00pm – 8:00pm
Sat – Sun Noon – 7:00pm

Etsy Labs
55 Washington St, Ste 512
(between Water St & Front St)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 855-7955
Not a store but a free-for-all! From the creators of Etsy.com!

Catherine Knits
This is a curious “shop” located in Brooklyn. I found it while looking for Addi Turbos online. But it is only an online shop. Yet a weird one… I’ll include it for now.

M&M Yarn Connection
Brooklyn NY 11204-1211
(718) 436-5262
Another curious store I found while searching for Addi Turbos.

Brooklyn General Store
128 Union Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 237-7753

Fiber Notion
849 Union St
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 230-4148

La Casita Yarn Shop Cafe
253 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 963-0369

Knit-A-Way
398 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 797-3305

Stitch Therapy
335 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 398-2020

Brooklyn Tweed
This yarn without a shop yet is still worth a mention. It’s gorgeous. Jared Flood’s patterns are what started it all though. Classic yet modern yet hip! His old blog brooklyntweed.blogspot.com is chock full of his old patterns and completed projects. Heart it!

Fabrics Save-A-Thon
824 Flatbush Ave
(between Linden Blvd & Caton Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11226
(718) 282-9100

I LOVE THIS STORE! It’s in the heart of the hood, surrounded by lots of other budget and 99 cent stores. And is great for people who just need standard economical sewing and yarn supplies. It not only carries a whole bunch of Red Heart, Aunt Lydia’s (full line, huge variety), Boye Aluminum Crochet Hooks but .99 per yard fabric (some very decent ones) great for home dec or casual projects. Lots of zippers! Som 2 for a $1 or 0.99 cents each in every color imaginable and they look to be pretty decent quality. Lots of bulk discount yarns available. It’s no Mood Fabric in terms of quality and selection but is a great option for people on a budget looking for a great find.

Lion Brand Outlet
Lion Brand Yarn Outlet
140 Kero Road
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
(201) 939-0611
Yup! I just found out about this and it is a Lion Brand Yarn outlet! First quality discontinued yarns in bags of 3 at 50% off and surprise specials on limited quantity merchandise including books, accessories, and other treasures. LB Collection of affordable luxury fibers items are available at their regular prices.

Patricia’s Yarn
107 4th Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(Btw Wash. and Bloom.)
(201) 217-YARN (9276)
Not in Manhattan but in Hoboken. Just across the river. Take the PATH train to Hoboken. And walk!!

Flying Fingers Yarn Shop
15 Main Street, Tarrytown, New York 10591
(914) 631-4113 (877) 359-4648
This shop is actually all the way up in Tarrytown. But if you can catch the yarn bus it’s about a 40 minutes from Grand Central Station and free! So not too different from heading down to Brooklyn. Great selection of yarns and excellent selection of knitting tools and crochet too. Great prices. Bonus: It’s a great day trip to a lovely little town too. If you’re in the mood for a quickie “yarn excursion” this it!

Jimmy Beans Wool Your local yarn shop but online. Yes!
YarnMarket.com Huge online store for yarns galore
YarnMarket.com – Bargain Yarns
Yarn.com Huge selection of mid-range to artisan yarns for great prices!!!
Yarndex.com Not a store but a huge encyclopedia of yarn from manufacturers to brands. New and discontinued. And very detailed supporting information from yarn weight, fiber, length, etc. They even help match discontinued yarns to new yarns by suggesting similar replacements.

KnitMap! Find your local yarn shop wherever you are, anywhere in the world! With this handy website especially made to help you find your LYS!

NYC Crochet Guild List of Yarn Stores A pretty large list of yarn shops in NYC and surrounding states.