Our spring classes are finally here! We’ve got a lot of fun stuff on the schedule on top of our standard Learn to Knit/Crochet classes. Now is a great time to learn something new that will travel well for your summer plans, and it’s always a good time to add to your existing skill set.
We’re most excited about our Double Knitting and Tunisian Crochet classes, and we hope you will be too. Head over to the classes tab for all the information you need, plus how to sign up. We look forward to seeing you in class!
I can’t believe the holiday season is already here! It’s almost like I blinked, and now it’s the week of Thanksgiving. The good news, however, is that means our annual Fibertastic Friday Frenzy is upon us! Here’s our schedule for the week:
Wednesday, November 22nd – CLOSED
Thursday, November 23rd – CLOSED
Friday, November 24th – 8am-2pm
Saturday, November 25th – 10am-3pm (our regular hours)
Tuesday, November 28th CLOSED
Wednesday, November 29th – back to our regular schedule!
Now, onto the sale info that I know you’re all itching for!
Friday 11/24 8am-10am – 40% off almost everything!
Friday 11/24 11am-2pm – 30% off almost everything!
Saturday 11/25 – 20% off almost everything!
As always, we will have exclusions clearly marked. All excluded items are our consignment items, meaning you’re helping local folks live their dreams, and we encourage you to pick some up anyways!
You may also take advantage of the Berroco Drop Ship program during our sale. You can order any Berroco yarn (really, not just the ones we stock!) in any quantity and receive the time-based discount. All orders are then shipped directly to you, usually within one week. Shipping is $8 on all Drop Ship orders and will not be discounted. Pop over to berroco.com to see all they have to offer!
What else should I know?
We have freshly restocked a lot of our yarns just for you, so this is the perfect time to pick up sweater or blanket quantities at a great price.
Get to planning those upcoming projects! Be sure to have your patterns printed or pattern information quickly available on your phone or tablet so we can easily help you find the perfect yarn for your project.
As is usual during sale time, we will not have time to help you with any projects you may be stuck on. Feel free to stop in the following week and we’ll be more than happy to help you and see your face again!
Winding service will not be available during the sale. You’re welcome to bring back your yarn after the sale is over and we can wind up some skeins for you, or you may leave your yarn here to be wound and picked up at a later date.
There will be no holds allowed before and during the sale, and all items are sold on a first come, first served basis. The best way to make sure you get the yarn you’ve been craving is to come as early as you can, which also means you’ll save more!
Now for our annual pattern round up!
Get Inspired!
This is always my favorite part of each year! Inspiration can be hard, so hopefully we can help you find something you’ll be excited to make. This is just a small sampling of the awesome projects that are out there, but we hope you’ll find something wonderful you want to make.
You know how much we adore Stephen West here, so it’s no surprise this beautiful new shawl is on our want-to-make list. The Glittering Snowscape Shawl takes five skeins of fingering weight yarn, and you can either use a beautiful tonal shift as shown in the photo, or you can make a progressive rainbow of colors. The world of color is your oyster! We recommend Cascade Heritage for softness, gorgeous color, and amazing affordability. We also encourage you to bring some skeins from home and we’ll help you fill in the gaps for something truly stunning.
This gorgeous crocheted shawl has been itching to hop on my hook for a while now, so I’m hoping I’ll get to live vicariously through some of you until I can start my own! The Picot Triangle Scarf uses just four skeins of worsted weight yarn, one skein each of four different colors. I’ve been looking forward to using some Berroco Vintage for mine, but there are so many worsted weight options here that would be perfect. This project is easily adjustable to be larger, you’ll just need to grab some extra yarn.
I don’t know how it happened, but this beauty managed to jump on my needles this past weekend! I had originally planned to make the Killer Queen Cowl (there’s a shawl version, too), but when I saw the sweater version I knew I had to make that instead. This stunning, size-inclusive pattern can be made with short or long sleeves, and we recommend the ever-gorgeous Malabrigo Rios for this pattern.
