Where do you buy yarn?

Just out of curiosity
—I’d like to know if you buy your yarn online, at a specialty yarn store, or in other shops, or if you specifically look for clearance items?

Are brands important to you when buying yarn?
Or is it more about how thick the yarn is and how easy it is to work with?

Personally, I prefer to buy yarn “offline” because I don’t like itchy fabrics.
I’d rather spend a little more than buy yarn that feels uncomfortable.
When knitting and crocheting, you have the yarn right in your hands for a long time—if it feels uncomfortable, then crocheting and knitting just aren’t any fun.
And later, when you’re wearing the finished items, you don’t enjoy it if the yarn is itchy either.

Do you actually have your own stash of yarn at home, or do you tend to buy only what you need?

Well, scratchy yarn is a total no-go—that’s true—neither for crocheting nor for wearing.
I prefer to shop in person, simply because then I have the yarn right away. If you buy it online, you have to wait for it to be delivered. And when I want something, I usually want it right away. Patience and all that—it’s not really my strong suit, but maybe I’ll learn :)

I have these boxes where I keep my yarn, sewing supplies, and all that stuff. I still have a little bit left, even though my stash has shrunk because of my crocheting experiments. But I always have to pack it all away in the boxes, because the cats, of course, find yarn and all that stuff incredibly exciting. When I’m crocheting or weaving, I get as much attention from the cats as the printer usually gets when it’s running. I have no idea what they find so exciting about it, but once they get started, there’s no talking them out of it.

Well, anyway, back to the topic
—I think it’s good to have a stash of yarn. Then you can try things out right away if you need to, without having to run to the shops first. And I mean, a few balls of yarn don’t take up that much space anyway—you can easily find a spot for them.

I’d love to go shopping at a yarn store, but the nearest one is forever away. No car, no chance. That’s why I order online. You can often find special offers there, but I’d still prefer to buy in person.

I do have a stash of yarn, yes. And plenty of it, too. But I also have enough space, so that’s not an issue. I have a whole closet just for that—for sewing supplies, knitting supplies, crochet supplies, and all that.
 

@Hamster
Do you live really far out in the sticks?
How do you manage when you just want to go shopping for groceries and stuff?

Have you ever checked out r e a l, if you have one near you?
I picked up two packs of five skeins of yarn there today.
It was pretty cheap, but the yarn “squeaks” between my fingers when I’m crocheting—it’s a polyacrylic fiber that has a distinct… well, I don’t know what to call it, but it feels kind of weird between my fingers.
The other polyacrylic yarn I had recently wasn’t a problem.
I don’t know—I hope it’ll still work out well; after all, I have 10 skeins of it, in a soft yellow and a soft purple. :) My shopping buddy was laughing her head off at my color choices.

I asked at r e a l—they apparently always have yarn there. Even the really big skeins and lots of sock yarn. But that one was totally itchy.

I’ve combined the two colors again and am crocheting them together at the same time. The advantage of this is that it’s easier to handle, and it creates interesting color effects. That’s what I like best—when there are these two-tone accents.


P.S. I wrote the store’s name in such a funny way because I don’t know if you’re even allowed to mention names like that here.
 

I buy most of my yarn at Wollfabrik—preferably at their warehouse sale. That said, I’ve accumulated quite a bit there by now. Aside from two shelves, there are also various boxes and cartons—all full of yarn. Luckily, I have a special spot for all my crafting supplies—especially since my cats would probably make short work of the yarn.

I still have a few balls of yarn lying around here, but they won’t last me through the winter. So it’s time for another shopping trip :)

I usually buy my yarn online; the yarn shop in my village doesn’t have that big of a selection.
Right now, I mostly shop at link removed

It also depends a lot on experience.
If I’m looking for a very specific type of yarn that I need to feel first—and that I’ve never knitted with before—I have to see it in person. Here, I head straight to the nearest yarn store.
But there’s also yarn that I use again and again, e.g. sock yarn. For that, I don’t need to go to a store.
I buy that online at Link removed

Please don’t include shop links in your posts.

When buying yarn, I look for natural fibers and make sure no sheep are mistreated. Unfortunately, that’s often the case with cheap yarn.

One of my favorites is the yarn from Finkhof (de), which feels really nice. Otherwise, I like to order yarn from Drops. They have a wide selection, and I’ve always been satisfied so far.

I usually order online. When I’m in the Ravensburg area, Finkhof has a stand at the markets and you can buy directly from them.

I have plenty of yarn in stock, and I love it. :) I took a nine-month break from buying yarn to free up some space in my closets. Now I’ve restocked and am enjoying the wide selection. 

Of course, I prefer to shop at a yarn store where I can feel the material. But if neither the store in my town nor the one in Zurich carries the yarn I want, I order it online—especially cotton yarn for shopping nets or dishcloths.
My stash is waaaay too big and, unfortunately, keeps growing instead of shrinking, even though I’m trying my best…

I order Bobbel and other yarns made from a cotton-polyacrylic blend online from my favorite yarn shop.

For other types of yarn, I browse the craft sections of various department stores.

I almost only buy from yarn dyers, either through Facebook sales or in their online shops. There are lots of wonderful, very high-quality yarns there. 
Buttjebeyy, by the way, uses only natural dyes, and they have some very soft yarns. Fiberpassion and Locoporella also have very high-quality yarn.
These days I no longer knit with cheap yarn; it’s usually too scratchy.
Except for cotton, there are some good inexpensive options there too.

We have a small but lovely and very well-stocked yarn shop in town—that’s where I prefer to shop, because I can get good advice right there if I ever need it. With yarn, it’s even worse than with fabric—I’m a tactile person, and I HAVE to feel the yarn in my hands before it goes on the needle.

Since I’m unfortunately allergic to wool… real wool is out of the question. I crochet a lot with cotton or sometimes synthetic fibers, which I often order online because there’s simply a wider selection there. 

I don’t buy yarn online. I want to be able to touch it before I buy it, and that’s only possible in a shop or at markets.

I’m lucky (or unlucky) enough to live near Salach, where the Schachenmayr factory outlet is based, and three towns over there’s Schöller & Stahl.

So I have a correspondingly large stash of yarn stored all over the house. 

Actually, I do buy with a specific purpose in mind; in the shop I always know what I want to make from it. But I think that’s just an excuse to buy the yarn because it looks so beautiful and feels so nice. 

Hey, I shop at Lonecraft.