The Knittin’ Kitten

This is the best knitting store I have ever seen. The main reason is because the proprietress, Mary Ann, is a genius. She will be carrying on a conversation with one patron and can within seconds diagnose what another has done incorrectly with her/​his knitting. I encourage you to visit the store to witness this in person. Mary Ann is a pro! She knows everything about knit garment design and fabrication. She is also hilarious.
The store itself has a nice selection of yarns of all fibers. Mary Ann has a comprehensive collection of knitting machines as well and can provide expert instruction if you wish to learn machine knitting for a very reasonable price. If you are considering buying a machine, which are mostly used these days, your first step should be to take lessons with Mary Ann so you can understand what kind of machine you are looking for (and whether you like this hobby). She has machines come through for sale, and she provides expert service of knitting machines, including retainer bars.
All this said, this store caters very well to hand knitters. Let’s face it… most knitters these days are hand knitters, and the same is true of the clientele here. So you will feel very at home and taken care of here if you are a hand knitter.
Also there is a quilting shop and a Pepperidge Farm outlet store next door. What else does one need?

OK, this is really a 3 star place, but the owner is so friendly that I added a star. Pretty small selection of yarn, and the place is a mess. You can’t really go in there looking for anything specific. Limited selection of needles and notions too. The place is mostly taken up with knitting machines. OK, so maybe it’s a 2 star place, and I added 2 for the owner. I really want to open up a yarn store in Belmont that is a little more hip, but take this woman with me for helping customers. That would be wicked cool.

This is a great local neighborhood shop! The owner is SUPER friendly and very willing to help. (She helped me choose appropriate yarn and then insisted on helping me modify a pattern, writing it down step by step, when I asked for some quick advice.) She normally has several other folks sitting around knitting so it has a cozy feel. You just have to get up your courage to walk into a room of knitters and say «hello» since it can be a bit intimidating with so many people.
The selection is decent too, with plenty of cotton yarn, sock yarn, some hand dyed yarns, and some more expensive baby alpaca or specialty yarns. She also has a good selection of needles and patterns. I agree that the customers may be older, but let that not deter you! The owner is wise and kind, you get good service and I’m sure you can find something to meet your needs here!

I learned to knit and purl as a child; I learned to make beautiful garments that fit thanks to the knowledge of the owner of the Knittin’ Kitten. Marianne is very knowledgeable about machine and hand knitting (funny, in more than 10 years, I’ve only seen hand knitters there) and ~ even more important ~ taught me how to fit a pattern to my body before I made it ;). The store carries beautiful yarns from tweedy wool to hand-​dyed mohair. Call the store for hours before you go.

This yarn store is primarily for machine knitters. There are plenty of vintage patterns, and the staff is helpful and knowledgeable — though she is limited in how much she can help you — she seems to be the only one on staff at most hours. Perhaps its not all for the «young and hip» but they have a wide selection of excellent quality yarns and reasonable prices.
The machine knitting cones and supplies and tools, however, won’t be found for miles around… so this is where you start if you need something more than sticks and string to make your dreams come true.

I am not a big fan of this store. They have very short hours only on a few days a week. As someone who has a regular job, this makes it practically impossible for me to shop here, even though I pass it every night on my way home. I refuse to shop here because of the hours alone even if I happen to pass by when it’s open.
When I have been in there, the rest of the clientele and the person working there were quite… mature. The store itself seems to have a big selection, but has an oppressive atmosphere as the lighting and design is not well thought out. I would rather go to Woolcott in Harvard Square.