For the past few years, my mom and I have traveled the state every July as yarn tourists — visiting local, independent yarn stores in places like Fayetteville, Mena, Arkadelphia, and more. Our first year, we made a point to travel to every. single. store. on the map. It was nice to be able to say we did it, but it was also a lot of driving, and not every store felt worth the trip if I’m being honest. A couple of those shops sadly no longer exist, but the silver lining is that new stores have opened and joined the Crawl since then.
This year, we’ve pledged to visit only the stores we know we want to shop at. There are nine shops participating, and my mom and I will be traveling from the middle of the state to get everywhere. No hotels, only day trips. The Crawl is July 17–25, but since we’re also working around our jobs and a trip I have planned with my husband, we have only the first weekend to cross everything off our list.
Friday, July 17: Northern Stores
- Ozark Knitting Co at Son’s Chapel in Fayetteville
- Ozark operates as a pop-up and will be located at Son’s Chapel for the duration of the Crawl. The last time we visited was in 2024, and we loved the charm of the space. I picked up some Kelbourne Woolens Perennial from them that I love; I even used it when designing my Foot by the Fruit and Pickle Barrel Socks!
- Crawl hours: 10–3 every day but Tuesday
- Three Birds Yarn in Rogers
- Three Birds Yarn is new to the Crawl this year, and we’re especially excited to visit because they’ve dyed up some yarn kits for my Foot by the Fruit pattern! Their kits include the pattern plus six beautifully hand-dyed tonals in their merino/cashmere/nylon base. My Foot by the Fruit socks were knit almost entirely with Three Birds Yarn, and I’m so honored that they wanted to create kits.
- Crawl hours: Monday–Saturday 10–6, Sunday 11–6
- Yarn Alchemy in Bentonville
- We visited Yarn Alchemy in their original location last year, and we’re excited to see their new location this year. It’s a charming shop with lots of great notions that you can’t always find at other Arkansas yarn stores.
- Crawl hours: 10–6 daily
Saturday, July 18: Mena
- Rich Mountain Fiber Co
- Mena is technically part of the “Southern Stores” region of the Crawl, but it is admittedly far from the rest of the shops on that list. We love this yarn store, though, so it gets its own special day. Missy, who owns and operates Rich Mountain Fiber Co, is the sweetest soul and a joy to spend time with. She also dyes gorgeous tonals, and her sock base is one of my all-time favorites to work with. It’s insanely squishy, wears super well, and offers phenomenal stitch definition. I designed my Frankfooter Socks with some of Rich Mountain Fiber Co’s yarn, and Missy dyed up kits that include all the yarn you need plus the pattern. We’re making a point to visit on Saturday because Missy is hosting a BINGO event, and I am unfortunately a sucker for a good BINGO game.
- Crawl hours: 10–7 daily
Sunday, July 19: Southern Stores
- Knit Unto Others in Arkadelphia
- Knit Unto Others is nestled in the historic downtown area of my old college town. They offer a great mix of old-school notions, fibers, crochet kits and tools, books, and more. They’ve got a lot of interesting options that you might not find elsewhere, and you can’t shop their inventory online, so they’re worth the trip.
- Crawl hours: Monday–Saturday 9–5, Sunday 12–4
- Arkansas Yarn Co in Malvern
- We’re making a point to visit Arkansas Co on the first Sunday of the Crawl because that coincides with the Fellowship of the Socks guild’s Sock Sunday extravaganza, which I designed a special sock pattern for (coming July 17!). We’re at Arkansas Yarn Co at least once a month, so stopping by during the Crawl is a given.
- Crawl hours: Monday–Saturday 10–6, Sunday 12–4
Honorable Mentions
- Hardcastle Folk Art in Berryville
- This is new to the Crawl this year, so we’ve never been. Unfortunately, it won’t be on our itinerary this year either because it’s quite far from all the other Northwest Arkansas shops, and we just don’t have time for the trip. From what I understand, it’s not only a yarn shop but also a hub for fabrics, vintage thrifts, and unique bits and bobs. Hopefully we’ll get to visit them another time.
- Crawl hours: 10–6 daily
- Sooieet Skeins Yarn Shop in Fayetteville
- Sooieet Skeins is located in a T-shirt shop. The yarn is only a small part of the store, but the space packs a punch and houses way more fiber options than you’d think. I’m adding the shop here because we may or may not make it there. There are other non-yarny things we want to do while we’re in Northwest Arkansas, so it’s really just a question of time.
- Crawl hours: Monday–Friday 10–6, Saturday & Sunday 10–4
Fox & Fleece 
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