Knitterly

Soo I have been coming here for the past year or so and have had nothing but a good experience. the staff for the most part is very friendly and attentive. HOWEVER, this last experience was less than satisfactory. I purchase a set of needles thinking that I didn’t have that size at home. I did and long story short I tried to return the aforementioned UNOPENED needles. I was met with a staunch «No, needles are a final sale item». This WAS NOT MENTIONED at the time I purchased them. When I suggested an alternative (i.e. simply exchanging them for a different size) and mentioned that their website return policy DOES NOT list needles as a final sale item, they responded with «well its just our store policy». I have spent $$$ here and I cant believe the unwillingness to accommodate a good customer who doesn’t necessarily want their money back. Lets just say that I got to the yarn store and spend good money because I like shopping locally, but with this type of attitude… maybe I’ll just order my yarn and notions online.

I’ve shopped here only about 4 times when I’ve visited my sister who lives in Petaluma. The staff never greets you when you walk in the door, welcoming you. The latest trip involved picking out some chunky yarn so my sister could learn how to do cables. I helped her find the skeins in the same dye lot and explained the importance of that. We discovered that of the 6 skeins in the bin of the same color, three that we wanted were marked $ 11. Two were marked $ 10, and the remaining was marked $ 11. I brought all 6 to the register and asked why the prices were different. It was explained to me that the cheaper ones were lady year’s and the more expensive were this year’s. I asked (politely) if they would honor the cheaper price on the skeins we wanted. I was told yes, then the cashier said with a snarky tone, «sure, I’ll help you save $ 3». So rude. After all, it was their mistake for not having removed all the skeins and remarking then with the current, higher price. At my old yarn store in GA the owner would have offered the lower price, taking responsibility for her employees oversight, not waiting for me to ask. That’s the level of service to which I had grown accustomed.

I’m not sure why but every time I’ve shopped here I’ve had a less than satisfactory experience. I am a beginning-​level knitter and often have a lot of questions regarding what yarn/​needles/​patterns to use, etc. You’d think the staff here would be more than happy to answer those types of questions however every time I ask an employee for help they answer somewhat condescendingly and aren’t very helpful — I almost get the vibe that they feel that only advanced knitters should shop here. The last time I visited, I asked one of the employees for help and she claimed it was «too busy» in the store for her to help me — despite there only being 2 – 3 other customers in the store. I love their yarn selection but I will probably just stick to buying my knitting supplies at Michaels or online from now on.

I live on the other side of the USA, so my shopping with Knitterly has been exclusively online. My yarn arrived very quickly! Shelli has been SO helpful and even emailed me ideas to solve a problem I was having with my Habu project. Knitterly went above and beyond to help. Nice to be able to have this follow-​up support with an online purchase.

I’ve been to this store 2x. The first was awful and the second was great. The first experience I was barely acknowledged by the woman working and even though I bought a skein of MadTosh she treated me as a nuisance. I would’ve bought more had I not liked her attitude. My husband and I were in Petaluma on Saturday, so I went back in. There were quite a few people in, a few browsing, one untangling a skein of yarn and asking questions about learning to pick instead of throw. It was all in all a very, very welcoming store. I bought my first Swans Island (cumin and malbec aka Griffyndor), a skein of Woolfolk Sno (never used before, very excited to) and some discount buttons. All in all, if you go in here know that the merchandise is awesome… the help might not be. There is also a great bakery across the street…

I have had a great experience every time I have visited this shop. I took a beginners knitting class taught by the owners daughter Ashleigh and had a great time. She is very patient and calm, and tries not to get too technical, so as to not confuse you. She had lots of energy and excitement about knitting that becomes contagious. Very sweet lady. The rest of the staff has always been helpful. The prices are not low but the staffs expertise more than makes up for it. I find it rude to glean their knowledge and advice just to buy elsewhere that clearly has lower prices but no service. I believe that people may be more sensitive if they are new to knitting and the owner/​Ashleigh are very conscientious of this. Thank you all for your help and tutelage!

Beautiful yarns, mostly unfriendly staff.
I signed up a month in advance for a class, and it was so overbooked there wasn’t a table available. Bad enough to have wasted the money, worse they didn’t answer an email asking for a refund.
There are three other yarn shops in the area. All of them are happy to help customers, and the classes are excellent.

Super friendly staff make this store inviting. I don’t knit, but loved browsing in here for items for my friends/​family that do. I also like viewing the different finished knitted items on display. I will come back with a knitter to introduce them to this local shop.

The location is good, with available Street/​lot parking in a great shopping district. The shop is large for a yarn store. Great displays, clean and organized, remarkable upscale and artsy selection of yarns, including a good Japanese exotic selection. Make sure you buy enough for your project, because when they run out, they run out.
Prices are always surprisingly high, sometimes insultingly so. Mark-​ups can be as much as 500% over readily available online exact product. Maybe it’s the upscale shopping district overhead. Often a sales rack on the sidewalk with deep price cuts. I admit I’ve fondled some pretty yarns in the shop, then bought them at a deep discount online later the same day.
Customer service is a little inconsistent, but sincere and qualified. Usually plenty of knowledgeable sales staff on the floor. I must say, I have not encountered ANY of the ‘uncomfortable-​with-​males’ attitude from either staff or other shoppers that often leaves me feeling unwelcome in other yarn shops. NONE. That alone keeps me coming back.
They offer LOTS of classes at decent/​competitive rates in knitting, crochet, felting, and even weaving and spinning! I will review my knitting class separately after I’ve finished it.