If you’re looking to step up your sock game, the Villiviini socks are just challenging enough to keep your interest while still being simple enough to work on while binging your favorite tv series. The contrast section is worked using a really clever in-the-round intarsia method that will have you thinking of all the ways you could use it for other projects. We recommend Dream in Color Smooshy or Malabrigo Ultimate Sock for these beauties. Dig through your leftovers stash (we know you have one!) for the contrast color, or grab a second full skein and flip flop your colors for two pairs.
All right, go ahead and get your teenaged giggles out now, because this hat pattern is a classic you’ll want to make for everyone you know! Violet Waffles is knit using DK weight yarn, and with the needle size, you could easily swap in worsted weight for a more dense, warmer hat. We recommend Dream in Color Cosette for fantastic cashmere softness, or Cascade 220 Superwash Wave for a fun fade effect.
Fingerless gloves are the perfect combo of warmth and practicality. The Woodland Mitts are crocheted sideways using sport weight yarn for a nice squishy and warm texture you’re sure to fall in love with. We recommend Malabrigo Arroyo or Cascade Heritage 6 for a perfect pair of these mitts.
Well, we hope we’ve given you all the inspiration you could ask for! If nothing else, we hope each of these patterns serve as a jumping-off point for all of your creative knit and crochet ideas. We look forward to seeing you this weekend!
Today, September 12th, is International Crochet Day, so we thought we’d celebrate with a post and a whole bunch of recommendations of patterns! (Wanna learn to crochet? Hop over to our classes page and sign up for a class!)
You may, or may not, know that I was a crocheter long before I learned how to knit. It was my introduction into the fabulous world of yarn, and though I may not do as much of it as I once did, it still is my first true love. I think I started in the same place as many crocheters making questionable scarves, coasters, and dishcloths. Eventually, as I expanded my skills, I developed a deep love for amigurumi, blankets, and some of the craziest shawls you’ve ever seen. I still have yet to make granny square anything, and I should probably change that someday. Today is not that day, and tomorrow ain’t looking good either!
Anywho, here are some of the awesome crocheted projects that have managed to sneak their way into my Ravelry favorites of late:
Chocomania is a stunning shawl made using Malabrigo Arroyo. The entire shawl is single crochet (including some extended single crochet), and creates its stunning cables through a tedious-but-worth-it process of tangling and untangling your yarn. We have a sample of this beauty in the shop for you to drool over next time you stop in. While you’re at it, check out Elena’s other patterns as well. She has an amazing catalog of really unique stuff.
Despite being in my 40s, I am firmly in my crop tops and overalls phase. This cute crop is worked up using DK yarn, and could easily be adjusted to make the body and/or sleeves longer. I have plans to make this using either Universal Bamboo Pop or the super luscious Dream in Color Cosette.
I love fun shawls, and I love scrap busters, so this project is perfect! It’s also an easier, straightforward introduction if you’re feeling like venturing into the world of Tunisian crochet. This uses DK scraps, but could easily be adjusted to use up whatever scraps you’ve got. The trick to remember is to use a hook size about three sizes up from what’s typically recommended for your yarn. Don’t wanna use scraps? Grab a few skeins of Universal Deluxe DK Tweed instead.
My main beef with crocheted hats is they tend to fit poorly with little-to-no stretch. This pattern solves that problem by being worked sideways using a squishy rib, so it’ll stretch comfortably to fit a wide variety of head sizes, including my fat head! All you’ll need is a skein of worsted or aran weight yarn, and you’ll be able to work one of these up in an evening. We recommend Di Gilpin Lalland Aran for a warm and squishy hat.
I adore this scarf because it’s more interesting than a typical sideways scarf. It has some unique stitches and is reversible, and despite being marketed as a mens scarf, you can make it for anyone (even YOURSELF!). It looks easy enough to adjust to be wider if that’s what you like as well. This scarf can be made using worsted weight yarn, and we think it’d be fantastic in Malabrigo Rios. As if we needed another reason to pimp this yarn!
