Why not use the internet to buy types of yarn? The benefits are many. There are beautiful, one-of-a-kind products at your fingertips to suit anyone.
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I have the best yarn companies and advice on how to buy yarns online. Look at my suggestions of sites and see what you find!
My Quick Recommendations
I reviewed, fact checked and updated this post on March 18, 2023.
Table Of Contents
Best Places To Buy Yarn Online
A collection of the best online yarn stores on the internet to buy yarns. My top recommendations are below.
Knit Picks: Best Place To Buy Yarn Online For Knitting
KnitPicks is an excellent online yarn store in this list of places to buy yarns. Because of its range and high-quality items. Founded in 2002.
An easy-to-use search filter categorizes by yarn weight, color, fiber, and more. They’ve developed yarn lines for specific purposes. Yarn shopping has never been so easy! Best place to get good yarn at affordable prices.
Dishie Yarn (a worsted weight yarn) for dishcloths and Fable Fur is an ethical faux fur yarn. Their customer service team are experts and help with questions. Contact them with your email address. One of the great places on their website, providing helpful techniques, is The Learning Center section is full of helpful tips.
Recommended – Brava Worsted
Pros
- This storefront is based in the US
- They often use USA and Canadian yarns
- Ethical sourcing
- Excellent email list for their customers
- Many video tutorials and posts on their blog
- Affordable
- Free shipping with orders over $75
- Easy return policy
- Quality goods and accessories, like cotton yarn and yarn for sweaters
- They sell undyed yarns for a designer
- Loved by many knitters
- Also ships to Australia and Canada
- The filters and categories make it easy to navigate
- Plenty of fun patterns from independent designers
- Often have promo codes for discounts
- They offer excellent knitting tools
- Expect a prompt reply from their support team if you need info
Cons
- Some colors aren’t exactly accurate to the real product
- You need membership to purchase
- No live chat
Jimmy Beans Wool: Best Luxury Option
Started in 2002 by Laura Zander and her husband, Jimmy Beans Wool, is named after Laura’s nickname. The ‘beans’ is from when they ran a coffee shop. They have many brands and innovative products. Plenty of selection, from cheaper acrylic to luxury yarns like cashmere.
Recommended – Madeline Tosh
Pros
- Family-owned company
- Trusted and loved by knitters, crocheters & makers worldwide who shop there
- Friendly community
- A large selection of fabulous merchandise, like knitting needles and crochet hooks
- The label on their products is easy to read
- Unique yarns in a range of fibers
- Flat Rate shipping of $5 for orders within the US, free for orders over $75
- Good return policy
- Easy to use website
- Many complimentary patterns
Cons
Love Crafts: Best Budget Pick
More for inspiration, patterns, and knitting supplies, though you can buy yarn. Exclusive brands and many familiar favorites and staples, like Malabrigo and Plymouth Yarns. Something for everyone. (Note: Love Crafts was formerly Love Knitting.) Excellent quality thick yarns perfect for using for a blanket.
Try one of their knitted baby blanket pattern, crochet blanket patterns or crochet baby blanket. They are often available as a downloadable free pattern.
Pros
- Patterns, books, and inspiration for your knitting project
- Products created by talented knitters all over the world
- Easy to filter your search by fiber, weight, color
- Varied price range on things like merino to bamboo to amigurumi yarns
- Fair return policy
- Easy to make orders
- International shipping
- Convenient navigation
- Active and large community for any craft passion
Cons
- Shipping prices are high
- The picture may not always match the color in reality
Lion Brand Yarn
An interesting fact – they’ve been family run and owned since 1878. Run by the fifth generation, they transitioned into the digital age in 1998.
Lion Brand Yarn has aged well, releasing wonderful products from a yarn line yearly. One of the best places to buy yarn. Besides a huge range of yarns, they have kits, knitting patterns, and notions.
Lion Brand is committed to positive social and environmental change. Their #hatnothate platform, is an anti-bullying program aimed at youth. Handmade blue hats are distributed across the United States. Through hands-on activities, kids are empowered to be kind.
Pros
- Excellent yarn selection and yarn weights
- Many free patterns, try the ones used with the self-striping Mandala yarn!
