Peter Patchis Yarns

Forget about nice lighting, sterile smells, and organized shelves with everything labelled. Also forget about nosy store workers and outrageous prices. Go on an adventure and take a look around. I’m sure you’ll find something that will inspire you to start a new project.
I don’t ever come here with something in mind. I come to see what I should do next.
This place is the equivalent of by the pound thrift store shopping — a fond memory of my young adult days near the Garment District in Boston.

This place is amazing. There is a great selection of all different kinds of yarns! It is sold by the pound. Prices go up to like $ 9/​lb and there is no minimum.
The guy that runs the place is nice and non intrusive, making for a really easy shopping experience.

my family has been buying yarn here for almost thirty years starting with my grandmother. you never know what you will find at Peter Patchis but i always seem to find what i’m looking for. The cones of thin thread are ideal for weavers and machine knitters but lately there have been big cones of worsted and bulky wool in great colors too. Buying yarn on cones by the pound here is an inexpensive way to get a lot of yardage for sweater knitting and afghans and you can get some great stuff if you know what you’re looking at. He also sells knitting machines.
Peter is really nice and helpful and even lets my dog shop with me. I’m so glad this place is still around.

Been rummaging through Peter’s yarn filled boxes for nearly thirty years. I remember his dad and uncle. Fantastic place to get yarn, threads, cording etc. Just wish he would get married!

I like that someone described this as an oddity. It’s dark, smelly, and just piles upon piles of huuuge cones of mystery yarn. No labels about content, no yardage info, even the gauge is iffy (because it’s on a cone, so it’s compressed). Just stuff. The guy buys mill ends and mistake things that bigger yarn manufacturers don’t want — kinda like the TJ Maxx of yarn. So some of the stuff is really good; a lot of it is «wtf??» I know for sure that a bunch of the cones were Lion Brand homespun. Mostly you just have to rely on the man’s memory & guess for what the fiber content & weight is.
Since 95% of stuff is on cones, you won’t find much worsted or heavier weights. But he does have a wall of hanks with really nice stuff — the actual stuff you’ll find in a nice yarn shop and for the same price as everything else: $ 8 per pound for 100% wool; $ 4/​lb for wool blends. You just gotta wash it a lot to get out that weird factory smell. Vanessa T’s photos show everything perfectly.
He also has a big supply of random vintage notions. Like elastic for sewing for 50 cents per package. Or some new-​in-​package Ace bandages from 30 years ago, if that’s your bag.

This place is AMAZING! I just recently got to go there. tons of yarn of every color for way less than you’d buy it for at a «conventional» store. It has been a yarn warehouse for. 25 years I think Peter said? Definitely check it out. Don’t buy at the corporate places. ;)

Peter Patchis Yarns is a wondrous oddity. My mother recently picked up machine knitting again after a 17 year break. I haven’t been in over 20 years, but when I went today, I instantly recognized the mill and its distinct smell.
It’s not a cute little shop and there’s no knitting circles. No one’s going to offer you tea or help with patterns. It’s just an open floor space, chock full of all sorts of worsted yarns in an abundance of colors. The vast majority of their stuff isn’t suitable for fine, delicate wearables, but weavers seem to have found heaven there. It’s a great resource for big projects, as they sell the stuff by the pound.
You can’t be afraid to get dirty. This place is not for the meek. There are cones upon cones upon cones to dig through. Hike up your skirt and jump in.