WikiKnitting Blog

On Tuesday a good friend of mine from back east was in San Francisco on vacation. We agreed to meet for dinner downtown after her visit to Alcatraz. Since I had no idea what time she would be done, I decided the best thing to do was to go hang out somewhere downtown near where we going to meet. A few weeks ago I had done some searching for yarn stores in the city and came across Artfibers.

Unlike most yarn shops, Artfibers spins and dyes all of their own yarn. It’s conveniently located for tourists near Union Square about a block and half from the Montgomery St. BART station. It seemed like the perfect place for a knitter to spend a few hours.

The shop is tucked away on the second story about halfway down the block on Sutter St. You walk up a small set of stairs, through a tight hallway and then emerge into a small, but warm shop. The walls are lined with shelves of yarn organized by type and with a swatch for each one. In back, there’s a small design center with a computer and binders full of patterns that are for sale. Over by the windows there is a sitting area with comfortable chairs.

I spent the first bit I was in the store talking to the owner and learning about the store and their fibers. They yarn is spun locally here in the Bay area and sold in the store and over the Internet. She was very nice and helpful and made me feel very welcome.

I then wandered the store looking at all of the fibers. The majority of the yarns were natural fibers and natural fiber blends. They have a great selection of silks and silk blends. They also had a bunch of really interesting and unusual novelty yarns. The most intriguing one was a blend of stainless steel and cotton called Tesla. There was a sample sweater on display that had been knitted with it and it was just intriguing. I couldn’t stop looking at it. I’m not sure that I’m fashionable enough to wear it, but it was cool.

The colors of the yarn were amazing. There were very few true solid colors. The solids tended to have small variations in them that gave them a beautiful depth when knitted up. They also sell natural hanks of most of their yarns in case you want to dye it yourself.

One of unique things about this shop is their Yarn Tastings. They have small balls of each type of yarn and most colors that they sell. You can grab one of these balls and a pair of needles and test knit with the yarn. I love this idea and I wish more shops did this. I sat down and spent a while knitting up the samples of the different yarns. My favorite was the Kurasawa a blend of silk and merino wool.

Not sure what to knit with all of the great yarn you just picked out? The shop also will also design a custom pattern for you using software. Knit up a swatch of a yarn you love, describe the pattern you want, and the software will generate a pattern just for you. They had a sample scoop neck sweater made with the pattern generator. It was beautiful.

Great yarn, friendly people, and a convenient location, this is definitely a shop I will be returning to. If you’re headed to the Bay area on vacation and you need a place to unwind after sightseeing or visiting family, you should stop in.