Northwest Yarns & Mercantile — Local services in Bellingham

This is the yarn and fiber store of my dreams, featuring a gorgeous vintage coffee bar, sit and knit space, macrame, sewing patterns, and more looms in one shop than I’ve ever seen. Some access issues disappoint but overall the large windows and beautiful old triangular building stand out against the usual tiny cramped yarn stores you see. The door is wide and easy to open, level entry, and aisles are short and wide - so refreshing for me as a wheelchair user. The gorgeous stitch n b*tch corner was a little hard to reach but made me want to immediately move in. A beautiful old bar hosts a coffee shop that’s pretty expensive but coffee and snacks are delicious. The inspired yarn selection emphasizes local yarns, hand dyed yarn and natural fibres, with a wide colour selection. The macrame, weaving and sewing selections are so refreshing to find in a LYS. The weaving room was amazing! I’ve never seen so many looms in one space, and such beautiful light, but was only partially set up.

Sadly the historic building has clearly been a struggle for this business as they’ve expanded. Bravo for the large lift they’ve installed for the 2 steps up to the macrame, needlework and weaving areas (tho staff need to be trained on how to help customers who need it!), but the completely inaccessible second floor made the spinning fibre and tools completely out of reach to me.

Still love this shop and can’t wait to return when the weaving area is finished but strongly urge the team to give thought to how they can help shoppers who can’t manage the 16 stairs to the 2nd floor. An inventory list or sampler basket downstairs can help bridge the gap where renovation limitations make...

If you are looking for a community of textile crafters, hobbyists, and professional quality craftsmen with all the materials to create your fiber art this is your place. The shop is large but also cozy. The owner and her employees are delightful:engaging with experienced artist/crafters and very helpful in a kind and not snooty way for folks starting with 0 skills beforehand. The aspect of the store that is invaluable to me is the variety of free to anyone to come learn or simply be there and crochet or knit or whatever craft. Additionally they have ‘special’ afternoon crafts that include the supplies as well as personal instruction. It took me a while after moving to Bellingham to seek out this wonderful small business, but I’m now a customer for life. They allow well-behaved dogs not just service animals. I love that, but it might be an issue for some. I’ve never seen more than one lap or underchair canine infrequently. Do yourself a favor even if you don’t plan to buy anything and check out the Octopus hanging from the ceiling in one...

Update - Northwest Yarns has expanded to the former Black Drop space and is now 4x the amount of space. There is so much to see and so many ways to get involved in many different crafts, including an entire upstairs area devoted to spinning. Along with yarns galore, there's creates supplies for needlepoint, cross-stitch, felting and more. The large space includes seating areas for crafting and conversation and now has a second Shirlee's espresso stand within. The staff is warm and friendly, making everyone feel welcomed. And there's classes available for knitting and crochet and free drop-in sessions. There's even a section to welcome and feature artists, Even if you're not a crafter yourself, Northwest Yarns is visually beautiful space and worth a look. Perhaps you'll even take home a lot...