Seed Stitch Fine Yarn

I used to love this store. However since the previous owner sold the store I have not had too much of a great experience.
I went in two weeks ago and asked if they had a pattern for a simple hat. They told me to go to a website and find one. Then I bought the yarn — had no pattern — and asked for needles. Did not have the right ones.
After 5 days I went back as I needed more yarn for the hat — got pattern from internet — now they did not have it anymore. I asked if they would get it back. Answer — not sure.
Hmmm. I also inquired about the darning yarn that I previously purchased here but they don’t have it anymore and I was referred to the needlepoint store across the street.
I am frustrated enough to order my yarn online. I would rather support the local store but not this way.

I had an issue with my coat in Salem; the ghosts of Salem were stealing my buttons (4 went MIA in total). I asked a few local shop owners and aside from craft stores, they suggested this cute corner store on front street.
When I came in, there was a knitting class and another group toward the back of the store. I managed to find someone who looked like they were in charge to ask if they had buttons. I was told the one table had tons of vintage buttons and then the wall behind it had some mason jars as well as cubbies of buttons.
The table contained tons of smaller buttons, so I started looking through the cubbies. Each drawer had samples of the buttons found inside sewn to the front. However it seemed like all the styles I liked would not have any in their corresponding drawer or would only have 1 – 3 left (I needed at least 8). The mason jars on the nearby shelf were no better; I went sifting through a jar of shiny black buttons and found there were 4 different styles and sizes within the jar and virtually no place to sit and pick through the jar.
After about 20 minutes I became frustrated and left. If you need 1 – 2 buttons for a project, you should be fine; however if you need more, you might be out of luck.

I love this place so much. The yarn is beautiful, high-​quality, and a great price. Tons of variety too. Want something that isn’t in stock? Not a problem. They’ll order it for you.
But as great as the yarn is, the staff is what makes this place truly awesome. They are knowledgeable, friendly and always willing to help. Customers are treated like friends. There are many yarn stores in the area, but I go to Seed Stitch for the wonderful people.

«Am I the only one who thought it reeked?!» — Amber, «Clueless» (1995)
I called them at noon and a very sweet associate answered the phone (didn’t get her name.) I asked her if they had size 10 DPNs, they said they had one left and if I wanted they would put it on hold for me. I asked if they took debit/​credit, they said yes. Very very sweet, assured me my item would be put on hold under my name. Cool. I let them know I’d be in a little after three.
I entered the shop at 3:30ish and after standing at the desk for five minutes while the associate (owner, associate, cashier, who knows) tried to convince a customer to buy another skein of Cascade Superwash 220, she finally turned to me and asked «What are you looking for?» in an indifferent voice. I smiled and said, «I called a couple hours ago, I put something on hold for Christa.»
She stared, blinked, and glanced behind her then back to me. «Uh…what was it?» I told her It was a pair of size 10 DPNs. She looked at the wall and then back to me like I was an idiot. «Do you mean these ones on the wall?» I nodded. She then placed them down on the counter.
Your associate on the phone said there’s pack of size 10 DPNS left, and she’s putting it on hold. Obviously if i think there’s one left and i have an item on hold, I’m not going to walk in and go to the wall, which was being shopped.
«Have you shopped with us before?» She asked me in a plain, uninterested voice. I told her I hadn’t.
She rang me out, I said «Thank you» and she just stared at me while ripping the receipt paper off of the printer. She said nothing. No thank you, no come back soon, nothing.
I’d rather drive further and go somewhere else. I came here to support small business, not be treated like a moron. p. s. I work retail full-​time at a very client-​oriented big box chain. I’d expect a small business to be client oriented but I guess it’s your show, your rules. I wish I had been there during the nice phone lady’s shift :(I would have bought yarn…

I love that there is a yarn shop within a stone’s throw of my house. My wallet, maybe not so much, but hey! We all have our vices, right?
Seed Stitch is great. Located on Front St., just alongside Derby Square Plaze, nestled in among a handful of other awesome local businesses & next to one of my favorite local restaurants, they have a pretty good selection of high quality fibers, knitting & crochet tools, patterns, buttons, & kits. They offer a variety of classes & always have a fun event planned each month.
I’ve never come in here with a question or a need & left without feeling satisfied. The staff is helpful, friendly, & full of suggestions when you’re feeling a little stuck or stumped.
It ain’t cheap, but you get what you pay for & I haven’t had a single project turn out anything short of gorgeous with the fibers I’ve purchased from here.

