Urban Knitting Studio

I’m not surprised this store is closing. Buh Bye!

I’m not really surprised that Urban Knitting Studio has gone out of business. Like many of the other reviewers here, I found Helen to be chilly and condescending at best. My favorite interaction with her by far was last summer when I asked her if she had knitted a cardigan she was wearing. She looked at me like I was crazy and replied «knitting is for fun, not for wearing!» Now with an attitude like that, maybe it’s good that she has gone into another line of work!

OMG OMG! After 7 years, my favorite yarn store is closing its doors end of March! Go get your fabulous yarn before they’re all sold out. Get all your equipment, magazines, and heck, furniture too, while you’re at it.
I’m REALLY sad that my store is closing! The one thing that I loved about SF. But I totally understand… Time changes and life goes on. I wish the owner Helen and her staff the best of luck and will see them again real soon! — MUCH LOVE xoxo

As far as yarn shops go this one is the most modern I’ve seen in SF. It has a decent selection of fibers and books. What I really liked about this place was the fact that they have Crystal Palace circular knitting needles! I could only find them online and now I’ve got a place where I can find immediate gratification. I just prefer this brand of needle over similar makes. The pricing is a bit more than what online sources charge but you have to pay for convenience.

I love this store! Helen, the owner, is so friendly and helpful to boot.
The yarn selection is fantastic and not too overwhelming. I don’t function well when presented with too many choices.
Here’s a hint for you all: don’t learn the hard way like I did.
I purchased a cute tank top pattern from the store and asked Helen what size I was. Without missing a beat, she told me I was a small.
As I was casting on, I thought, naw! I think I’m more like a medium.
I knitted that sucker, tried it on… and almost wept. It was too big!
Helen knows her stuff. If she says you’re a small, believe her.

The most delicious baby alpaca yarn in the whole wide world! In a beautiful shade of green, just what I was looking for. And the owner, Helen, didn’t mind at all that i wanted to run my fingers all over everything!
It’s a nice, open space, not at all claustrophobic and old fashioned like a lot of yarn stores. And Michael’s this place is not! There’s no way anyone at Michael’s would wind anything into a center pull ball for you. For free.

We were visiting San Francisco for the weekend, and I decided to check out one of their LYS. I was very pleased with UKS. As other reviewers have said, this is not a cozy, cluttered yarn store — as the name implies, it is more spare and modern. Still, things were well displayed and easy to find, and the natural lighting was very good.
When I arrived, a class was just ending, so no one offered to help me right away. That’s fine — gave me a chance to look around and see what the shop had to offer. Once the class cleared out, the owner came over right away and asked if I needed any help. She had several novelty yarns on sale, and I had some questions on how best to use them. Not only did she give me some really good suggestions, but she actually wrote them down on a piece of paper so that I wouldn’t forget. Very helpful and friendly!
She then left me on my own to look around a bit more, but when I was ready to check out, she excused herself from another customer who had some complex knitting questions (i.e., would take awhile to discuss) to help me. She not only helped me figure out which yarns to use together, but also needle size and how many skeins I’d need for my projects.
In all, I got 10 skeins of yarn for about $ 60 — quite a deal! Seven balls were novelty yarns on sale for $ 2.95 each, and the other three were alpaca or mohair blends in the $ 11 – 15 range — about typical of what I’ve seen of prices for these types of yarns.
In summary, I found prices to be about average, with great sale items! I also found the owner to be both friendly and helpful, even though she knew I was from out of town and would not be a frequent customer.

My friend recommended that I check out Urban Knitting Studio when I was in the city visiting. This place was great! The owner was really friendly and we had a nice chat about the lack of good independent yarn stores in Orange County. According to the website, she was an architect, and this is evident in the layout of her store. Very modern. She was very helpful and asked me what I was looking for and wanted to make. She had lots of ideas and examples in her store. They were having a great sale that day and my friend got two skeins of fancy frilly yarn for $ 1.50 each. Good deal. I can’t wait to go back.