I hope you had as much fun checking out these patterns as I did! Fall is right around the corner, so it’s the perfect time to bust out the hooks and yarn and get some projects rolling to keep you warm throughout the season. Happy hooking everyone!
It’s Friday the 13th of January, and we thought we’d bring some good news to help break the bad luck some believe in on this kind of date.
We’re moving! But don’t worry, it’s not far! We’re only moving about 30 feet to the right, and taking over the old Carriage House Boutique space. We plan to be in our new space starting March 1st, but we will keep you posted if that date changes. We will also be sure to have good signage in the old space to help guide you towards the new one.
So what does this mean? Our hours will not change! We will still be open standard hours during the move. This means lots of work for us (hey, nothing comes easy right?). This means more space for us to gather for open stitch times. This means, most importantly, even more space for new yarns without getting rid of old but wonderful yarns!
We can’t wait to get settled in and welcome all of you into our new space. Talk about new year, new you! Be sure to keep an eye here and on facebook for updates.
Can you believe it’s our SEVENTH annual Fibertastic Friday Frenzy? We can’t either! Read on for all the details you’ll need, plus some gift ideas to motivate you to finally start those things you said you’d start back in the summer.
We’re officially back to doing our scaled sale! This means the earlier you come, the better the savings you’ll get. Here’s the breakdown:
Friday 8am-10am – 40% off almost everything
Friday 10am-12pm – 30% off almost everything
Friday 12pm – Saturday 3pm – 20% off almost everything
What’s on sale?
Almost everything in the shop! All consignment items will be excluded from the sale and they will be clearly marked for everyone. Our sale corner will be priced as marked, and all sale items are also excluded from the FFF sale.
You may also take advantage of the Berroco Drop Ship program during our sale. You can order any Berroco yarn (really, not just the ones we stock!) in any quantity and receive the time-based discount. All orders are then shipped directly to you, usually within one week. Shipping is $8 on all Drop Ship orders and will not be discounted. Pop over to berroco.com to see all they have to offer!
What else should I know?
Start any planning now so you’re ready when you get to the shop. Pick out projects that you’d love to make, and either bring a copy of the pattern or have quick access to the pattern information on your phone/tablet. That way we can get you pointed in the right direction quickly so you can choose some awesome yarn!
We likely will not have time to help if you’re stuck on a project. If you can, please save all project questions for next week and be sure to stop back so we can help you.
Winding of yarn will not be offered during the sale. You can always bring your purchases back to be wound when you’re ready to use the yarn, or you can leave your yarn here to be wound to pick up within the next week.
There will be no holds, and all items are sold on a first come, first served basis.
Alright, on to the fun stuff!
What should I get yarn for?
Oh man, there are so many great projects out there! I know all of us can use help sometimes in figuring out what we should make next, so here are some fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Aurora Cabin Shawl – Stephen West’s next Hiberknitalong starting 12/26
Get yourself some yarn for the upcoming Hiberknitalong starting on December 26th (we will also be hosting a KAL here at the shop for this shawl). The Aurora Cabin Shawl calls for five skeins of fingering weight yarn which will then be knit up into this beautiful and versatile shawl, sure to keep you warm for the remainder of winter. Grab all five skeins here from the shop, or bring some skeins from home and mix in a new skein or two or three or… hey, we know how it is!
Want something that looks fun without having to knit five whole skeins of fingering weight yarn? Check out the Killer Queen Cowl by Mary Annarella! This project uses three skeins of Malabrigo Rios, two for the main color, one for the contrast, and we’ve got lots of options here to choose from. You can opt to add button holes and buttons, or simply seam up the cowl when you’re done.
For all my fellow crocheters, we hope you’ll love the Pointillism Cowl by Janine Mudge as much as we do! This cowl takes three skeins of worsted weight yarn, two for your main color and one for the contrast. We recommend Malabrigo Rios, Frog It Yarns Merino Worsted, or mix and match and add a skein of color-shifting Cascade 220 Superwash Wave for some extra color fun.
