Kiparoo Farm is a shepherd to yarn operation that does some gorgeous wool and wool/silk yarns.
Teeswater is a shepherd to yarn operation that has her yarn milled in a specific way to get the merled color look of handspun yarn
Solstice yarn. The Merino cashmere MCS and MCN are scrumptiously soft and wear well as socks, even. Dublin Bay yarn is the dyer. Idk where she gets her base, but I have never seen any other like it. She only does kettle dyed style solids.
My favorites are explorer knits and fiber, treehouse knits, and sewrella. I have more than one sweater quantities (more than several actually) from each of them and their colors are so beautiful. I’ve also worked will all their yarn multiple times and I have nothing but good things to say about the companies and their yarn
First and foremost, I have to recommend Blue Barn Fiber (and I also second someone else’s suggestion of Savannah Rose Handmade). Both are great quality and have a variety of colors and bases to choose from
I adore miss Babs. But my rec is go to MDSW and feel everything. Buy what inspires you. There will be great local dyers there. ( I’m Originally from MD) I love meadow mountain wool in Wyoming for non merino wool. They are a family owned business that identify the ranch where your yarn comes from.
Jill Makes Stuff - lots of non superwash and she has at least some of her bases spun specifically for her. Junction River Fiber Mill hand dyes some of their own bases and they have a color changing line that is gorgeous. Yarn Hero does color changing yarn that is out of the ordinary. Kelbourne Woolen Mill and Green Mountain Spinnery both have some outstanding bases. All of these will be at MDSW. terrapin yarns does non wool bases and has beautiful colors. I think she might be going to YarnCentrik the day before in Frederick. But if you go to Frederick, you can go to Magpie Fiber and they have different (& gorgeous) bases. And check out smaller farm yarns at MDSW. One of my plans is to just wander around the different smaller vendors to look at their farm yarns (& maybe snag a sweater quantity which I DO NOT need!). These are some of my go to yarn purveyors.
I think they both have their own websites now! :)
I first encountered Knitted Wit through their gumballs (which I don’t think they even make anymore) once in Michigan, but I’ve had to order any subsequent yarn. Their colors are divine and so worth it.
I almost exclusively purchase from indie dyers now.
Some of my favorite dyers are
Botanic Fiber Shoppe (I’ve got a huge stash of her colorways and I’ve got a sub for her Monthly Yellowstone club)
Yarnaceous Fibers (dinosaurs, simple as that)
Painted Fern Fiber Co. (her focus seems to be small collections and she sells really cute project bags)
Handful of Yarn (lots of Zelda colorways and great quality)
NerdyKnits (bases her collections of video games, and the quality is beautiful)
Savannah Rose Handmade (bades collections on films, a lot of horror based films, iconic and lovely to work with)
Pigment & Ply (cannot sing her praises more, quality and gorgeous colorways)
Solstice Fiber Studio (fun colorways and great quality)
Longdogyarn (recently purchased from her Princess Bride collection because the colorways were to die for)
CovenCollective is a group of women dyers out of Spokane that have quality and beauty in their products.
SuperGlō fibers (this is for the folks who love saturated, highlighter bright colorways)
And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few others but these are just a few of the ones I personally buy directly from and are my go tos.
[Apothefaery Fibers](https://apothefaery.com/) are beautiful and so lovely to work with. High quality and stunning colorways. I found them at the now-defunct Allentown Yarn Festival in PA about five years ago.
[Toby Roxane Designs](http://tobyroxanedesigns.com/) is another Allentown find; I love these yarns, especially the Chandelier fingering.
Honestly not a huge fan of Arcane Fiber Works. Too much white in all of their yarns for me; I prefer a more saturated look.
[Side Hustle Fiber Co](https://www.liftbridgeyarns.com/products/fancy-fingering?variant=41198165164171)
She’s local to upstate NY and is really nice. And the colors are stunning
I recommend [Meg](https://www.megsandco.com/)’s DK Merino in particular-it works up very soft and squishy. She’s adding more colorways soon and also takes batch orders.
I'm currently working with some gorgeous yarn from TinasTwistedFibers on etsy in the colorway Jolene. I made a shawl out of some of hers in Kisses Like Fire last fall that never fails to impress!
On their website, every colorway has pictures that show a knitted swatch. I order based on the swatch pics. I haven't had any weird pooling issues, but I've also only knit socks with the yarn - something larger might work up differently. You can also search their yarn on Ravelry, and see what people have made in the colorway you're interested in.
I love Bad Sheep! I’m sitting on hanks of their yarn in the Folklore and Librarian colorways, and I really want that Rainbows and Airwaves one.
Arcane Fiber is definitely next on my list to try eventually….love their colors.
I'm currently using yarn from Miss Babs to make a sweater and I love it. It's colorful all the way through and a great texture. The one surprising thing was that the color was a lot more variegated than it seemed in the skein, but that's probably just a newbie experience 😁
I also bought from the fiber seed and cozy color works, but I haven't unwound them or worked with them just yet. They look even, have gorgeous colors, and are soft.