- Wonderful variety of products
- Excellent for searching for types of gifts
- A good part is their vibrant and engaging social channels
- International shipping
- Fair prices for any person
- Excellent return policies
- The wide selection of items has great qualities
- Regular clearance sales events and coupons
- Affordable blends of yarn suitable for many projects
Cons
- One of the yarn retailers that only sells yarn from their brand
- No free shipping
- You need an account to purchase from them, which is annoying
Amazon: Best Place To Buy Yarn In Bulk Online
The giant of e-commerce sells almost everything you could want. It’s the best place to buy yarn in bulk online. They offer discounts when you buy ten or more of the same yarn. It’s great for yarn in bulk for a large project. For wholesale buying, go to the seller or buy from a department store.
Pros
- Many sellers and different products in any category
- They sell items for beginners, advanced knitters and every skill level
- If you’re an amazon prime member, use the discounts and free shipping
- A great place to buy the best yarn for baby blanket or knitting wool for scarves
- Easy to use if you’re familiar with the website already
- Your online purchases in one place
- Excellent range of knitting needles, from quality metal ones to bamboo
- Selections of yarns from well-known yarn retailers
- Buying is an easy process
Cons
- Colors may not be entirely accurate
- Some yarns don’t ship if you live outside the US
Here are yarns I recommend in my Yarn for Baby Blankets & Yarn for Socks post.
Note: Clicking the above links takes you to further information, current prices, and customer reviews on Amazon.
Yarnspirations
A yarn shop with many popular yarn brands, like Patons, Lily Sugar N Cream, Bernat, Caron, and Red Heart. The Red Heart website redirects to Yarnspirations.
They sell patterns, notions, books, bags, and many more. Everything a knitter needs. A bright burst of color characterizes many of their yarns.
Pros
- Well trusted company
- Many yarn options and weights, from superfine to worsted weight yarn
- Prompt and trackable shipping
- Reachable by email if you have trouble, quick and friendly responses
- Great price range, especially on blanket yarn and specialty yarn
- Free patterns available
- Ships to the United States, the United Kingdom and internationally
- Sign up for their weekly emails to receive great deals and information about what’s on sale
Cons
- Few luxury or handcrafted options
Fabulous Yarn
A luxury yarn store selling beautiful, handcrafted yarn balls. It’s a small, independent yarn company with a small yarn store in the NY State area. They have lovely wool yarn from sheep and alpaca. Plenty of beautiful wool dreaming of being added to your yarn stash!
Pros
- Many high quality hand-dyed luxury skeins to make lovely knits
- Wool yarn and a lot of plant fibers
- Lovely yarns of all weights
- Their fibers are soft on the hands
- Great specialty yarns you won’t find anywhere else
- Fast and international shipping
- Good returns policy
- Free shipping in the US for orders over $75
Cons
- Smaller range than most yarn stores online
Purl Soho
A family-owned business with a physical brick-and-mortar location and online. Purl Soho was founded in 2002. They have exquisite knitting supplies and yarn!
Beautiful ideas for your next project and something to suit any tastes. They focus on diversity and pay great attention to their clientele. Online yarn shopping is super easy as the images are so inticing!
Pros
- Beautiful quality products, like needles, brand yarns, and bags/pouches
- Much effort put into their selection and texture of their fibers
- This platform has extensive resources on many crafts
- Everything comes from an ethical source
- Hand-dyed skeins of many colors
- Hundreds of positive reviews
- Transparent and excellent return policy makes life easier
- Easy to make and manage orders so you can get back to your hobby faster
- Yarn to fit any needle or hook size
- Good sales during the holidays
- They have short classes for how to master certain techniques on their YouTube channel
Cons
- High shipping fees
- Less items than most companies
Great Places To Buy Yarn Online Comparison Chart
Looking For More Recommendations? Here’s The Thing.
FAQS About Buying Yarn Online
Why Should You Shop At Online Yarn Stores?
Shopping for yarn in a yarn store is an experience. Yarn stores are lovely places, full of yarn, needles, and all things knitting. Times are changing with the purchasing preferences of knitters. (1)
You can also feel the wool. Buying yarn online, you can’t touch the product. You have to rely on your eyes. That’s the only downside to the best places to buy online. There are many reasons to shop online, including
- If you have limited mobility
- If yarn stores aren’t near where you live
- If you don’t have transport options
- If you don’t feel like going out!
