Knitting

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Yarnmarket Sold to Love Knitting

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yarnmarket sold to love knittingAccording to a notice on their website and an email sent to subscribers, Yarnmarket has closed its doors and its remaining stock has been sold to Love Knitting.

Yarnmarket was an online yarn, pattern and notions store that was in business for more than 10 years.

The email, sent as usual by Jan and the Yarnmarket Staff says in part:

I and the Yarnmarket staff are saddened to see our beloved store close. We also thank you for your support and for allowing us to serve you for so many years. The good news is that LoveKnitting has purchased our remaining stock of beautiful yarns and other products along with our websites and is carrying on the Yarnmarket tradition.

Just as with Yarnmarket, the LoveKnitting staff and managers are dedicated to customer service and providing quality products. They are currently in the process of adding the Yarnmarket stock to their website and will let you know when it’s ready for you to enjoy once again.

Love Knitting is a British company and states on its website’s announcement that for now all orders will be shipping form the UK but should be able to get to American customers withing 7 business days. Check out their FAQ if you have orders, gift certificates or returns for Yarnmarket.

I always hate to see consolidation and fewer choice in the marketplace, but I wish everyone involved the best in the future!

Update: I had a reader on Facebook ask about the future of the yarn directory Yarndex, which was also owned by Yarnmarket. I asked Love Knitting and got this reply:

We have no plans to delete yarndex completely, but it is a little outdated and does need some work on all the new yarns. I am afraid that is all I can say at the moment.

It would take a lot of love and time to get it up to date, but I certainly hope it happens some day!

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Comments

  1. Sarah,

    Thanks for the best wishes: we’re excited to be able to continue Yarnmarket’s justly proud history of great customer service. We’re working hard to add products that Yarnmarket stocked to our range and improve our overall service to US customers.

    Anyone with further questions or concerns should feel free to contact us at info@loveknitting.com.

    Thanks again,

    Nigel from Loveknitting.

Have you read?

Book Review: No Fear Sock Knitting

I feel like when it comes to things that people are afraid to knit, socks probably top the list. I’ve heard people say they would never knit socks because they look too hard, but really you just need to know a few basic things (and trust the pattern even though it sounds wrong the first time you do it) to master socks. 

Denise DeSantis aims to take the worry out of knitting socks with No Fear Sock Knitting. Based on a class on her YouTube channel, it includes all the basic information you need to make sock knitting feel easier, along with eight patterns for both top down and toe up socks. 

The book generally covers types of needles and yarn you might use to knit socks, as well as other supplies you will need. It looks at the parts of the sock, different knitting needle configurations used to knit socks, how to read a pattern (including abbreviations and terms you might find in sock patterns), discussion of ease, how to measure your foot and choosing the correct size to knit.

It includes two options each for casting on cuff down and toe up socks, as well as four options for cuff treatment. It explores the heel flap and turn method for top down and toe up socks, as well as short row heels using a shadow wrap (worked with a leg from the stitch below) and a square heel. There’s a discussion of avoiding holes and fixing other problems in heels.

Likewise with toes there are several options, including a wedge toe, round toe and anatomical toe (different on each foot) for both cuff down and toe up socks. There are also tutorials for grafting and Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off, depending on which direction you’re going. There’s also a tips section that covers things like avoiding ladders, changing colors. matching stripes and more. 

After all that preparation, there are eight patterns to choose from: short socks worked from the top down that are a perfect first-sock sock, a basic ankle-length toe-up sock, a DK weight sock worked from the top down with different length options, a “vanilla” sock with a short row heel worked top down, an ankle sock with a garter stitch cuff, one with a leg worked in alternating colors with a contrasting heel and toe, a sock worked in a helical stripe pattern and a striped sock with a garter stitch heel. 

Three of the patterns are rated at skill level two on a scale of three, while the rest are level one. They’re all pretty straightforward, they just use different techniques you might not have tried before. Since only one is made to be toe up, there are also tips for converting the other patterns to toe up if you’d rather work that way. Each pattern includes three size options. 

This book is a nice introduction to sock knitting, with lots of techniques to reference and simple patterns to take the fear out of the process. I’m not sure these are patterns you’ll come back to time and again but they are a good place to start if you’ve never knit socks before. 

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 8 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.