Detroit Needs a Yarn Store

Detroit has a lot of problems, but one that didn’t occur to me until I read a story in the Detroit News is that the city lacks a yarn store. City Knits closed in 2012, and the only options for knitters in the city involve long drives to big chain stores or a couple of independent yarn shops in the suburbs.

When you consider that people living in the city — even Detroit — might not have cars, and even if they do the time involved to go buy a ball of yarn might not be worth the trouble to keep up their hobby.

Audrey Chatman, a crocheter who lives in Detroit, told the Detroit News, “Most of the times I get upset because I have to go out to the suburbs to get my yarn. I have to go outside the city limits because there are no stores in the area. People complain that we don’t support our city — well, how do you support the city if everything is in the suburbs? It’s very upsetting to me because sometimes you don’t feel like driving across town to get one ball of yarn to complete a project.”

Leigh Mosley, who knits and crochets, organized the Detroit Knitting and Crochet Club, a yarn craft group that meets once a month, about two years ago, in part because there were no options or gathering places for yarn crafters in the city. She says the group includes about 250 people and they’ve taught about 35 people how to knit or crochet, because there is no where else for people who want to learn to go.

Mosley says she thinks the city could support a local yarn store, and I say a Yarnover Truck type project would probably be super successful. Entrepreneurs, get on that!

[Photo by John T. Greilick via the Detroit News.]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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