- When you can’t visit a craft store
- Deals and discounts aplenty
- Takes little effort
- Convenience
- Anything you order is delivered straight to your door
- Spoiled for choice
- For getting brands or other stock not accessible otherwise
- When you can’t leave home
How Do I Shop For Yarns Online?
Here’s a quick guide.
- Browse through the yarn shops to choose a yarn store
- Click on the link to open it in your browser
- Use the tips below to choose the perfect yarn
- If you don’t know what project to try, use the pattern finder on Ravelry
- Add it to your cart, browse around for other things you need to buy.
- Apply a discount code if you have one
- Pay for your order at the checkout.
- Arrange the shipping
- Celebrate! Your purchase will arrive in the mail!
If you get stuck, every yarn company has dedicated customer service. They’ll supply you with the help you need.
Things to Consider When Shopping At Online Yarn Stores
- What season is it?
- What will this be used for?
- What functions will it have?
- How often will I use this item?
- Is the knitted project for a baby? Therefore the fiber needs to be soft.
- What sort of care will it need? Will I want to wash this item frequently?
- What color best suits the person the knitted project is intended for?
- What color matches your home décor?
- How much do you want to spend?
Knitters should enjoy the yarn they interact with. A project takes time, patience, and everything from the color, to the weight, texture are essential components to a successful and beautiful handmade project.
The point of choosing the right yarn is making wonderful handcrafted items for yourself, family, friends, and loved ones.
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Good To Remember Your Yarn Symbols & Labels!
Yarn labels are essential. They have the specifics of the product. Like:
- Yarn Weight – Ranging from 0-7, it explains how thick it is
- Gauge – Am estimate of the recommended gauge for knitting
- Needle Sizing – Recommended needle sizes.
- Yarn Amount – How much you get in one ball
- Care Instructions – How to wash/take care of the material
Make a checklist of what you need, and reference this.
Remember This When Buying Yarn Online
- Keep track of what you need! Refer to your pattern/project guidelines.
- Read The Product Description, They contain important information on all aspects of the item. Don’t want to miss something important!
- Read Customer Reviews. When you can’t test or see the yarn, read the reviews on the yarn page. Does it wash and knit up well? Is it colorfast? Does it knit up well? People include these details and more.
- Watch Out For Great Bargains & Sales: Yarn websites run regular sales or savings. Keep an eye out so you can take advantage of them! Keep track is by signing up for the newsletter. Often, they offer 10-15% percent off your first purchase.
- These aren’t just promotional email lists. They include knitting techniques, tips, tricks, and smart ideas.
- Or follow the company on social media, like on Instagram or Facebook. Sometimes they post about offers. They’ll often have limited-time deals. Online stores run clearance sales too!
- Fibers for winter (wool, mohair, or alpaca) are in clearance during warmer months. You’ll find yarn for summer is cleared during colder months. Another way to save is by buying a kit. The yarn is cheaper, plus materials and patterns are included. Sometimes they have boxes or a bundle pack.
- Returns, Exchanges, Refunds: Not happy with your purchase? Return, exchange, or get it refunded. Read the return policy from the company.
Which Is The Best Yarn To Buy?
It depends on the item you’re knitting. Also what fiber you prefer, what colors you need, what weight, and how much of it you need. Use your pattern as guidelines for the yarn you buy.
Where Can I Buy Inexpensive Yarn?
Knit Picks offers brilliant affordability and low prices. Amazon is an excellent spot to buy yarn in bulk for a discounted price. These two places are my top recommendations. The rest are still great! Other places to access.
Try craft stores and your local yarn store! You might make some friends.
Conclusion
I hope the content in this resource of the best online yarn shops was helpful. What’s your favorite online yarn manufacturer or your best place online to buy yarn from? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
References
(1) Stacey Trock, Yarn Industry News Update: January 2020. Retrieved from https://craftindustryalliance.org/yarn-industry-news-update-january-2020/, Feb 2020