Blanket yarn is EXPENSIVE. And no wonder, it’s awesome to work with and lets you make a project way faster (which means lower labor costs for your customers).
What’s my secret to getting inexpensive yarn? No, it’s not Joann or Michael’s coupons. Although I never buy anything from either of those stores for full price. (You know they both always have coupons, right? Download their apps, yo!)
I’m all about thrifting. If my materials are expensive, they’re eating into my profits.
I am SO MOTIVATED to find good deals on yarn.
And since I committed to buying secondhand yarn for our planet, I haven’t once had to buy yarn new from a store. There is so much yarn already out there. And most of it is BRAND NEW in its original packaging.
Here are three places you should be looking for yarn:
- Secondhand craft stores. Luckily for me, I have a couple of these I can go to. One is in Dallas, Pegasus Creative Reuse, and the other is in Denton, Thistle Creative Reuse. If you don’t live in DFW, just google “secondhand craft stores near me” and see what comes up!
- Freecycle and Buy Nothing groups. I always check Freecycle and post periodically on there for certain materials I’m needing. There are also Buy Nothing groups that are better for this in some regions.
- Facebook Marketplace. There are always new listings on Facebook Marketplace, so I check weekly. I try not to drive more than 20 miles to pick it up because then I would be adding a few dollars to the cost, in gas, and I would be creating a larger carbon footprint with the drive. OfferUp and Letgo are also platforms that might be good in your area. And don’t forget about Craigslist!
When buying yarn secondhand, people call it all sorts of different names. So here’s a list of my favorite search terms so you don’t miss any listings:
- Blanket yarn
- Chenille yarn
- Velvet yarn
- Thick yarn
- Bulky yarn
- Chunky yarn
- Jumbo yarn
- Yarn de-stash (I just noticed this one recently)
- Craft supplies
- Knitting supplies
- Crochet supplies
Honestly, it has become such a fun game to find a skein of a random color and type and have to figure out what to make with it. I win that game every time. Look at what I’ve been making this year!
Note: I always price my items based on the full price of yarn. That way, if I can’t find yarn on the cheap, I’m not eating the cost of having to pay full price. It also keeps customers’ expectations reasonable. We each control the market rate with our pricing. So if you’re undercutting yourself, you’re also undercutting every other crochet artist out there. Your customers will say “but so-and-so only charges $10 for that!”
That’s because so-and-so has a failing business! And they’re contributing to this idea consumers have that they can pay Target prices for handmade products.
If we all priced our items fairly, our customers wouldn’t be so surprised at the true cost of our skilled labor!
I got more where that came from, love. Get all my FREE crochet business advice here!