Well first off, this is really the place my wife spends a lot of her time at not me, but I know she loves it. However, I have come in before to buy gifts for her, and they have been amazingly helpful! They know her, her tastes, her skill level and genuinely wanted to make sure I got just the right things for her (this was Christmas). Everything they suggested my wife totally loved and I looked pretty good in the process. Sometimes it’s just knowing where to go that makes all the difference and Seed Stitch is that place for knitters.
Plus my wife brings my son sometimes (he’s six) and they are super nice to him. They have kid’s play area, and allow him to ask questions and learn new things while there.

This place is really great! They have a huge selection of luxury fibers, unique color blends, and knitting/​crochet tools and accessories. It is a high price point, but I feel it reflected a more expensive product rather than exorbitant mark ups. The selections that were carried were clearly painstakingly chosen for quality, uniqueness and durability. I didn’t see a single product I would have been unhappy with, given the right project idea!
Parking was no problem which is a plus for Salem. They also balled my skeins for me (!) and had a well-​stocked kids’ toy corner (!!) that kept my toddler VERY entertained in a rather toddler-​boring shop.

Seed Stitch Fine Yarn is a little knitting shop on historic Front Street in downtown Salem. It has a great selection of knitting supplies from needles to books to yarns of all kinds to buttons. The owner, Courtney, is wonderful and really has made the store into a yarn feast for the eyes. I love her creative window and store displays!
She also offers a good selection of classes. I took a beginner class and the teacher was great. Parking is pretty easy, both street and lots. When you’re done, check out The Beehive and Roost across the street, then stop in for a bite to eat and a glass of wine at the Adriatic! Yum!

I don’t know what it is, but I feel like whenever I go into any yarn shop anywhere, people pay me no attention. Guess what? I have a fat wallet and over 20 years of knitting experience, self taught. I know who sells what yarn, and that’s usually the reason I go to your shop. I know exactly what I need when I go in, and I’m not deviating from what I want, I’m specific. I like the selection here, alot. Last time I bought stuff here, I was treated very well by a wonderful girl, who I think is the owner, who had her adorable daughter around. Today I went in with my friend Gabbie, to see if they had a particular yarn, didn’t find it. I’m rarely even given a hello when I come in here, unless the girl from before is working. She wasn’t today. Disappointing. I want to like this shop, as the location and the surrounding shops and restaurants make it a nice spot for an afternoon. Also the selections of Rowan yarns and the fact that they sell Koigu Painter’s Pallette Merino make me happy. I’m mainly a lace knitter, and the Rowan Kidsilk Haze is my favorite yarn. They carry most of the colors, I believe. If there’s people in the store besides me, just give me a friendly hello, an acknowledgment is always nice, that’s all I would like.

I took a beginning knitting class at Seed Stitch around the holidays. The teacher, Darlene, was super nice and VERY patient. She had us knitting in no time. On top of a great experience, I also have a cool new scarf that I made myself!

I visited this yarn shop when I was in Salem for the day. I felt very comfortable browsing for awhile, but when I was ready with my questions, the staff were extremely helpful and generous.
The store is well-​lit, with a spacious area for classes. I was impressed with the selection of books and magazines as well as with the yarns.
The people accompanying me, non-​knitters, sat on the couches conveniently located in a corner of the shop.
All in all, this was a comfortable and welcoming yarn store, one of the most pleasant I’ve encountered in my quest to visit as many knitting stores as possible.