This review is STRICTLY about the selection and NOT the customer service.
Poor customer service aside, the yarns and the resources (including books and magazines) are amazing. With a good friend who uses, predominantly, nothing but yarn in her art, I would highly suggest and recommend Urban Knitting Studio to her. However, the owner was not as nice as I thought she would be. You figure in this economy, store owners would be welcoming and friendly. She was a bit condescending and I was really going to make a nice purchase until we interacted!
D: Wow, this is really cool. How did you make this?
Owner: It’s easy. It’s just knit and purl. (She scoffs and looks at me like I’m some dumba$$)…
Inside, I was very disappointed and very much annoyed. I wanted to say, «Okay, fair enough! I get that the base of knitting is ‘knit’ and ‘purl’ but the overall design of this polygonal shaped scarf must have incorporated a little bit more». Golly, Lady! Sorry if I didn’t take Knitting in school or I’m not as hip and cool looking as your other clientele! I was trying to make conversation while admiring the selection! Oh well. I’ll probably return with my Mom and if she’s rude to my mother… OH…My Mom would lay it down!
Joking aside, again, the owner wasn’t the nicest person you may want to do business with (I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt — bad day!) but she does have a killer store and the aesthetic matches the creations within the storefront. Edgy, creative, elegant and sophisticated design trumps the bad attitude. I’ll cave and give this place 5 stars (for the selection ONLY) despite the not-​so-​nice owner! If the owner hired someone that actually LIKES people (all kinds, not just a particular type of person)…I would recommend this place to more people…

Lovely selection of yarns in a great, open space. It feels like a loft space on the ground floor, with an area toward the back for their classes and what not.
As my travel souvenir, I bought a couple of circular needles to do some Magic Loop socks… and then fell in love with some Mini Mochi sock yarn, too.
And because there were only 3 balls left, even though I’d only need two, she sold me the third ball for half price so it wouldn’t get lonesome. So cool and kind of her!
Very glad I looked this place up on Unilocal and went in!

The owner of this gorgeous knitting store is a former architect. So unlike the «grandma’s attic» feel of so many yarn emporiums, the aesthetic is linear, organized, and perfectly sorted by fiber and color. Because of this, it’s a pleasure to shop.
They have a great selection of yarn, and many great samples to inspire and delight you.
Hey, I’m not even a knitter and I loved this place. My friend, who practices the knitting arts regularly, found something lovely to get her started on an afternoon project, and the staff was very helpful and knowledgeable.
If you knit, it is worth a trip to check out this place. If you are a simply a knit appreciator, go with a knitting friend and drop lots of hints about what you like. That’s how I roll (get it… roll? like a ball of yarn? ahhh, never mind).
Just go.

Love this place. Staff is super helpful, selection is great — and the space is beautiful. Great for beginners or more advanced knitters. (And, what’s best, Helen gave me the motivation to finish my last piece in a day). I’ll be back soon.

Very stylish, atypical knitting shop. It’s not cluttered but has open spaces, industrial looking, and well organized selection of quality yarns. I love the display of Manos del Uruguay upfront — it looks like a modern art installation.
The store has a casual feeling but not a cozy one. Don’t expect to find a cat curled up in the corner. There’s a big table in the back and a couple of chairs in the front where you can sit and knit. You’ll find plenty of patterns and books to browse through towards the back. Helen’s always been lovely and helpful without being pushy. She offers knitting and crochet lessons.
Not many places carry the mini Clover circular needles (they’re made in Japan). You can find them here and they’re great for knitting gloves and socks.

The name is accurate, so be warned, all of ye who love the country barn/​living room aesthetic.
The yarn in this store is obviously carefully selected, and the layout is both logical and compelling (no basket piles! great samples knit up to show off the yarns! incredible color sense! lots of room to navigate without knocking 8,000 items off of funky «shabby chic» tables!). The employees I’ve encountered have been respectful, which I love — I really dislike the hovering yarn helper and am comfortable asking for help when I need it, thanks.
The single drawback I think this approach results in is: the owner’s taste might not coordinate with yours. Case in point, UKS doesn’t stock Noro. Not a major issue for me — this is still my chosen yarn spot in SF.

