Help! Need Online Yarn Sources!

[Elle]

I'm SO disappointed! I have been holding off buying any real quantities of yarn for the last two months because our WalMart had a GREAT yarn department, but our town was in the process of getting a new WalMart SuperCenter and the inventory in the old store had been packed up to be moved to the new store. I kept telling myself to be patient, and my patience would be rewarded because the new store would be open soon and I could go and load up for the afghan projects that I have gotten patterns for. Well, today was my day off, and I took the money that I had saved up for my yarn and I headed off to our newly-opened WalMart SuperCenter. I got to the yarn department, and much to my chagrin, all that was there was a rack about 10 feet long that had MAYBE a dozen different types of yarn, and only three or four skeins of the ones that they DID have! This is obviously all there is, because the store has only been open for two weeks, there hasn't been a yarn sale, so it's not like the supply was decimated because of the sale, THIS IS ALL THEY HAVE!

 

It became abundantly clear right then and there that, living in rural Texas, my only other option besides driving 3 hours one way to Houston and back is going to be to order my yarn online. The only thing is, except for Ebay, I don't really know of any good online yarn sources! Can you guys here help me out? Where to you get your yarn from when you purchase online? I have an afghan that I'm dying to start, but I need eight different colors for it, and I want to use the colors that they used in the pattern because they're beautiful together, I don't want to substitute colors yet. Once I make it once, I'll substitute colors to make different versions of it, but the colors they did the afghan in the picture in are SO pretty, that's part of what drew me to the piece in the first place. So any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Elle

[leftiecrochetchick]

oo! oo! oo! Joann's has a bunch of yarn on sale right now and they have FREE SHIPPING on all orders above $25 until Wednesday.

[ankey]

I've had good experiences with Knitting Warehouse.

[crochetluvknot]

discountyarncompany, knittingwherehouse, herrschners, are just a few out there some have great deals sometimes free shipping and everything

[losingmymind2]

Knitpicks is my favorite. There are some good ones on ebay too, just check their satisfaction ratings and how many transactions they've had.

[ChayaSar]

You can try here Smileys Yarn Sale They have what I think are great prices, I'm planning an order from them. There is a minimum $40 but for instance they have Homespun for $2.99 and it's a flat shipping cost, so that's great, especially if you make a larger order.

[Elle]

I KNEW I could count on the good citizens of Crochetville to come to my rescue! Thanks so much! I'm off to the sites that everyone recommended to see which one I can get the best deals on for this project! Thanks SO much!!!

 

Elle

[ErinLindsey]

I briefly worked for WM back in 2001. (big mistake...never work for WM!) I started working there in the fabric department before the store was open. The week we opened, we had a HUGE yarn wall. (went the length of the fabric dept) The bad thing was, that they apparently didnt have all the yarn that was ordered for the wall...so it was conspicuously empty when the store opened.

 

It could just be that whoever was doing the ordering for the craft dept was a moron like our dept manager was and just didnt order enough stuff.

[Elle]

I briefly worked for WM back in 2001. (big mistake...never work for WM!) I started working there in the fabric department before the store was open. The week we opened, we had a HUGE yarn wall. (went the length of the fabric dept) The bad thing was, that they apparently didnt have all the yarn that was ordered for the wall...so it was conspicuously empty when the store opened.

 

It could just be that whoever was doing the ordering for the craft dept was a moron like our dept manager was and just didnt order enough stuff.

 

I thought about that when I got home, however the area allotted for the yarn was already full, and there were no empty spaces in the racks where more yarn could go if it were still to arrive. The whole area is about 10 feet long by four shelves high and that's it. They had some Red Heart (maybe eight or ten different colors, four or five of which were variegated and the others were navy blue, black, beige, red and a bright blue, VERY boring), they had a couple of different colors of Lion chenille (dark purple, black [terrific if I want to make a mourning flag ] and red), a couple of different kinds of Bernat yarns but only three or four skeins of each, and lots of different kinds of eyelash yarns. If I tried I don't think I could have come up with enough matching colors of any one kind to make anything larger than a scarf. TOTALLY disappointing! I think what made me maddest is that I WAITED for this, and didn't go ahead and order online because the old store had such a good selection I didn't want to cause myself to have to pay money for shipping that I could have used to purchase another few skeins of yarn! All I did was hold myself up for no reason, but at least now I know and when I get the urge to buy yarn, it's only as far away as my computer keyboard.

 

Elle

[Adii]

I recomend that you put the words "crochet yarn sale" in google, and you find many online sites.

[nucki]

Purple Kitty is a good one, too. I'm waiting on an order right now.