I’ve been a customer at Seed Stitch pretty much since it opened (and I had JUST learned to knit). Here are the basic details — the good, the bad, the washable…
1. The walk-​in experience: Awe inspiring! Victoria B has done a wonderful job with the design of the space and the selection of items for sale (not only the yarn). You walk and in to a warmly sunlit open space with hand made items displayed all over, cozy and colorful chairs, couches — even the tables display yarn under glass tops. Clearly aesthetics are one of VB’s strengths and this goes beyond her knitting.
2. The customer experience: Here’s where it starts to get tricky. Don’t go into the Seed Stitch unless you either see that there is NO ONE in there attempting to shop or you have at least 20-​minutes. The employees will generally not attend on multiple people at a time. You can walk in, know what you need, go find it and head to the cash register and if the store clerk in in the midst of even a chat you need to wait. Hey, it’s a relaxed atmosphere, this is good in a lot of ways but there isn’t really any «popping in.» Also, if there is a class in session, one might feel suddenly very self conscious when perusing the merchandise. ADVICE to VB/​New owners: Ease away from the sense of cliquey-​ness, make sure your instructors and employees match the open atmosphere. NOW, all that having been said, once you do get their attention, everyone is generally very nice.
3. The student experience: I’ve had both wonderful and mediocre experience with classes at SSFY. My beginners knitting and thrummed mittens classes were great (not sure if same instructor is still there) — the circular shrug class was not really that great — there was a visiting instructor who it seems gave not-​quite-​the best instructions. Now, the more experienced knitters in the class figured it out — i did not. And when I went in to ask for help, i had then pay for additional private lessons. Maybe I should have gone in and had a chat with VB to see if I could get some extra help for free considering it was one of the more expensive classes and only a three day workshop and i clearly got bad guidance, but that can be an awkward thing and quite frankly, a free private lesson to fix the problem should have just been offered when i made the situation known. It wasn’t. So, instead, i never finished and have since used the $ 250+ worth of yarn to make something else. However, My fair-​isle sock class was terrific! So, i guess ¾ ain’t bad!
Overall — I do really really like SSFY and I will always go back to support the shop as a local business and for the best quality yarn in the area!

This was, for the most part, a great yarn store. It was spacious and bright, with ample room to sit and knit, and I think that the prices are really reasonable for the quality of yarns they stock (and the great color selections). I had two major qualms with the place:
1. The employee/​owner (I don’t know) was wearing a sweater she had made, and when I commented on it, she told me that she had to knit it three times because she initially knit it on the wrong size needles (explaining that the pattern said to do so). I’d like it if the employee/​owner knows to swatch a project before knitting the whole thing. It seemed like a really careless thing to do, and not the kind of person I would want instructing me.
2. There was a great – GREAT! – wall of yarn on the left side of the store brimming with sock yarn and sweater quantities worth of Rowan. But there was a group of women sitting around a table, all reclining in their chairs, making it damn near impossible to get a good look at what was back there. I politely excused myself, and they not only gave me the once-​over, but audibly complained to one another. I don’t know if it was a class or a knitting group, but to place the table SO close to the yarn that it is uncomfortable for the shopper to get a good look at the merchandise is not wise. I would have walked out of there with much more yarn had it been accessible. And for the owner/​employee to not intervene when I’m visibly having trouble looking at inventory is inexcusable. I don’t want to pull the age card, but I don’t know what else would have hindered her from being more helpful.
I guess if you avoid knitting group/​class time, you’ll be in for a treat. It’s a shame, because I don’t think I’ll go back, and they really do have good stuff.

More expensive than many yarn shops, but this place carries high-​end, high-​quality yarns from all over the world, including my favorite brand, Rowan (from the UK). The space is large and colorful, with overstuffed chairs and a long table at which classes are held. All in all, a very inviting space. You can sit there and knit and chat with other knitters, so it fosters a real sense of community.