UKS is a really nice store. The staff has always been very friendly and helpful, and I have bought some nice stuff for a few projects. I think the reason I don’t go there much is more personal taste — I kind of like my yarn shops a little more homey and messy, and UKS is so hip and orderly. I guess my left brain craves disorder to work properly. But I think it’s a great shop, and I always stop by when I’m in Hayes Valley.

Urban Knits is a beautiful space which revolves around its designer and owner, Helen. She provides customers excellent guidance towards projects and yarns that work together; colors and textures that work with a pattern, advice on books to teach and challenge at each customer’s level.
She’ll also tell you what won’t work (i hate that) and what might be beyond your skills when she gets to know you, saving money and heartache.
She does this by herself during the week, while rolling yarns, ringing up other customers, answering phone questions, keeping the store spotless and everything where it belongs, and being company to people who come in to sit and knit together. Again, she does it all by herself. I think she’s a minor miracle. Those of you who’ve found her abrupt, give her some slack. She’s so worth it.
Urban Knitting is my home away from work … which i will explain after saying that i have made 3 sweaters, two ponchos, two vests, maybe a dozen hats/​scarves, and cupcakes. (enquire at Miette) all from Helen’s yarn and all with her help, which on occasion involves her rolling her eyes at me for failing to remember something she’s showed me several times before, sometimes involves her forcing me to sit down and actually focus on what i’m knitting when I get caught up in wandering around the textural and visual mood-​altering qualities of her yarns. I have taken a few drop-​in classes, and she’s an excellent teacher. But what’s best is when i’m stressed at work i can mosey in, look at colors and feel textures, talk or not, sit or not, knit or not. more often than not i find something to buy for a small project that shifts my mood right then.
I recommend spending some time in the store, buying yarn for a project then knitting there for awhile, talking to Helen and other knitters, checking out how easy it is to find things, understand what you can do with the different yarns based on displays. I’m all sold on Urban Knits, which i think is the most intelligent knitting store in the bay area. and believe me, Helen is seriously funny. just wait.

I know I can come here when I get myself into knitting trouble. Helen has been incredibly helpful when I’m lost in the middle of a pattern or need help picking out yarn… and I’m in both these situations often. She gives the best knitting advice I’ve ever received at a yarn shop.
The clean, modern feel of this place is so much nicer than the frantically busy atmosphere of other yarn shops in the city. I still like to mix it up and go to all the other shops, but Urban Knitting Studio is definitely my favorite.
My only suggestion would be for them to play music… or play it so it can be heard throughout the store. I’ve gone in here a few times and the place was completely silent. A little odd for a yarn shop, but maybe that’s so there is nothing to distract me from the yarn? If that’s the reason than it’s ok with me.

I taught myself how to knit this summer so I decided to venture in and Helen was very sweet to me.
The selection of yarn is HUGE; mostly natural fibers. Though a little expensive, but of course one has to take into account that this is a small independent business. I love supporting local business, so I don’t mind. Especially when one is paying a good price for quality.
There is even a selection of locally manufactured knitting needles that I had never seen before! A very nice touch. There are wonderful already made projects throughout the store to inspire any knitter.

I live in the South Bay but have been to this store twice while visiting The City. The first time I was there the owner was having a heated personal discussion on the phone and I spent about 10 minutes looking around at yarn that was WAY more $$ than at other Bay Area LYSs (minus 1 star) without being accknowledged (minus 1 star).
The second time I visited, it was our first stop after more than an hour’s drive and I had to pee. Bad. My partner and I walked in, me in my handknit Klaralund sweater and my partner in her leather jacket with a shaved head who is also a knitter. It was obvious that I was a knitter and am willing to spend good money a sweater’s worth of yarn. We looked around for a few minutes before I asked the owner if there was a restroom I could use. To which she replied, «No». She gave no explanation like that they don’t have a public restroom or that it was out of order, she just said «No». I felt that this was a very unfriendly and unwelcoming answer and I’ll never go back. (minus 1 star).
It was just not a very friendly place, IMHO, and I will be spending my yarn dollars elsewhere.

The owner is always so very helpful. I love her store!