[caitlinsmom]

I've been ordering from Joann's. The exact same thing happened to me. We had a regular Walmart with a big yarn-fabric section. They opened a new supercenter & I thought that would have more but no it was alot less.They used to have a large rack for peaches & creme cotton yarn-well now its only 2 different colors. All the yarn fits in less than one aisle thats only one side! I said What this can't be all there is but it was. It was like all the clothing departments were smaller too. I was really disappointed with walmart supercenter.

[Tampa Doll]

This is a great place if you need to buy in at least a quantity of 6 skeins.

http://www.discountyarnsale.com/

 

Here is where I buy my peaches N cream

 

http://www.elmore-pisgah.com/

[taligator]

Elann.com has gorgeous yarn ...

 

KnitPicks is also great. I like HelloKnitty.com for yarn too - they have cheap shipping and while they mainly have natural fibers like the Cascade line they have a decent selection.

[Lisaizme]

http://www.yarnandthreadbylisa.com is a good place. She will give you personal service and also sells some on eBay.

 

I have no connection with her other than we happen to have the same first name.

[jkaymac]

I want to add my thanks too! All of these sites are going straight into my favorites. I do have an additional question about buying from ebay. Has anyone ever purchased mill ends? I see some good prices on those, but I haven't been sure of the quality.

 

Thanks for your input. Julia

[gravel10]

HI I HAVE USED http://www.smileysyarns.com/ AND HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THEM, THEY USUALLY THROW IN FREE KNITTING AND CROCHET PATTERNSBOOKS AND NEEDLES.

MARE

[kokopellinelli]

I was wondering if anyone has ordered patterns online from Crochet Memories?????? They have some beautiful patterns. I am just so cautious about ordering online, especially from a company I've never heard of . Can someone HELP ??

[secretstasher]

Dianne's Knitting Yarns - Discount Yarn, Crochet and Knitting Patterns, Accessories

 

This is where I get my wool from when I can`t be bothered to go into town and bulk buy. I am not sure on the postage for non UK but they are quick and have never had a problem with them at all in all the years I have used them.

[Lavelle26]

My favorites are herrschners and knitting warehouse. I am more than likely going to try knitpicks soon, but haven't ordered from them yet. I have heard nothing but good things from them. Knitting warehouse happens to be my favorite though...for the prices.

 

I have ordered a few times from Crochet Memories and I can honestly say that she is a wonderful lady. You will not be disappointed. She emails you after you have purchased the patterns to make sure you have recieved them. I have even sent her pictures of my completed projects in the past and she always responds with such enthusiasm. She is a great person to order from.

[orangetulipgarden]

I shop mainly at Joann.com, I'd say 90%. After 3 qualifying orders of $25 or more before taxes and shipping, you get into the Free Shipping Club (no add'l fee), and then shipping's free until the end of the year. They say you need to then make a $10 order to get the free shipping, but I've made smaller orders and got it - just make sure you always log in when you order. You can also use their coupons beyond the shipping club (search google for joann coupon and there's a place called savings-center.com that has them all listed neatly). I've saved a lot of money (or bought more - depensing on how you look at it) using their site, and my stuff comes next day after shipping. It might be my location, but it's fast once it ships, which is a couple of days after ordering.

 

I just discovered Smileys today, and they have their sale going on now, so I got some there, because they had yarn that Joann didn't.

[missamorphosis]

I've purchased from Lion Brand before, as well as Joann's. My LYS has some great yarns, and accepts online orders. You can request a catalog as well. Here's a link to their web site: The Yarn Barn. I've never ordered from them, but have thought about it since they aren't right here in town, but I know they have some great yarns since I've seen them in person.

[belant]

I've ordered from Knitting Warehouse a bunch of times, and have always had great service from them. I strongly recommend them!!!!

I've ordered from Smiley's, too, but I generally love actually going to their store, or to their yarn sales in the city. Always such great fun! We don't have WalMarts or a lot of craft stores in NYC, so I order a lot online.

[Elle]

Thanks, everyone, for all the great suggestions! I got really lucky in an Ebay auction just the other day and I won six skeins of Lion Brand Suede in a gorgeous medium brown color (I can't remember the actual name of the color) and all six skeins, WITH shipping, cost me $25!!!!!! Considering the price of a skein of LBSuede, I think I did very well!

 

I also found a great place for chenille on Ebay, the Ebay store is called the Chenille Shack. Jeanne (the lady who runs it) sells everything in one pound lots, and I have bought from her numerous times and have always been very pleased. I'm planning a large order for Friday, March 2, since my monthly disability windfall will arrive that day.

 

I'm also going to make an order probably to Knitting Warehouse for some other yarns at the beginning of the month as well. With all the great suggestions from everyone, who needs WalMart!?!

 

Elle

[Me&P]

I use Yarn.com and YarnMarket.com most often. If you buy enough, you get either a 20% or 25% discount or free shipping.

 

I've also used YarnForward.com and had no problems.