Yarn stores in the Minneapolis/Bloomington area

[Zoe Deterding]

I have asked this in various places on other sites but I want as much feed back and as many opinions as possible!  I'll be visiting MN in July (I'm from the UK) and as I'm sure most of you will be aware, there are many brands that are not available over here (of course we have some you don't too) but some of the American yarn is really great.  I visit the US on a regular basis and order some via the internet so I am familiar with some stuff. But I have never bought (for instance) Caron Simply Soft.  I have had a lot of mixed reaction to this, some people LOVE it and some people HATE It!  What do you guys think?  I also would love opinions on all sorts of cheap acrylic, mid range yarn and high end yarn.  The kinds of things I like making are hats, scarves and decorative items such as wine bottle covers and wreaths.

 

As the subject title suggests, I'll be in the Minneapolis and Bloomington area, probably won't be able to get to a Hobby Lobby (as that's an hour's drive away I believe) and won't get much chance to travel.  If you have any good recommendations for any particular yarn shops, I'd love to hear about that too.  I love Michaels Impeccable yarn, very nice to work with.

 

 

All opinions on different types of yarn gratefully received!  Many thanks chaps!

[magiccrochetfan]

I don't hate Simply soft, but I find it a disappointing yarn; the only really good thing about it is the colors imo.  I think it wears very poorly, it is slippery so the woven in ends always pop out (and i refuse to use fabric glue on my crochet), and I really don't like the shininess of it.  So i personally would not waste luggage space on it.  Just my opinion 

 

I went to the store locater for Hobby Lobby and it looks like they don't have stores in MN.  

 

Joann's Fabrics has a yarn section with their own brand as well as major brands like REd Heart, Lion, Patons etc.  this is the locater page, with hopefully the stores w/in 25 mi of Bloomington showing http://hosted.where2getit.com/joann/  but if the specific stores don't show up you can do a search on that page.  One thing to look at in a Joann's store would be the Clover Amour crochet hooks, they are very nicely engineered with a resilient ergonomic handle and a lot of people, including me lol, are really liking them.  the larger Joanns near me has them but the smaller store does not, and they are not on the website.  

[magiccrochetfan]

Hancock Fabrics is another chain craft store that has some stores in the area http://www.hancockfabrics.com/Store-Locator_stcVVcatId541679VVviewcat.htm

I've never been to one of their stores but I understand they have yarn.  

 

There are lots of independent yarn stores in the area http://www.knitmap.com/locations/map/#/origin:bloomington%20mn/zoom:11/

whcih will have more of the mid-range and high-end yarn, but if you are bargain hunting don't forget their sale bins!  I understand that the StevenBe store in particular is really interesting.

 

One mid range yarn that I've used recently and really loved is Cascade Heritage Silk http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-HeritageSilk.asp

it comes in Paints also http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-HeritageSilkPaints.asp

it is wool and silk and machine wash and dry of all things!  Now i have to say that i havent actually machine laundered anything made from it, myself.  But i can say that it feels wonderful very soft but not too slinky, the colors are gorgeous, and it is a joy to crochet with.  Cascade is a popular brand so I feel sure you can find this at some of the stores on the Knitmap page.  

 

Hope you have a great trip and find lots of lovely yarn!

[Granny Square]

I agree with Kathy re: simply soft; I made (knit) a sweater with it and the fabric looks nice, and it 'halos' more than pills (I hate pilly yarn), but it doesn't hold it's shape well once you put the sweater on - gets very saggy/baggy in short order.  Although I don't have any tots to craft for, it would probably work better for baby things or smaller projects.