Kel and I are headed off to the big trade show this weekend, where we will see the new fall yarns and work on a wonderful new lineup of yarns and patterns and trinkets for fall (see you again on Tuesday!) We have already started our ordering for fall and are finding one overall theme this season: increasing prices. Yarn prices have risen in the past year, because of a variety of issues with international supply and demand. I though it would help for you all to know what is happening out there so that you understand why our beloved yarn is becoming more expensive. In same cases, we are absorbing those increases and cutting our margin. In others, we have had to increase the price that you are paying. Here is some history:
Last year, while recovering from a slump that threatened the cotton industry, Chinese textile firms stockpiled cotton in an effort to drive the price of cotton up further. Meanwhile, other countries like India imposed quotas on both raw cotton and yarn
exports, which further inflated prices. Those international finance moves are affecting yarn suppliers and, ultimately, consumers in the form of more expensive yarn.
Meanwhile, problems in Australia mean that the price of wool is much higher than usual. The price of wool in Australia is now twice what it was a year ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. Although the supply of wool is much lower than in years past (there are a tenth the number of sheep in the United States than there were after World War II), demand for wool continues to rise. While this may be good news for sheep farmers (and we do want their industry to survive), it is a challenge for yarn distributors and shops like ours, whose wholesale prices rise accordingly.
We have seen the price of the majority of our yarns go up in the past 12 months, and hopefully this background will help you to understand some of the reasons for these increases. One of the commitments we made when we launched this store was to continue to bring knitters reasonably-priced yarn as well as higher-end luxuries. Know that despite the price increases in the industry, we will continue to find affordable and amazing yarns that won’t bust your budget. After all, we’re knitters & crocheters, too!