The Yarn Barn of San Antonio

This store has been a staple in San Antonio for years and years. It’s gone through 3 ownership changes in the last 10 years. The new owner is a lovely lady and knows about her craft. The shop has knitting supplies and is one of the few places that still carries needle point. There are 3 big drawbacks for making this shop a regular haunt. First is the location being nearly downtown and on a very busy street which leads to the 2^nd drawback. Second is the lack of parking. There are about 4 spots right in front of the store. If you can get one of those, you’ll have the devil’s own time getting out of it as McCullough Ave is very busy with traffic in both directions. There’s off street parking across the street, but again, you have to navigate the high traffic flow on McCullough to cross over to the store.
Yarn selection used to be high end. Not so much anymore. Most of what they are carrying now is the same yarn lines you can find at any of the other stores and big boxes. While previous owners were not welcoming or warm to new customers, the new owner and her staff are very welcoming and their customer service is great which makes up for the lack of the high end yarns the shop used to be know for. They feature a local dyer and craftperson which is a great addition to their shop line up. Their hours are not the best, but given their location, it’s understandable.

My friend and I went for a knitting lesson from Enid, the owner; and we had such a fun experience. We sipped on our coffee we had grabbed down the road. Laughed. And learned to knit! Enid was so patient. Her instructions were clear. And she came to our rescue tirelessly as we rookies would lose a stitch here and there. And the store is so cute. I could just walk around looking at all she has on display and be happy :).

I was so happy to read about this gem of a place on Unilocal when we moved to San Antonio. Knitting and crocheting being my passion, and being spoiled by a vast selection of little mom and pop yarn stores in Europe, I was dreading the big chains in the US. And it makes me so happy that more and more small independent places appear, and crafty people support them.
With that being said, Yarnivore was my first pick of places to visit and hopefully leave with full bags of awesome stuff. And boy did I. Walking in, we felt very welcome. We were greeted by 2 friendly ladies working there. As you enter the store, there’s a cute and comfortable couch corner to your left. It invites you to sit and knit/​crochet or in this case, my husband sat down and had a good time while I didn’t have to rush to find what I wanted/​needed.
The lady at the front immediately offered her help. I had found a pattern online, of a sweater I wanted to make. She was immediate familiar with the website I had found the pattern at, and even the designer who put the pattern up. She showed me the different options I had, offered advice and insight.
It’s not a cheap store, but just looking at the great selection and quality of their product, I didn’t mind the little extra I had to spend.
I left happy, with my new yarn, needles and a huge smile on my face. And believe me when I say, I cannot wait to come back.

Wonderful place ! Very friendly service and classes are offered to those wanting to learn !!

My wife and I were in town on vacation, decided to go looking for a local yarn shop and Yarn Barn popped up! Really friendly owners, great selection, welcoming all needle artists.
They have yarns from a local dyer on display up front, and in the back they carry a great variety of brands, weights, colors. Some really unique things I haven’t seen elsewhere.
I told the owner I wanted to crochet a necktie. She recommended online resources and even showed me one she was working on!
Definitely worth stopping by, saying hello and checking out the great selection!

Enid is awesome! I signed up for a class through Groupon. When I visited the shop to get my supplies, Enid did not try to sell me stuff I did not need! On class day, I met Sybil, who is just awesome! Great local business, great owners!

Prayers were answered! The Yarn Barn lives! And the new owner is passionate about needlepoint and knitting. Already many new yarns… fun new inventory… and more coming in daily. Check out their monthly class schedule.

I heard they’ve closed, and I’m so bummed about this!

Ok, I have experienced better but I’ll go ahead and give 3 stars. Inventory seems to have shrunk in both yarns and books. I’m not certain they would have enough yarn of the same dye lot to complete a sweater. At least I was greeted when I entered! Cute store but not a great location. Parking really stinks.

For some reason it’s raining every time I visit Yarn Barn. Which always highlights the parking problem. I don’t know San Antonio very well but this neighborhood seems a little shady. I’m not so suburban that any street parking will make me squeal but I’ll be honest and say I was nervous when I parked around the corner from the shop and the house I parked in front of was tilting on its foundation and possibly abandoned.
The shop itself is pretty nice. A charming old house, half taken up with very tall shelves stuffed with yarn. Their inventory has only grown over the three years I’ve visited. I’ve found some great yarn. No yarn you couldn’t get elsewhere but a healthy collection of koigu, Cherry Tree Hill, Shaeffer, Shibui, Debbie Bliss, etc.
The other part of the store is dedicated to cross stitch or embroidery.
There’s a really cute room in the back with a big table where I can imagine some great knitting groups happen!
The ladies who work here are very nice. They’ll leave you alone and let you shop. Or answer any questions you have without talking your ear off. It’s a fine balance between those things but they do pretty well with it.
I’d be happy if this were my local yarn store. But I’d definitely want better parking.

Yarn Barn is San Antonio’s original yarn and needlepoint shop. If I’d never been to Hill Country Weavers in Austin (aka Yarn Mecca), this would be a 5-​star shop, but the service at Yarn Barn is better in my opinion. I remember its first location from being a kid… was a trailer with lots of cubbies full of yarn and threads and a room with handpainted canvases. They’ve come a long way, first moving to Olmos Circle, now to their new location on McCullough. Lisa, the owner, is really a sweetheart and Beverly, the manager, has known my mother and me since before I was born (her daughter and I even went to middle school together), and many of the other shop ladies that were fixtures at the old location can still be found in the new location – lots of «local» influence here.
Parking is the worst part, but still very doable. There are only about 3 – 4 spaces in front of the house the shop is now located in, but there is ample parking for the clinic across the street that customers of the shop are permitted to use without towing fears. You’ll need this peace of mind because it’s really hard to get out of the place quickly if you actually want to expore the shelves. You’ll find names such as Handmaiden (*sigh*), Alchemy, K1C2, and LOTS of Cascade 220 among others. They even carry a locally dyed sock yarn from Alisha Goes Around. I’m not a needlepointer, but if you are, this is THE place to go from what I understand. I know before the move there was more focus on needlepoint, but there is still a great room full of designer and handpainted canvases and beautiful threads to use on them.
The classes here are just starting to take shape, but they do offer some knitting and needlepoint classes from traveling instructors. They’ve been touting their lounge timeon Sundays now and once I get moved back to that neck of the woods, I suspect I’ll be there more often myself. The ladies at the counter are all really helpful and encouraging, so when you run into pattern problems or need to tackle a new skill, just bring in your project and they’re ready to help! :)