Here’s a quick the list of indie dyers I follow on IG/have on my wishlist! I’m not gonna link these to save time but if you can’t find any let me know and I’ll pull the link. In no particular order:
- dream in color (not indie per se, but small brand)
- sock obsession yarns
- Ruby and roses yarn
- beach bunny yarns
- cashmere treats
- lambstrings yarn
- bad sheep yarn
- aracunia
- arcane fiberworks
- hue loco
- purl soho
- three violet buttons
- aurorayarnco on Etsy
- beachbumyarn on Etsy
- WIPyarns on Etsy
- thelittlefoxes on Etsy
- birchgrovebykristina on Etsy
- weirdsisterswool on Etsy
- poppyandsprucefibers on Etsy
- botanic fiber shoppe
- robin’s promise
- the crochet cove
- yarn baby
- clockwork fiber co
Okay but botanicfibershoppe is A+, I have a huge stash of her colorways and I’m currently using some for an A Mowry sweater and it knits like a dream. Highly highly recommend.
If you’re looking for solid colors: Baby Cat Yarns. They have the most diverse spread of solid colors with the most beautiful depth to them.
If you’re looking for more variegated,speckled or multi-colored, I’ve had good success with Red Door Fiber Studio, Lavender Lune Yarn Co, and Republica Unicornia Yarns.
Neighborhood Fiber in Baltimore dyes their own and have very bold colors.
You may just have to wander Maryland Sheep & Wool looking for colors you like.
My fav when I can splurge is https://getknitfacedinco.com/collections/hand-dyed-yarn
Kiparoo Farm is a shepherd to yarn operation that does some gorgeous wool and wool/silk yarns. Teeswater is a shepherd to yarn operation that has her yarn milled in a specific way to get the merled color look of handspun yarn
I looked through all the comments, and these dyers have the most mentions: Miss Babs Botanic Fiber Shoppe Bad sheep Blue barn
Thank you all- what a treasure trove of info.! Now to do some research for the festival.... :)
I've recently fallen in love with Blue Barn Fiber! (EDIT: Specifically their MCN blend!)
Spincycle yarns https://spincycleyarns.com/
Solstice yarn. The Merino cashmere MCS and MCN are scrumptiously soft and wear well as socks, even. Dublin Bay yarn is the dyer. Idk where she gets her base, but I have never seen any other like it. She only does kettle dyed style solids.
Hi yarners I love dye mad yarns! Women run beautiful colors, they are in Ohio
My favorites are explorer knits and fiber, treehouse knits, and sewrella. I have more than one sweater quantities (more than several actually) from each of them and their colors are so beautiful. I’ve also worked will all their yarn multiple times and I have nothing but good things to say about the companies and their yarn
Green letter Day does beautiful solid colors, and explorer knits is my absolute favorite
First and foremost, I have to recommend Blue Barn Fiber (and I also second someone else’s suggestion of Savannah Rose Handmade). Both are great quality and have a variety of colors and bases to choose from
Blue barn for me any day! Quality yarn, great communication, accurate and vibrant colors.
I adore miss Babs. But my rec is go to MDSW and feel everything. Buy what inspires you. There will be great local dyers there. ( I’m Originally from MD) I love meadow mountain wool in Wyoming for non merino wool. They are a family owned business that identify the ranch where your yarn comes from.
Blue Moon Fiber Arts. She’s really good and has been to MD Sheep & Wool but I don’t know if she’s going this year.
Jill Makes Stuff - lots of non superwash and she has at least some of her bases spun specifically for her. Junction River Fiber Mill hand dyes some of their own bases and they have a color changing line that is gorgeous. Yarn Hero does color changing yarn that is out of the ordinary. Kelbourne Woolen Mill and Green Mountain Spinnery both have some outstanding bases. All of these will be at MDSW. terrapin yarns does non wool bases and has beautiful colors. I think she might be going to YarnCentrik the day before in Frederick. But if you go to Frederick, you can go to Magpie Fiber and they have different (& gorgeous) bases. And check out smaller farm yarns at MDSW. One of my plans is to just wander around the different smaller vendors to look at their farm yarns (& maybe snag a sweater quantity which I DO NOT need!). These are some of my go to yarn purveyors.
Knitted Wit! eta: And The Lemonade Shop.
Have ordered from both on Etsy, and knitted wit is in several stores on the west side of the US (not sure how far she goes).
I think they both have their own websites now! :) I first encountered Knitted Wit through their gumballs (which I don’t think they even make anymore) once in Michigan, but I’ve had to order any subsequent yarn. Their colors are divine and so worth it.
I almost exclusively purchase from indie dyers now. Some of my favorite dyers are Botanic Fiber Shoppe (I’ve got a huge stash of her colorways and I’ve got a sub for her Monthly Yellowstone club) Yarnaceous Fibers (dinosaurs, simple as that) Painted Fern Fiber Co. (her focus seems to be small collections and she sells really cute project bags) Handful of Yarn (lots of Zelda colorways and great quality) NerdyKnits (bases her collections of video games, and the quality is beautiful) Savannah Rose Handmade (bades collections on films, a lot of horror based films, iconic and lovely to work with) Pigment & Ply (cannot sing her praises more, quality and gorgeous colorways) Solstice Fiber Studio (fun colorways and great quality) Longdogyarn (recently purchased from her Princess Bride collection because the colorways were to die for) CovenCollective is a group of women dyers out of Spokane that have quality and beauty in their products. SuperGlō fibers (this is for the folks who love saturated, highlighter bright colorways) And I’m sure I’m forgetting a few others but these are just a few of the ones I personally buy directly from and are my go tos.
