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Which Cities are the Best for Crafters?

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Have you ever wondered which cities are the best for crafters? I hadn’t, either, but Liberty London recently crunched some data to find out.

In all they looked at 76 different data points for the 100 largest cities in America, such as the number of knitting and fabric shops, search engine data and posts on Instagram and TikTok. Based on this data they determined the cities where crafters are likely to have the most resources available to them, as well as other people to craft with.

Overall, San Francisco came out on top as the best city for crafters in the United States, and it topped the list as having the most knitting shops as well.

The full top 10 for overall crafting is

  1. San Francisco
  2. New York City
  3. Chicago
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Portland, Oregon
  6. Santa Ana, California
  7. Minneapolis
  8. Newark, New Jersey
  9. Jersey City, New Jersey
  10. San Diego, California

They also declared California the craftiest state, followed by New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas. (Though the first Texas city to make the list, Dallas, falls at number 24.)

Looking at Google search popularity, the most search for craft was pottery, at nearly 40 percent of all searches (unknown if that’s all people who want to learn how to make pottery or also includes people wanting to buy pottery, or even searches for the store Pottery Barn). Crochet comes in second at 25 percent, with knitting in third at a little more than 16 percent of crafty searches.

The city where knitting is most popular? According to the survey, it’s Portland, Oregon. (Having been there I tend to agree.) The survey says crochet is most popular in Minneapolis, and sewing in Atlanta.

Residents of Phoenix are most likely to post about crafts on social media, as determined by searching crafty hashtags on Instagram and TikTok. Phoenix tops the list for crafters on TikTok, while Pittsburgh crafters dominate Instagram.

If you don’t live in one of these cities and want to plan a crafty trip, head to San Francisco. It has the most craft stores and the most thrift and charity shops of any city in America.

Check out all the data including a list of the top 100 cities ranked by craftiness at the Liberty London website.

[Photo: Liberty London]

 

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Fun Tank Top Knitting Patterns

It seems like every summer there’s a new crop of tank top knitting patterns, and what I noticed about a lot of the new releases this year is that they have fun little details that make them a little more interesting both to knit and to wear. 

Like the Sailoress Top from Joji Locatelli, which has a pretty cable worked up the center from and back, with shorter sections of cable work on the shoulders. It uses DK weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes up to a bust circumference of 72 inches/ 158 cm. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Combine lace and cables in an allover pattern on the Mountain Laurel Top from Andrea Gaughan. This sport weight pattern is worked from the bottom up in the count and has 10 sizes. It’s available on Ravelry.

The Vienna Textured Tank Top by Sarah Hatton has wide ribs broken up by eyelets. There’s very little shaping so it’s a pretty easy knit worked in fingering weight yarn. There are nine sizes available and it’s a free download on Ravelry.

Make a tank with a boho vibe perfect for festival season with Mary Beth Temple’s Tropical Sunset Tank Top. Worked in worsted weight cotton yarn, it’s knit from the bottom up in pieces to make it more stable. The coloring changing yarn is perfect for this one, or you can make it solid or work in your own stripes. You can get the XS size free on her blog, and other sizes are available on Ravelry.

Looking for a cropped lacy V-neck top to knit for summer? Jessie Maed Designs has the Sundae Swirl Tank, worked in DK weight yarn in the round with a fun combination of lace and cables. The ribbing under the arms helps give it a great fit. There are six sizes up to a chest measurement of 62 inches/157.5 cm. You can find this one on Ravelry.

How about a tank top with buttons? The Ridge Tank Button Down from Bluebird Pine Shop could double as a vest in cooler weather. This one is made with light fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Grab a copy on Ravelry.

An otherwise simple top can be made a little more interesting with the addition of a fun edging, like on Sarah Opie’s Seashell Tank. Worked in fingering weight yarn, it has a whopping 24 sizes and lots of customization options for making it fit the way you want. The edging is crocheted. Learn more on Ravelry.

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