Going Out of Business FAQ

What will happen to your pop-up at the Andover Bookstore?

We will continue our ongoing pop-up at the Andover Bookstore, for now, and you can continue to arrange in-person pick-up of final sale items there if the option is available to you at checkout. Read more about it here

What is your shipping policy?

You can find our shipping policy here. At this time, we only ship to the US and Canada. Please be patient and allow for additional shipping and processing times while we handle higher volumes.

 

Do you accept returns?

No, all items are final sale.

What do I do if I have an unused gift card?

Please use any unspent gift cards now before the site closes, as they cannot be returned or exchanged for cash. We are happy to honor them until our business closes.

Yarn and Wool

My yarn skein(s) arrived with small bits of dried grass or hay in them. What do I do with this?

• This is called vegetable matter or "VM,"and it is remnants of hay or dried grass from the field where the sheep grazed.
• While rarely seen in commercial yarn, it's often spotted in small-batch wool, which is not treated with the harsh chemicals used to strip VM from commercial skeins.
• Instead, small farms "skirt" or clean their fleeces by hand before sending them to the mill for spinning; it's a time-intensive, laborious process, and even the best hand-skirting can never remove every bit of dried grass. Here at Needle + Purl, we celebrate vegetable matter for all it represents: our connection to the shepherd and all she did - the labor, cost and sacrifice - to convert her sheep's fleeces into yarn.
• Most vegetable matter will be flung out by a yarn swift when winding your yarn (if you go fast enough)! The rest will come out with a proper wash and block of your finished piece. So there's no need to pick it out as you knit (although we know a few knitters who find this extremely satisfying)!

How should I wash the finished items I make with the yarns you sell?

• We sell only natural (non-superwash) yarns; the wool that makes the yarn has not been treated to be machine washable. This is better for the environment - the superwash process uses plastics to coat the wool - and for you, as nonsuperwash wool is much stronger. Your handmade garments will last many, many more lifetimes in nonsuperwash yarns!
• Natural 100% wool yarns are easy to wash. The rule of thumb is: no heat, and no agitation. Both of these will felt the wool. So keep it cool and gentle!
• In most cases, a short hand wash in a soap like Soak, followed by rolling your garment in a towel (to squeeze out excess moisture) and laying it flat to try will take care of things! Some brave knitters do machine wash cool on a delicate cycle and lay flat to dry; this is up to you!
• Wool garments do not need frequent washings. Wool is naturally antimicrobial, and washing too often will actually wear down the stitches of your garment. Oils from sweat and antiperspirants are hard to remove, however, so wearing a light t shirt or tank under your sweater will also prolong its life.
• It's a great idea to wash all your hand knits at the end of every cold season, before putting them away until next year. This helps keep moths away!

I ordered a naturally dyed skein of yarn; when I wound it on my yarn swift, it released a fine colored powder. Is this normal? Is the naturally dyed skein going to be colorfast?

• In almost every skein of naturally dyed yarn we have knit with at Needle + Purl, regardless of the farm or color or dyer, we see this too! To answer this question, we first have to give a little background on how natural dyes work.
• Natural dyeing - the use of plants and other materials found in nature to dye wool and fabrics - doesn't use artificial chemicals to help colors adhere to the wool, so dyers rely on a process called mordanting; the skeins are soaked in a mordant, like alum, before their dye bath. 
• The mordant ensures colorfastness. When the wool is done soaking in the dye, the dyer then exhausts the skeins, or rinses out the dye that is more than the wool can hold.
• The powder you see when winding a skein on a swift is a bit more of this excess natural dye that could not be absorbed by the yarn; it is shed harmlessly while you spin up the skein.
• You might see a bit of this on your hands as you knit, which is normal; you should not see a lot of color transfer on your hands or the needles (this would be a sign of insufficient mordanting or colorfastness, or something that went wrong in their process; this can happen with chemical dyes too). But the powder itself isn't a sign of a problem, just the yarn shedding the last of that excess dye!

If I order a pattern or knit kit, how do I receive a copy of the pattern?

• When you purchase a pattern, or knit kit that includes a Needle + Purl pattern, you'll receive a link to download the pattern.
• You can save and/or print this pattern for your own use. 

Embroidery

Which of your embroidery samplers and kits come with thread?

• The Hook, Line & Tinker embroidery kits, Matryoshka embroidery kits, and Dropcloth embroidery kits come with all the threads you need for the project, as well as an embroidery hoop, needle, instructions, and pre-printed cloth.
• The Dropcloth embroidery sampler comes with just the pre-printed cloth and instructions.
  

 

What embroidery threads should I use for my Dropcloth embroidery sampler?

• Either a 2- or 3-strand embroidery thread (traditional thread, or perle cotton) will work great for Dropcloth samplers.
• We stock two options: Weeks Dye Works 2-strand thread, and Rustic Moire Wool Threads, which are similar to a 3-strand thread. Both come on spools and ready to use!

Tell me more about these wool threads! What are they like, and what should I use them for?

• There's so much good stuff to say about these amazing threads, that we created a blog post to answer all your questions!

What size hoop should I use for my embroidery sampler?

• It's really a matter of personal preference, and we stock a range of sizes!
• A 5-6" hoop is comfortable to hold and reach the center of your work easily; you can move it around a larger piece of work as you go.
• Larger hoops (7-10") can be used to frame a sampler, or work on a larger piece like the ABC Max Sampler.
• Smaller 3-4" hoops are great for small projects or small corners, like the edge of a tea towel. Use them to create small ornaments or knit embellishments, too!

Weaving

I'm new to tapestry/hand loom weaving - where should I start?!

• Anywhere you want! The amazing thing about this style of weaving is that there aren't many rules, and you can let your creativity go wild! We offer small handheld looms, weaving needles and combs, and various fibers to get you started. We also put together all-you-need kits for gifting and using, in color combinations we know you'll love. The choice is yours!
• Check out this blog post for easy tips, tricks and short video tutorials.