Looking for materials

[blaueteufelin.livejournal.com]

. . . for sewing and knitting. Anyone have any recommendations about where I can get thread/needles/yarn, etc? Should I just go to Walmart or Target, or are there any specialty stores around here? Thanks again! :)

EDIT: Also, does anyone know of any books on knitting or sewing?

Comments

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Ah, the knitting bandwagon. I'm not on it, but everyone else in the world is. Well, there's the classic Stitch and Bitch book. And there's a weekly stitch and bitch group at True Grounds in Ball Sq. every Sunday.

Also, it's spelled 'sewing.'

[blaueteufelin.livejournal.com]

Yea . . . typo. I got 3 hours of sleep last night, so that's my excuse :) I didn't know there was a knitting bandwagon.

Thanks for the info :)

Knitting and Sewing

[fanw.livejournal.com]

There's a little sewing/vacuum cleaner shop in Davis Square just where Holland and Elm start, but if you want a lot of choice I would go to a craft store. You can go to Michael's on Route 16 or take a trip to Pearl's at Central Square and go downstairs. They are mainly an art store, but they do have a fairly wide selection of yarns.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i realize it's kind of a trek, but joann's fabrics near the burlington mall and ac moore off of i-95 have a big yarn section. (ac moore is in woburn, i think, near the woburn movie theater.)

WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[manjety.livejournal.com]

I know of an absolutely beautiful yarn store not far from Harvard (5' walk from the subway stop) - WOOLCOTT & CO.
61 JFK st, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138-4931
617-547-2837/FAX 617-547-2635; web site: www.woolcottandco.com

they have tons of yarn, books, and even classes.
it is not as big as Target, quite an opposite - small and cozy. Prices are different.

What I like about them most - they have a lot of 100% wool/cashemire/lambwool yarn!

Also, you'll fine there threads and all the supplies you might need.

Re: WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[blaueteufelin.livejournal.com]

Prices are higher or lower? I'm on a student budget, so lower is good ;)

Re: WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[jadia.livejournal.com]

Woolcott is really expensive. I'm on a student budget too and was utterly shocked by the prices. I didn't even *know* yarn came that expensive!

I like Michaels.

Re: WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. Woolcott is way too expensive. While I know that much of their stock consists of mohair, silks, and othere expensive fibers, I've seen other kinds of specialty yarns that they sell in their store sold elsewhere for much less. I'd also advise to try looking on-line. I've yet to order yarn this way, but many of my friends do and claim to save lots of money this way. This seems to be good if you need to buy a bulk amount for a larger project.

Re: WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[manjety.livejournal.com]

it depends on your goals and ammount that you need. may be it worths it...

100% wool simple (bege) color yarn might be $5-6 and up.

People are very friendly in there and all of them know what they sell! so if you come and ask, they can recomend you something hopefully affordable.

Re: WOOLCOTT & CO in Cambridge

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

pricey, yes! but quality. the staff is fantastic, they're really great about getting you exactly what you need. i've overheard a sales girl offer to teach a customer how to get started on a project.
i'm also a student and can't afford much, but personally i prefer to save my money for a really nice scarf vs. many misc scarves that just end up lying around.
they also have some things for sale; these usually sit in the middle of the store in bags, so ask a staff memeber and i'm sure they'll be happy to help.
enjoy!

[dancingdeer.livejournal.com]

There's also a yarn store in Porter Square - Minds Eye Yarns, in one of the houses on White Street, opposite the Star Market (but closer to the CVS).
If you're looking for more acrylics rather than wool, try Pearl Arts in Central Square; they also have craft supplies.

[seborn.livejournal.com]

None of these are in Davis, but they're T-accessible and good. I bet that Davis has things that I just don't know about.

For knitting:

Woolcott, at 61 JFK Street (corner Eliot) in Harvard Square, has just about any needles and yarn you like. They also have a large selection of patterns and books. They have helpful experienced staff, and also offer knitting classes.

For knitting and sewing:

Windsor Button, at 35 Temple Place (right around the corner from Macy's) in Downtown Crossing, has everything you could possibly want for anything.

For sewing:

Winmill Fabrics, at 111 Chauncy Street in Chinatown, has mass quantities of fabric. New England Textile is nearby and will have anything that Winmill doesn't, and vice versa.

Books on knitting:

I second the Stitch 'n Bitch recommendation; it rocks. The diagrams are very good, the explanations are clear, and in under a hundred pages it teaches you a lot of skills. There may be better books, but I learned off of this. One of the Woolcott women argued against it the other day as being more focussed on knitting history and practice than on skills, but I found the instructional sections very good.

[jadia.livejournal.com]

There's also "Sew-fisticated" in the Twin City Plaza (off McGrath Highway). I think they have smaller selection than Winmill and more cheaper fabrics, but someone else has told me that they've always found Winmill to be cheaper, so it's probably highly dependent on timing. :)

[cutieperson]

i'll third the recommendation for Stitch n' Bitch. there's also a kit geared towards kids/teens that comes in a box with yarn, needles, & some other starter things that has wonderful pictures.

The Knitting Room in Arlington (right off Mass Ave) is a great little store. the yarn selection ranges from mundane to insane, as do the prices. the staff are extremely friendly too, which i think helps.

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised on one has mentione Mind's Eye Yarns yet. Its in Porter square. Its on the first floor of a pink house on white street, right across from the Star Market. The owner is very friendly.

You can also get cheap acrylics and cotton in Pearl Arts and crafts in Central Square. Personally, though, I order most of my yarn online these days.

[blaueteufelin.livejournal.com]

Where do you order your yarn from?

[greyautumnrain.livejournal.com]

Patternworks (http://www.patternworks.com) is where I get most of my yarn from these days. They have a nice print catalog and a good range from reasonably priced basics to the fancy stuff.

For bargains, people rave about Elann (http://www.elann.com/), but I've yet to order from them.

[blaueteufelin.livejournal.com]

Yea, I came across Elann, and it looked very good to me. I thought it would be a good idea to hold off on buying from them until I know a little more about all of this . . . but I've found a lot of good reviews of Elann, so I think I will go ahead and buy some yarn from them :)

[julishka.livejournal.com]

if you take the 87 (or 88?) bus from davis to the end of broadway in arlington, there you'll find Playtime arts and crafts on the right (before broadway turns into a parking lot, and across from wild women outfitters). the basement has TONs of yarn & stuff. (along w/lots of other notions, ribbons, beads, floral stuff, etc. etc. etc.) upstairs, they have a whole bunch of dover books - they may have the sewing/knitting books (by dover and more) stuff downstairs - and dover makes a whole bunch of instructional books on knitting/sewing.

they also have fine art supplies, frames, party supplies, school art supplies, clay tools/sculpy/fimo stuff, artist papers, canvas- stretched, easels, etc.