The Southern California Indie Dyers, a Knitter's Dozen
Looking for that one-of-a-kind, made in California,
none of my friends will have this back home skein?
Or maybe you just want to find a special gift for a fellow knitter.
These 13 dyers have what you need!
We have personally met the owner of almost every shop on this list, have knitted
with their yarns and all come highly recommended by us.
These are the best of the best. Each dyer has a shop available online and many
are even available in our local stores (we have listed the shops below).
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Forbidden Woolery A favorite among our members, Leann has created a beautiful palette of tonal colors that continue to inspire us. Her collections play to our pop culture favorites like Outlander, Harry Potter and Steampunk. (Her Steampunk collection is pictured at left.) These gorgeous skeins are available at The Knitting Tree, Yarnover Truck (including exclusive colors for the Truck), and her personal web site. |
Material Culture Fiber Arts Tria seeks inspiration from all things local and her colors reflect the celebration that truly represents what it is to live in Southern California. Whether it is the Desert Superbloom in spring or the devastating annual brush fires (colorway Wildfire pictured left), she captures each in a beautiful array of colors. She is a wonderful supporter of all the local fiber related anything and is a great resource on locally sourced items. Available at Gather DTLA and her Etsy Shop online. |
Celestial Strings So many in our group have been fortunate enough to meet Angela and take her dye classes at The Knitting Tree. Her inspiration comes from the stars (colorway Orion Nebula at left) and she certainly gets a perfect view from her home in the desert. A personal favorite is her UV reactive colorways that glow under black light and any of her collaborations with Steven Be. Find her yarns at The Knitting Tree and in her Etsy Shop online. |
Baah Yarns This is a yarn line that is truly a delight to knit with. We would go so far to say that this is our first luxury superwash. Beautiful, saturated colors and we love how she names her yarn weights after Southern California locations! Available at The Knitting Tree, Compatto, Alamitos Bay and online at BaahYarn.com. |
Stimpy Lab
Just a girl dyeing yarn and fiber in a tiny Beachwood Canyon apartment – it cannot get more local and indie than this! Lynn combines the most beautiful blends of color and then splashes them with speckles that are to dye for! These yarns are full of bright color and are a joy to knit. You can find her yarns at Gather DTLA and her online shop.
Lazer Sheep Yarns Spawning from a love of color and drawing sheep, this line of yarn is bright and fun just like Leslie! She is a girl after our own hearts as she donates $1 of every skein sold to local animal shelters. Oh, and did we mention this girl has perfected the Harry Potter House Colors in yarn form? Just saying. Check out her Etsy Shop online. |
Blarney Yarns Taught to knit at a young age by both her mother and grandmother, it wasn't until Miryha learned to spin fiber in graduate school that she really found her calling for making unique handspuns and colors. Her inspiration comes from the natural world and the knitting heritage of Ireland. The colors are a collection of gorgeous variegated skeins with perfectly matched tonals that would be ideal for so many projects! Find her online at notthatkindoffiber.com. |
Candy Skein
Do you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth? Then this is the yarn for you! Each colorway reminds us of trying to choose from the wide array of candies in the chocolate shop, and how can you choose just one. (At left: watermelon, plum, foil wrapper and poppy seed colorways). She also is very talented at making scrumptious stitch markers and progress keepers to calm your sweet tooth. Find her at Needlepoints West and in her online shop. |
Oink Pigments A mainstay at all our Southern California fiber festivals and across the nation, we love to see Alexa's smiling face at every event! As a special bonus, Helena her trusty stuffed mascot is never far behind. Alexa truly has a knack for creating amazing colors and then coming up with spot on names for each one. Wine Knot Cabernet Sauvingyarn anyone? You can find these fun yarns in her online shop and at every fiber festival known to man. |
Delicious Yarns Delicious Yarns is the brainchild of Marcy and Jacqueline, owners of Stitch Cafe in Valley Village, and all it took was a pinch of this and a dash of that to bring of these delicious creations to life. Especially enticing is the packaging of kits designed to resemble banana splits, cupcakes and ice cream sundaes. One look at their online shop and you will see exactly what we mean! You can also find their kits at Needlepoints West. |
Dizzy Blonde Studios Laura (aka "KnottyLa") started out as a knitter, designer and fiber enthusiast who quickly became enchanted with creating her own custom colorways. A woman after our own hearts, she named her studio after her dogs, or Dizzy Blondes, and will be happy to show you pictures anytime. They are adorable and all rescues. Beautiful colorways inspired by and named for the beautiful blondes who have earned themselves a bit of a reputation. Check her yarns out in her online shop. |
Inner Yarn Zen MJ is truely talented with her skeins. She consistently dyes up gorgeous gradient sets and perfect self-striping skeins in addition to her tonal and variegated colorwork. This shop was born from her love of indie yarns and handmade project bags and she creates both with an eye for pop culture references and classic colorways. Check out all she has to offer in her Etsy Shop. |
Red Fish Dyeworks If you are looking for silk, this is your one stop shop. They carry a wide variety of silk and silk blend bases and can create any color you would like, that is of course if you can't already find the color in their extensive color wheel! See what they have to offer in their online shop. |
We are aware that we cannot possibly know all the local dyers in Southern California. The ones listed here are specifically ones that frequent our local events, have local workshops, are sold locally, and that we have met through both local events and workshops. Basically, we can personally vouch for their yarns, professionalism and kindness. We will continue to be on the hunt for more local dyers to support and share. (The pictures are taken from our personal photos and the dyers' social media sites.)