The Great Philly Yarn Crawl is back for its second year, bringing together 18 shops across the Greater Philadelphia area from Thursday, March 13, to Sunday, March 16.
Whether you’re an experienced crafter or new to the world of yarn, this event offers something for everyone.
Just like last year, the crawl is organized by the local yarn shops. “A lot of cities have this type of event, and in Philadelphia, some of the shop owners reached out and thought, ‘Why don’t we try to do this? Philly is a very fiber-centric city,’ ” said Laura Singewald, co-owner of Loop, a yarn shop in Center City, and one of this year’s crawl organizers. Each participating shop offers a free knitting or crochet pattern to participants, and many will have special giveaways.
Singewald taught herself how to knit after she saw a friend make a scarf. Now, she’s about to celebrate Loop’s 20th anniversary. “It’s crazy. We’ve been here 20 years, and then there are stores on the crawl that have only been open for a few months. It’s really a wide range,” she said.
The crawl is a self-guided tour of yarn shops within 30 miles of Philly’s City Hall. “It ranges from Kimberton, to the west, all the way up to New Hope,” Singewald said. “Each shop has its own personality, its own focus. It’s fun, if you’re in town, to get out of town. If you’re out in the ‘burbs, it’s fun to have an excuse to come into the city.”
If you’re feeling competitive, there’s a fun challenge to visit as many stores as possible. Participants receive a passport, which they can have stamped at each shop. Collecting at least four stamps gives you a chance to win prizes in the event’s giveaway:
- Grand Prize (visit 18 shops) – prize valued at over $1,000
- Runner-Up Prize (visit 12 shops) – prize valued at over $750
- Second Runner-Up Prize (visit 8 shops) – prize valued at over 500
- Third Runner-Up Prize (visit 4 shops) – prize valued at over $250
The rise of crafting — particularly knitting, crocheting and weaving — during the COVID-19 lockdown has sparked a renewed interest in the fiber arts. And now crafters are eager for in-person connection and sharing their craft, Singewald said. “Your local yarn shop offers that every single day, and this crawl is just a fun chance to celebrate and see what we’ve all been doing.”
Singewald also noted the strong resurgence of crochet, especially among younger crafters. “There’s a lot of crocheting on TikTok,” she said, adding that many young people are learning through the platform. “I’ve certainly seen it a lot in fashion right now, too.”
Last year’s crawl was a big success, with around 1,200 people registering to participate. “We had a woman last year who really made it to all — we had 16 shops last year — and she did all 16 in one day. She was not messing around,” Singewald said.
This year, registration numbers have already surpassed last year’s, with participants traveling from all over. “We do have people that are traveling from afar to come to the area. There are certainly people from Western PA. We’ve had people come from Texas. We’ve had people come from Jersey. It’s really fun. This is definitely an activity that knitters really want to participate in.”
For more information, visit and register on the crawl’s official website or check its Instagram account. This year, 5% of the crawl’s profits will be donated to the Tacony LAB Community Art Center in Northeast Philadelphia, which fosters creativity and community engagement through art programs and events.