We love nothing more than a super cute hat, and we absolutely adore this one! The Lucky Hat Wrap perfectly mixes those ear warmers we all love with a hat for all the extra warmth you’ve always wanted. It’s also perfect to wear all day for protecting your hair or if you just don’t feel like washing your hair yet (we get it!). You’ll need only one skein of any worsted weight yarn to make this beauty. For extra color fun, grab a self-striping or variegated yarn to highlight the shift in stitch direction from the brim to the top. We recommend Berroco Sesame or Cascade Friday Harbor.
There’s nothing better than a nice warm pair of mittens on a cold winter’s day! We love the flexibility the Tinsel Mitts offer. You can make your mitts fingerless, full, or a flip-down combo. Either way, we love the sneaky slip stitch detail, and it’s the perfect opportunity to use delicious yarns like Dream in Color Cosette, a beautiful merino/cashmere blend. The pattern calls for up to 240 yards of DK weight yarn. Depending on your choice you may need one or two skeins.
We hope we’ve given you lots of inspiration to get your planning started. We look forward to seeing you bright and early Friday morning!
Can you believe it? String Theory Yarn Shop is six years young today! It has certainly been a wild ride up to this point, and we have all of you to thank for keeping us going. We’ve survived growing pains, like any new business, but we’ve also persevered despite an ongoing pandemic, even thriving on the other side. So here’s a huge THANK YOU to all of you who continue to support us!
Now, onto the important bit, CLASSES! Our class schedule is officially posted over on the Classes tab at the top of the page (or under the drop-down menu on mobile). We’ve got all sorts of things scheduled from Learn to Knit/Crochet to really fun techniques like Twigg Stitch and Brioche. Take a quick hop over, and if you are interested in signing up for any of our classes, you can either stop in or send us an email at stringtheoryyarnshop -at- gmail -dot- com and we’ll get an invoice headed your way.
We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, and look forward to seeing you in class and here at the shop come fall!
Well everyone, it’s July, and HOLY COW is it hot! We feel like we’re channeling Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element on the daily! (Also, if you have never seen this movie, stop what you’re doing right now and go stream it. You can thank me later.) It’s so hot that many of us put down our projects in favor of anything that will make us less warm, like popsicles, reading in the darkest, coolest corner of our homes, or simply laying naked by a fan. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. This is the perfect time of year to whip up all sorts of cute and small accessories that don’t lay on your lap and instead hang coolly from your hooks and needles.
This is a super cute headband that you can whip up in no time and will be ready for the first cool nights of fall when they inevitably sneak up on us. It calls for just over half of a 100g skein of worsted or aran weight yarn (ballpark is probably about 130yds) and US8 needles. The pattern will walk you through the super simple seaming to make the cute twisted knot that sets this headband off, and you can use the technique for any other headband you dream up. This pattern is available for free through Ravelry.
We recommend something delightfully soft yet warm, like Cascade Miraflores, Malabrigo Rios, or even Cascade Cherub Aran. Add a strand of Rico Designs mohair for an even warmer and fluffier version!
In this shop we believe every day is the best day to be making socks. We love their portability and how they keep our attention just enough to keep away the boredom some other projects may bring (we’re looking at you sweater body stockinette slog-fests!). So if there was ever an even more perfect time to knit your own socks, it’s summer!
These socks are perfectly built for summertime wear with their short cuffs that will peek out over the edge of your sneakers while you work or run errands, and a stunning stitch pattern you can stare at when you kick those sneakers off at the end of the day. Depending on your foot size, each pair will take about 220yds of sock yarn and the pattern calls for US2/2.75mm needles (or use your usual sock needle size if you have one). This pattern can be purchased through Ravelry for £4.00. This is one of those rare patterns we can’t sell you in-store, so make sure to grab it off Ravelry yourself.
We recommend any fingering weight yarn with at least 20% nylon (for easy washing and durability), like Frog-It Yarns Merino Fingering, Cascade Heritage, or Manos del Uruguay Alegria.
