Part 1: The Haul Edit
Saturday 28th September 2024; my first time at Yarndale. There will be a part 2 on what it is like to visit Yarndale (live animals and all), but I know some of you just like to indulge vicariously through a craft haul.
This post is specific to my interests and what got me to part with my cash. If things aren’t to your taste in part 1, then part 2 will give you everything Yarndale has to offer for all crafters and budgets.
We all take things in differently, so I have made a YouTube video of the haul, however, this blog post contains the details for the retailers. I’ve also included at the very end the list of all vendors, so you can have a peep and maybe see if Yarndale next year is for you.
Nothing here is sponsored or gifted…I purchased everything myself and opinions are my own.
Let’s crack on with it…
1. Woollen fabric
From The Cone Exchange
A bargain at £4-5 per piece (approx 1m x 150cm) , with the blue being £12 for a piece over 2.5 metres.
These will likely become beautiful autumnal homeware. I forgot to take a picture of these, hence the still from the video.
2. Fibre Co sock yarn
From Purlescence
Amble sock yarn. I was super excited to find somewhere selling the minis. This sock yarn is made from nylon and alpaca; honestly, it’s so soft it doesn’t feel like a sock yarn and could be lovingly made into a garment or cushion.
Mum bought me the left-hand yarn for Christmas and I will be making the Mistletoe sock, designed for The Fibre Co. The blue isn’t quite the recommended shade, however, I’m sure I won’t even think about comparing to the original once it’s made.
3. Christmas!
From Wensleydale Longwool
I hadn’t been able to find the new Christmas West Yorkshire Spinners yarn on my woolly travels thus far, so I was pleased to spot this at the show. I only saw one other stall selling it as well. I also received a complementary paper pattern of the new Winwick Mum sock design.
The bauble is the Emma Ball designs which I know a lot of you are familiar with. Mum kindly got it me to open on Christmas. What a lovely memory of our time together at the show.
4. Yandale goodies
From the Yarndale shop‘s stand.
A quality tote (with gusset), cheerful pin badges and WYS sock yarn designed only for Yarndale.
If you want to hear about the fiasco getting the ‘Hope’ colourway…watch the YouTube video!
5. Lace edge bias binding
From Button Box Devon £1.50 per metre.
I’ve only seen this once and so far I haven’t found a good variety in range at large online craft shops. And this is why I love the magic of craft shows…a whole wall of it. I have chosen colours to match the seasons.
6. Christmas Mice
From Sue Stratford Knits
The best thing about craft shows is the special show price and these charming mice had two quid knocked off. This will also be one of my Christmas presents off mum.
They also sold just the printed pattern for these mice, which I did consider, but sometimes it’s nice to have the small quantities of materials, rather than buying packs of eyes and way too much wool. We don’t want an invasion of knitted mice.
Here are some of Sue’s other displays.
6. Highland Coo
From Toft
Toft is a hugely popular brand, but can get a little pricey. The highland coo has been in and out of my basket on Black Friday for years and mum kindly bought it me as one of my Christmas presents (bit of a theme here!).
It was £25 for 100g main colour, 25g other colour, a little black for the facial features (which was appreciated instead of buying a ball) and the pattern emailed.
They did other kits and prices too, with a hook and stuffing, but I have those in already and didn’t want the extra expense.
7. Animal heads
From Sincerely Louise
Patterns were £6 each or 2 for £10. What I especially liked, is that they had mount boards for sale, which will really showcase the project. These were £6 each. I’m not sure if any of these were regular prices or the show price.
They also came as a kit, but I am hoping to use leftovers (aren’t I always!).
8. Christmas Stockings
From Folklore Yarns
I love the chevron stocking pattern, which I purchased for £6. This would be ideal for using leftover 4ply sock yarn.
The small stocking will be the perfect December make for me and I can already feel the urge to make the set in their other beautiful, rustic colours.
The kit for the small stocking, 100g yarn (2 x 50g) and printed pattern was £14, which makes it a lovely affordable price to treat yourself or gift.
The stockings came in small and large and in a variety of designs and colours.
9. Intarsia butterfly
It’s always lovely meeting the people who actually design and make the patterns for sale. I once tried intarsia when I was about 14 years old. I never tried it again, but this year the thought has been niggling in my mind. This peacock butterfly design was too beautiful to ignore. They could be bought as kits, but I purchased a printed pattern for £4.
I just have to share with you some of their other designs, featuring my beautiful mum.
10. Colour work patterns
From Hot Butter Yarns
These patterns were spenny! At £10 for the garments and £5 for the bunting. I decided to purchase them at the end because I could only find them online with the kits. Hot Butter Patterns are by Jacki Bogg and were also available at the show in kits.
You know what I’m going to say, the bunting is the perfect design to use up your scraps…or indulge in a miniskein or two.
The Theodora jumper would be a good stash buster also. I liked the Backyard jumper (also available as a cardigan) because of the little dots.
11. Some homely knitting patterns
From Gam Farm Rare Breeds
Patterns were £4 or as a kit; I recall the Union Jack cushion kit being £40.
I love the rustic, neutral toned Union Jack design. I have also included below a better image of the sheep cushion design.
I can only seem to find things as kits on the website, so maybe ask if they just have the pattern if you are interested.
Gam Farm wool is spun from their own small holding of rare breed sheep.
The right-hand image above is of a craft called weaving sticks. I’ve never heard of this and is certainly on my list to have a go at in the future.
12. Fabric friends
From Luna Lapin
Now it was my turn to buy mum’s Christmas present. She instantly fell in love with the bunny and I encouraged her to go for it (my mum is mostly a cross stitcher).
The kits were expensive, but I could see they use quality materials (including Liberty Tana Lawn) and the bunny was a lot bigger than the other animals, which offered slightly cheaper kits.
The patterns can also be bought as a book if you wanted to save money and use up that pesky leftovers pile.
We bought the bunny kit, bunny dress and coat kit and 3x vest patterns (knitted).
13. Fun artwork
From Tilly Flop Designs
I can’t wait to frame and display this artwork by TillyFlopDesigns. They did have an A3 size, which I think was £20 or thereabouts.
They also did lots of crafting related greetings cards and my personal favourite, which was an air freshener and car sticker saying: “No yarn is left in this vehicle overnight”.
And finally…there’s me thinking I didn’t get too much. I suppose it was for me and mum 😉
14. Felt decorations
From Joe’s Toes
Joe’s toes sold felt slipper kits, as well as felt garland trims. The shapes are super thick, quality felt and have holes in them to embroider. I can’t wait to do these as a pleasant craft on a rainy autumnal weekend. At the show, the felt pieces came in sets and were 4 sets for £20, or £6 each. It seems, however, on the website the shapes can be purchased individually, so I will certainly be getting the jumper and hat shapes in a couple of pay day’s time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and hopefully we can support small businesses together.
Don’t be shy…let me know what you bought at Yarndale!
Other vendors
Here are flyers I took for other stalls that caught my eye, but I didn’t purchase from.
And to be fair to everyone (and because we don’t all have the same tastes) I have included a link to the show guide, where all stall holders and a description of the company are included.
Hopefully the link will still work in future; let me know if it doesn’t and I’ll manually add pictures of the show guide.
Take care,
Rachel G at Little Miss Drop Stitch
Little Miss Drop Stitch 