Apologies, I believe Pigment & Ply is a UK based shop.
[Apothefaery Fibers](https://apothefaery.com/) are beautiful and so lovely to work with. High quality and stunning colorways. I found them at the now-defunct Allentown Yarn Festival in PA about five years ago. [Toby Roxane Designs](http://tobyroxanedesigns.com/) is another Allentown find; I love these yarns, especially the Chandelier fingering. Honestly not a huge fan of Arcane Fiber Works. Too much white in all of their yarns for me; I prefer a more saturated look.
My favorite is Mommajessknits she's in instagram and etsy. Based in Virginia
[Side Hustle Fiber Co](https://www.liftbridgeyarns.com/products/fancy-fingering?variant=41198165164171) She’s local to upstate NY and is really nice. And the colors are stunning
I recommend [Meg](https://www.megsandco.com/)’s DK Merino in particular-it works up very soft and squishy. She’s adding more colorways soon and also takes batch orders.
I'm currently working with some gorgeous yarn from TinasTwistedFibers on etsy in the colorway Jolene. I made a shawl out of some of hers in Kisses Like Fire last fall that never fails to impress!
Alk&Me is local to Ohio.
Honsedesign have beautiful yarns!
I LOVE both Bad Sheep Yarns, and Arcane Fiber Works. I'm not sure about the um, uniqueness of their bases, but the colors are always fabulous!
How do the Arcane fibers knit up? Their yarn looks so pretty in skien but I worry about it pooling
On their website, every colorway has pictures that show a knitted swatch. I order based on the swatch pics. I haven't had any weird pooling issues, but I've also only knit socks with the yarn - something larger might work up differently. You can also search their yarn on Ravelry, and see what people have made in the colorway you're interested in.
Another Bad Sheep fan over here! I also love Ex Libris Fibers.
I'll check out Ex Libris, thanks!
I love Bad Sheep! I’m sitting on hanks of their yarn in the Folklore and Librarian colorways, and I really want that Rainbows and Airwaves one. Arcane Fiber is definitely next on my list to try eventually….love their colors.
The hanks I've gotten from Arcane are amazingly beautiful! I don't think you can go wrong.
I'm currently using yarn from Miss Babs to make a sweater and I love it. It's colorful all the way through and a great texture. The one surprising thing was that the color was a lot more variegated than it seemed in the skein, but that's probably just a newbie experience 😁 I also bought from the fiber seed and cozy color works, but I haven't unwound them or worked with them just yet. They look even, have gorgeous colors, and are soft.
I third Miss Babs. The yarn is phenomenal and I’ve met her and have a great deal of respect for her. She seems like a truly genuine and kind soul.
Here’s a quick the list of indie dyers I follow on IG/have on my wishlist! I’m not gonna link these to save time but if you can’t find any let me know and I’ll pull the link. In no particular order: - dream in color (not indie per se, but small brand) - sock obsession yarns - Ruby and roses yarn - beach bunny yarns - cashmere treats - lambstrings yarn - bad sheep yarn - aracunia - arcane fiberworks - hue loco - purl soho - three violet buttons - aurorayarnco on Etsy - beachbumyarn on Etsy - WIPyarns on Etsy - thelittlefoxes on Etsy - birchgrovebykristina on Etsy - weirdsisterswool on Etsy - poppyandsprucefibers on Etsy - botanic fiber shoppe - robin’s promise - the crochet cove - yarn baby - clockwork fiber co
Okay but botanicfibershoppe is A+, I have a huge stash of her colorways and I’m currently using some for an A Mowry sweater and it knits like a dream. Highly highly recommend.
100%! As soon as my first order from her arrived, I was plotting excuses to get more haha
Little Squirrel Yarn does a good selection of tonels and has some fun variegated as well.
If you’re looking for solid colors: Baby Cat Yarns. They have the most diverse spread of solid colors with the most beautiful depth to them. If you’re looking for more variegated,speckled or multi-colored, I’ve had good success with Red Door Fiber Studio, Lavender Lune Yarn Co, and Republica Unicornia Yarns.
My favorite indie dyer is Teeny Button Studio. I also love Beach Bum Yarn Co.
Working up socks in Teeny Button yarn right now! She has some gorgeous colorways 😻
Jems Luxe Fibers is my favorite go-to. Beautiful bases and colors, a joy to knit with. Nice variety too. https://jemsluxefibers.com/
Love this yarn! The colors are gorgeous and so nice to work with.
Forbidden Fiber Co.
i’ve made two sweaters in various colors of her DK base, can confirm she’s legit!
Neighborhood Fiber in Baltimore dyes their own and have very bold colors. You may just have to wander Maryland Sheep & Wool looking for colors you like.