Beautiful yarn shop with great classes. It’s not AC Moore folks, so don’t be horrified by the skein prices. These are higher quality yarns than you’ll find at the big mall craft stores. They are well worth it AND they are actually competitively priced for the brands that they carry.
The product and class selections are good. They run interesting workshops and other needlework events that you won’t find elsewhere. (Even travel with knitting & crochet themes!) Great place to meet other knitters & crocheters at their FREE community knit nights every week. Check out their website for info on upcoming events and some products as well:
A great shop well worth a visit.

This is a very clean, well laid-​out yarn shop. I stumbled upon it over the weekend and found some nice 100% cotton yarn to knit into dishcloths. They were clearing out winter colors and had a big sale but I don’t yet have use for a bag of 10 – 15 skeins of yarn all the same color. I found the employees to be very friendly and quite helpful, I think there were four of them working on a Saturday afternoon.
I too appreciated the knitted swatches of yarn — helpful for a newbie like me who was browsing for ideas and inspiration.

This place is exactly what you expect in a great LYS. Its very comforting and you feel like you could just stay there all day. There’s a nice seating area where I saw a couple of women knitting a big blanket. If I lived in Salem I would come here a lot.
The only reason why I knock off a star is the limited crochet items. They had a nice selection of books, but I don’t remember seeing any crochet hooks! And even though everyone was really nice, I feel like they were a little hesitant to help me when I mentioned I crochet (not knit!)
They have a lot of beautiful yarn too.

If I lived in Salem, I would be in here a lot. The space is absolutely gorgeous, looking out onto the street, with comfy funky chairs, and has a wonderful vibe. It has that hip coffee-​shop feeling: big open space, light floors, big windows, exposed brick. The yarn selection is thoughtful and a little upscale, but that’s OK. There’s a solid but not exhaustive selection of needles, hooks & notions. It’s beautiful, and the sales are sweet. Lots of summery Rowan yarns at 25% off, Lily Chin yarn at 40% off, and after a phone call by the very helpful salesperson, Lexie Barnes bags at 25% off. Woo-​hoo!
Despite what the website says, they *are* open on Sundays. Maybe the handful of old needles are for classes, but it’s great that they’re out. And for you pet owners, it seems to be dog-​friendly. The yarn sculptures are also incredible and a marvel to look at.

WOW! What a great shop!
They had a great selection, wonderful swatches of the yard knit for you (which I LOVE) and the service was awesome.
The place is a little on the expensive side which brings it down a star. It’s also a little on the hip/​pretentious side. This is both good and bad. Good because they carry some «cool» stuff, and have come up with some «cool» ideas, and I don’t feel like I’m barging into an old ladies nest. Bad because it takes away from the simple raw old fashionedness of knitting.

I went to this fine yarn shop on Saturday for the first time.
The yarn is beautiful. They have done an exceptional job with filling their shelves with well-​selected yarn. There is a little bit of everything — from alpaca to wool to silk to linen to roving. The brand names run the gamut, as well. I was surprised to find Lamb’s Pride. There is also quite a bit of Cascade — 220, 128, alpaca, and more. Otherwise, I saw Elsbeth Lavold, GGK, Louet, Sockatta (which I think may be Plymouth?), Plymouth Encore, Debbie Bliss, Rowan and many, many more. They have done a fabulous job with ordering just the right colors, as well.
Also, and this may be one of the best parts, they have swatches of each of the yarns that they sell. Swatches! It’s a great experience to be able to see how the yarn will drape and knit up. So beautiful.
My credit card was a little dented after visiting, but I’m proud that I (finally) was able to find a local yarn shop that I really enjoyed.
The reason for the four-​star review is simple. There was only one employee on a Saturday afternoon. Not only was it any old Saturday afternoon, but there was a craft fair happening on Front Street and the surrounding streets. It was busy, and while I didn’t mind, I did have to wait to have my yarn wound into cakes and check-​out.
Private knitting lessons for any level are $ 20/​hour. They accept credit cards, and returns are for store credit.