Local Yarn Store tour - Vancouver edition
Further documentation of yarn stores I have visited, and in celebration of Local Yarn Store Day 2024, I visited three yarn stores around the city I’m currently living in, Vancouver, British Columbia. The stores are:
Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store
Urban Yarns
Wet Coast Wools
I filmed it all for a Youtube video, which you can watch below, or otherwise keep scrolling to read all about them! At the end I’ll also mention the yarn stores in the area that I didn’t get to for this video! If you’d like to know about non-yarny places to visit for some inspiration, I have listed some of my favourite places at the bottom of this post.
For other Canadian yarn stores and travel tips for knitters and crocheters, give my other blog posts a visit.
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Baaad Anna’s Yarn Store
Baaad Anna’s Yarn is the one store on this tour that I had never been to before. Located in East Vancouver. It’s a decent size, with loads of options, from more commercial yarn, to local, independent dyers. They had everything you need and more, including these awesome mugs (pictured below) with text such as ‘Yarn hoarder’ written on them. A great gift for any fibre artist in your life!
There is a table in the middle, where they were holding classes, and now that I follow them on social media. I have discovered they host a variety of activities, including ‘Yarn tasting’ evenings, which sound epic!
Because it was Local Yarn store day, they were giving out a free pattern to people who purchased something. I got a pattern for a cowl.
Baad Anna’s Yarn Store
Urban Yarns
Urban Yarns is in the West Point Grey are of Vancouver. It’s a bit of a distance from Baaad Anna’s, but one bus from downtown Vancouver will take you there.
This yarn store has a really lovely feel to it. It’s got cozy vibes and the walls are covered in skeins of yarn! They also have a range of yarn available, I think my video shows it better than the photos. The staff are really friendly and knowledgeable and will help you find what you need. On this particularly trip, I walked away with a new Lykke 9 inch circular sock needles. They didn’t have the size I was looking for on display, but the person working in the store went to find it for me.
If you visit this yarn store, I recommend visiting Red Umbrella cafe down the street for some drinks and refreshments!
Images from Urban Yarns
Wet Coast Wools
Wet Coast Wools was the last stop on this yarn store visit. Located in the neighbourhood of Kitsilano, this is a great yarn store to visit as there are so many other things to do and see while in Kitsilano.
This store used to be a regular of mine when I lived in this neighbourhood. Although it seems to have halved in size over the last year, it still has everything you need. The staff are very helpful here- due to space, you may not see everything you are looking for, but if you ask, they will point you to the drawer that has certain weights, or brands, of yarn. I really like them and think if you van only visit one, make it this as it is one of the most convenient independent yarn stores in Vancouver (there are a variety of buses that will take you directly from downtown to here.
While you are in Kitsilano, make sure to get brunch at Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe, grab a coffee from Kits Beach Coffee and take an afternoon walk down to the beach and along the seawall.
A view from Kitsilano beach at sunset
There are a few more local yarn stores that I haven’t visited yet but hope too very soon. These are:
Sweet Georgia Yarn - https://sweetgeorgiayarns.com/
Fibre Art Studio, Granville Island - https://granvilleisland.com/directory/fibre-art-studio
There are also others in the Greater Vancouver/Tri cities, but I hope to cover them in another blog post soon!
If you’re interested in other yarn stores across the Canada I recommend my blog post summarising all the yarn stores I visited while driving across Canada!
For packing tips, to make sure you maximise your space, to buy more yarn, check out my blog post- 7 packing essentials for knitters and crocheters.
Please share your Vancouver recommendations in the comments!