Finally, a plant that not even you can kill! There are all sorts of plant-based amigurumi patterns out there, but we love how adorable this little guy is, right down to his pot, cute safety eyes, and stitched smile. Wanna have even more fun? When you’re finished, grab some pink eyeshadow and “paint” the edges of the leaves to make them look even more realistic. Use any size yarn with the appropriate hook to make this succulent as big or small as you want. This pattern is available for in-store sale through Ravelry for $2.99.
We recommend Cascade Cherub Aran or Universal Deluxe DK Tweed for this project.
We absolutely love Tin Can Knits patterns here, and this pattern is no exception. You can pick from four sizes and four different weights of yarn to make these warm mittens in whatever you’ve got lying around. We think these would be a really fun way to do some striped scrap busting, and would be equally beautiful made from a fresh-off-the-shelf skein of yarn. This pattern is available for free through Ravelry.
We recommend Berroco Vintage or Vintage Chunky, Dream in Color Cosette, and Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball for this project.
We hope you are inspired by these projects to get those hooks and needles moving. Feel free to stop in and ask us about even more fun heat-busting project ideas, as we have plenty! Oh, and stay cool, dear theorists!
Local Yarn Store Day, April 30, 2022, International Yarn Crawl Celebrating Local Yarn Stores
This Saturday, April 30th, is 2022’s Local Yarn Store Day! We will be celebrating all day during our regular hours of 10am – 3pm. As always, we have lots of exciting things planned and plenty of project ideas to help spark your creativity! We also have lots of free pattern offerings from Malabrigo, Cascade, Berroco, and Casapinka for you to look forward to.
Introducing Frog It Yarns!
We are SO EXCITED to announce that we will be adding Frog It Yarns from Wellsville, PA to our yarn collection! We really wanted to bring you something wonderful and local for LYS Day this year, and we feel Frog It Yarns is the perfect choice.
Frog It Yarns is a husband and wife duo that started out as a mobile yarn shop back in 2017. Brian designed and worked on the inside of their mobile trailer, and came up with the name Frog It Yarns because he was always frogging his own projects (we’ve all been there!). Tasha is the dyer and self-described yarn enabler. Together they’ve created something truly wonderful, and we can’t wait for you to see what they’ve dyed up for us. We will have a nice selection of fingering and worsted weight yarns for you to ogle and add to your stash from this wonderful duo.
Speaking of locally dyed yarns…
We will also be featuring yarns from our in-house brand, Chromodyenamics! We have a gorgeous selection of colors and weights from our guest dyer Mary R., all dyed using natural dyes. We will also be debuting our in-house dyed single-ply fingering.
FREE patterns YAY!!!
As we listed above, we’ve got all sorts of free patterns available from all sorts of designers and yarn brands. In order to receive your free pattern, you’ll need to purchase yarns from Malabrigo, Cascade, or Berroco, or purchase any two skeins of fingering weight for a free Casapinka pattern. Here are the patterns being featured so you can plan ahead:
Ric Rac by Casapinka – uses 2 skeins of any fingering weight yarn
2022 LYS Day Wrap by Shannon Dunbabin – uses 3 skeins of any Cascade worsted weight yarn
With any purchase of any Berroco yarn (including drop ships!), you will get a code to download one Berroco.com pattern for free
Save on discontinued favorites!
Any yarns that have been discontinued by the manufacturer will be 25% off. We will have these clearly marked throughout the shop. Make sure you grab what you need, or maybe a bit more just in case, as these yarns will not be returning to our shelves. Help us clear out some old but awesome yarns to make way for new awesome yarns!
Last, but certainly not least…
When the first LYS Day happened a few years back, we decided to celebrate with mimosas. It is now an LYS Day tradition, and we will have regular and alcohol-free mimosas available all day.
It’s that wonderful time of year again! The birds are chirping, the flowers and trees are beginning to bloom, and the weather is finally warming up. Each spring brings the promise of rebirth and the opportunity for a fresh start.