I visited when I was in California for my daughter’s wedding. Very nice shop and personable staff. I was thrilled to see that they have an online store and sell PDF patterns. I can still shop there from 2000 miles away. :)

I wish I lived near here.
Unfortunately, I live quite literally over 5,000 miles away (including a rather pesky ocean). This makes me sad, although perhaps my pocketbook is a bit happier. It’s a land of sheepy dreams.
Knitterly is everything I want in a LYS. It’s got gobs of variety, yarns both high end and everyday-​type, lots of bits & bobs, a good place to sit and knit and have a chat, and friendly staff.
We popped in here en route to dropping off our rental car, so didn’t have a lot of time. But the gal working (I wish I’d caught her name!) was super friendly and we had a nice chat about yarns available in the UK and cost differences of things here vs. there, etc. Fiber-​based gossip, if you will. And it was lovely. She gave a little mini-​tour of where different yarns/​yarn types were in the store and was very much there if I had questions. A little group was sat knitting at the dining-​room-​type table while we shopped. My suitcase being pretty full, and my vacation budget mostly spent, I left with just one lovely skein of Madelinetosh sock yarn (which will probably get woven up or knit into an odd sock). I grabbed one of their adorable business cards and hope that the next time I’m in California (hopefully not another 9 years passes this time!) that I’ll be able to look Knitterly up.

I love this store —as a new knitter I have felt encouraged, inspired and excited. Started with Malabrigo yarn and made blankets, then used beautiful Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere for scarfs and now using a beautiful yarn called Twirl for fingerless mittens.
Really appreciate this store.

The best yarn shop in the Bay Area. Great selection, friendly folks, lots of books, patterns, needles. A+

I would love to give this shop 5 stars. This is a lovely establishment with top-​shelf quality lines. Mad Tosh, Shibui, Isager, Manos, Malabrigo among just a few. The store is laid out nicely with room to breathe and explore.
The problem is the vibe of the staff. Although they asked if I needed help, I got the impression if you are not a local, they wished you would make your purchase, hurry up and leave.
After dropping $ 120+ on fine yarn for two projects, I asked about having it wound. There was an extraordinary contraption the staff were using to wind yarn for customers. It was a swift hooked up to an electric ball winder. Because the salesperson was busy ringing up customers she said I was welcome to use it and to let one of the staff know if I needed help.
This nifty gadget was a breeze to operate. After a quick second of setup, the variable speed motor was doing its thing beautifully. I planned on only winding the first skein of each project, 2 skeins in all. The person behind me apparently did not want to wait, and would have been happy to let her go ahead of me. Before I could ask if she would like to cut in, another salesperson came up to ask me if that was my last skein.
So rude! I felt like I was being made out to be a swift hog or something. Really, the staff made me feel as I was crashing their party. There was not a bit of sincerity in their ‘helpfulness’. Buy and get out was loud and clear.
Why is this the downfall of so many an otherwise enjoyable LYS? I don’t get it.

This is knitters heaven. I am awed by this beautiful curated shop with so many wonderful textures and colors of yarn. This has to be the most beautiful yarn shop in the world — I am sure!

Update: spoke with Shelly, the owner, who explained that the person who would not accept my return was new. She also said the reason for the no refunds for tools policy was because people were returning used tools as soon as they’d completed their projects. Shelly accepted the crochet hook in exchange for some lovely yarn.

I’m seriously in love with this shop. It ranks as one of the top yarn stores I’ve ever been to.
The owner has always been helpful, let me into the shop early when I’ve run into her after grabbing coffee, her daughter is nice and directed me to a few books that have only been released in Denmark. I hope this place stays forever so that I might keep translating patterns and see them carry the books!

I have been coming to the knitterly for years, and this is the only place to buy yarn, period! Walking into this store is like being transported to another land, it’s incredible. A knitters dream!

I came here with my wife and wandered around in circles while she looked at yarn — Eventually I chewed my own arm off to escape… Once outside I appreciated the store window displays — which were lovely.
My wife on the other hand LOVED this place and bought lots of knitting things. She would easily give it 5 stars, I will give it 4 because I don’t belong here, but its probably awesome.
The staff seemed very nice.
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UPDATE:
Look, I’m just not very crafty myself, but I can appreciate the art of knitting (especially yarn bombing). Therefore, I am upgrading my review to 5 stars. Why? Because my wife seriously does love it here, she’s like a kid in a candy store + she makes awesome things with the supplies she purchases. She even knitted me a new arm :)

Excellent yarn shop. Drool-​worthy yarns and notions.
Prices are on par with what I see at other yarn shops in the area; you might do better price-​wise at Michaels for certain things (like needles, stitch counters, stitch markers, etc.) but Michaels doesn’t carry yarn like this, nor can you be assured of getting someone who knows exactly what you are asking about. Nor would you be patronizing a locally-​owned shop. For other reviewers who have claimed the shop is too dark, I don’t find that to be an issue, and I have heard the staff there say many times to people that they can take the yarn outside to see it in natural light if they want to.
Staff is not overly friendly but I have never found them to be rude or UNfriendly, and once you start chatting with them they really warm up. I like shops that greet you when you walk in the door, which doesn’t always happen here. Being greeted as you walk in has the added benefit of letting you know who to go to with questions, since it can be tough to differentiate employees from customers when they are out on the floor helping people (as they often are).
As a newbie to knitting, I was nervous at first about coming in with questions or to ask for help with a project, but everyone who has helped me has seemed delighted to do so, and been very patient walking me through the answer/​solution – whether steering me toward the right yarn or helping me figure out what I did to a project and getting me back on track. I LOVE that they have sample projects scattered around, so you can not only get ideas for things to make, but also see what various yarns look like in completed projects.
They offer a nice variety of classes, of which I have taken several. One improvement they could make here I think would be to offer a token discount on supplies purchased the day of class, or something along those lines. I also wish they offered more evening classes, since it can be hard to give up a Saturday.
Overall, a delightful shop and absolutely worth a stop.