In yarn land, this means new and returning summer favorites. Warmer weather calls for a shift in what kinds of fibers we wear, typically moving from warmer wools to cooler cotton blends. Here are some yarns we are super excited about this spring, and we hope you’ll find some wonderful projects to match:
This new yarn is the perfect mix of color and washability and is ready to be made into everything from simple shawls to summer tees. Lazy Hazy Summer Cotton is a DK weight blend of 49/46/5 Cotton/Acrylic/Polyester and each skein comes in at 164yds/50g. We’re currently working on a shop sample of Alicia Plummer’s Salted using this yarn, and we’re planning to leave off the sleeves to make this a perfect summer top. We expect this yarn to be on the shelves early next week (4/5), and we hope you’ll love it as much as we do!
Remix Light is a newer classic that has been part of Berroco’s lineup for a few years now. It is marketed as a DK weight blend of summery fibers, but we find it works up particularly well as a fingering or sport weight. Each skein is a 30/27/24/10/9 blend of Nylon/Cotton/Acrylic/Silk/Linen and has 432yds/100g. It is surprisingly lofty, rustic, and reminiscent of shetland wool with none of the itch or extra warmth. We think it would be perfect worked up into Bristol Ivy’s new Fields of Gold pattern, guaranteed to be a classic transition piece for your spring and fall wardrobe.
Bamboo Pop has been a staple here at the shop since the day we opened. This beautiful 50/50 Cotton/Bamboo DK weight yarn has stunning drape, softness, and coolness that is unparalleled by any other yarn. It comes in a stunning array of solid, variegated, and dotted colors that are sure to make your next project shine. Each skein has 292yds/100g. Grab two skeins and work up Tulip Chest by Klára Nagy for a beautiful and lacy piece that is sure to be a conversation starter.
These are just a few of the lovely yarns we’re hoping you’ll fall in love with this spring and summer. Feel free to stop in and ask us about any of these on your next visit.
P.S. – Local Yarn Store Day is right around the corner, and we’ve got lots of exciting things planned for this year’s event. Keep an eye out for an update on this in the coming weeks!
Hello there, theorists! We know it’s been a minute since we’ve posted any updates here on the website, but we promise we’re still here and we’re all set to get you excited for our 6th (yes, sixth!!!) Annual Fibertastic Friday Frenzy. We’ll start off with the not-so-fun business, and then get right on into what you can expect for our biggest sale of the year.
First things first, MASKS ARE REQUIRED REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS, NO EXCEPTIONS. This is in big, bold print to let you know just how serious we still are about this. If you do not have your mask on when you enter the shop, you will be asked if you have one. If you do, great, go get your yarn squish on! If not, you will be asked to return another time, or you are welcome to email the shop at stringtheoryyarnshop@gmail.com and we will be happy to do some personal shopping for you. We most likely will not have the time to do personal shopping during the Friday and Saturday rush, and you will not receive a discount for anything purchased outside of those two days, so be sure to come prepared with your mask at the ready!
Alright, now that the not-so-fun stuff is out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff! Our hours for this year’s Fibertastic Friday Frenzy will be as follows:
Friday, November 26th – 8am to 2pm
Saturday, November 27th – 10am to 3pm
Since we are still in the midst of a pandemic, we will once again have almost everything 30% off for both days to discourage everyone gathering all at once first thing Friday morning. All items excluded from the sale will be clearly marked.
As a reminder, we may not be able to help you if you come in with technical questions on a current project as we expect to be fairly busy throughout both Friday and Saturday. We also will not be offering winding service for the duration of the sale, but we’re happy to hold onto the skeins you want wound for pickup the following week, or, as always, you’re welcome to stop back to have your skeins wound when you’re ready to start your project.
Be sure to keep an eye on Facebook over the next week and change for some great projects that we think are perfect for gift giving. We very much look forward to seeing half of your faces on this most Fibertastic of Fridays and Saturdays!
String Theory Yarn Shop 