Pardon Our “Dust”

Hey folks, we’re working on the website, and fixing a few issues. Nothing to worry about.

Since you’re here, please check out the 2024 Vendors list!

We’ll have lots of updates soon, thanks so much for your interest in YarnCon!

Questions about YarnCon 2024

We are delighted to see folks getting excited for YarnCon this year! Recently we’ve been getting a number of questions that many others of you have as well, so let’s answer them!

Q: I don’t see class or workshop information; how do I apply to teach, or register for classes?
A: Up until now, we’ve had classes of some kind at YarnCon. Sometimes it was a spinning class up on the stage, dyeing workshops in the hallway, rented offices as classrooms, or actual conference rooms at a hotel. Other than the spinning and dyeing workshops, we’ve never managed to get a critical mass of people to sign up for classes, enough to make it worthwhile for instructors. So this year we are not offering classes in classrooms. We do plan to offer workshops and demonstrations in open areas where some can participate and others can watch. Once we have a plan in place, we will announce more details.

Q: I want to volunteer! Add me to your list!
A: Thank you! We appreciate you! We’re getting ready for you! Seriously, YarnCon wouldn’t be the great experience it is without our generous volunteers. We will absolutely make an announcement in all the usual places once we are ready for people to sign up to volunteer.

Q: Can our Guild or Club have a table at YarnCon?
A: Glad you asked! Please email us at info@yarncon.com. We love having the guilds at YarnCon!

Q: Do I need to apply to bring my Food Truck?
A: No, but we are so glad you asked! Please send your Food Truck information to info@yarncon.com. Most of our food trucks friends do really well, usually selling out of food within hours of opening. We need to stay fueled! Email us, please!

Food Truck Spotlight

YarnCon happens this weekend! Are you ready for this much fun?

Because fiber fanatics cannot live on yarn alone (although we try our best), we are thrilled to announce the food truck lineup for YarnCon 2023. This year, sandwich and American comfort food experts The Fat Shallot will be on hand alongside dumpling and baowich truck, Yum Dum, and elite authentic Mexican food truck Aztec Dave’s.  It’s going to be another tasty year!

Trucks will be parked outside the main entrance from 11am-1pm to serve any and all who need sustenance to shop. Get yours early – they’ve been known to sell out!

One month to go!

YarnCon is just a month away, and we thought it would be a good time to remind you to sign up for workshops before the class you want is sold out (some almost are, so get on it!) We still have spaces left in our fantastic spinning and knitting technique classes, so head over to Eventbrite to read the descriptions and sign up. All classes will take place Thursday and Friday, March 30-31 at the Crowne Plaza West Loop, 25 S. Halsted. The vendor marketplace will happen in our usual location over the weekend, April 1-2: the Plumbers Union Hall at 1340 W. Washington Blvd. Check out the official Schedule for details.

Friday night, please join us for a very special event: Friday Night Knitterati with the one and only Safiyyah Talley, aka The Drunk Knitter! She’ll speak on a topic near and dear to all our hearts, the State of the Skein. Come for Safiyyah, stay for the hors d’oeuvres and cash bar.

Have you seen the list of vendors for 2023? We’re so excited we can hardly wait to squish all the fiber.

We are really excited once again to be offering Dark Matter coffee, thanks to their amazing support! See us at the beautiful bar downstairs for all of your hot coffee (and tea) needs.

YarnCon 2023: Live and in person!!

We are so excited to return to an in-person show for the first time since the before times. We’re ready to welcome more than 50 independent artisans back to our much-loved Plumbers Union Hall and revel in the joy that is YarnCon.

Speaking of revelry, allow us to introduce the YarnCon Symposium! We’re so happy to bring this longtime plan to real life in 2023. All of our classes and workshops will take place March 30-31 at the Symposium (which will be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel), followed by an opening party on Friday night. The classes are posted, and registration is now open.

Special keynote speaker at Friday night’s shindig: Safiyyah Talley, aka The Drunk Knitter! We are thrilled to welcome Safiyyah to YarnCon and can’t wait to hear her thoughts on the State of the Skein. Tickets to the Friday night event are $25.

Our amazing YarnCon marketplace will open to the public on Saturday, April 1, at 10am. Admission is free! The first 50 shoppers through the door both Saturday and Sunday will snag a coveted

Who wants a goody bag?

Longtime YarnCon fans know that we give out goodie bags to the first 50 shoppers through the door each day of our show. These treasure troves typically offer yarn, stitch markers, patterns, pins, and other delights from our fabulous vendors.

Raffle drawing at YarnCon 2018
Raffle drawing at YarnCon 2018

Since we’re not in person this year, we’re giving away 10 goodie bags to some lucky YarnCon followers! Everyone signed up to attend our Diversity and Inclusion in the Fiber World Panel Discussion is automatically entered, so if you haven’t signed up for our first panel discussion, here is an extra incentive to register! Get your tickets here: https://www.yarncon.com/diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-yarn-world/

This year we have surprises from these YarnCon vendors: WhyKnot Fibers, Cooperative Press, Bur Oak Studio, Daisy Bags, and Wild Stitchers. PLUS a super special raffle for a Beautiful Syster project bag! The drawing will be held on Saturday, April 2 at 2pm Central on our FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/YarnCon

“If it wasn’t for disappointment…

…I wouldn’t have any appointments.”*

Okay, maybe a touch dramatic, but it’s a great line. And we are disappointed, but you know what, these are weird times, and we are all doing the best we can, and we don’t always know how it will work out. In this case, we thought that offering online classes would be something people might enjoy, and a very small number of you thought so too, but sadly not in the numbers necessary to run 2 days worth of classes.

For those who had registered, we have already sent refunds. It seems some of you got the refunds before the emails letting you know you would get getting refunds, and I am so sorry about the confusion that has caused. To our teachers, thank you for all of your efforts, we can’t wait to work with you in the future.

BUT! The good news is we are still going forward with the Panel Discussion on Diversity and Inclusion in the Fiber World on Friday, April 1 at 6:30pm CDT. Tickets are still available, and if you have questions or thoughts you would like us to cover during the discussion, please leave them in the comments, or email them to info@yarncon.com.

And please keep following us here and on social media, we will be planning at least a little fun on our YarnCon weekend, even if it can’t be in person this year.
https://www.facebook.com/YarnCon/
https://www.instagram.com/yarncon/

*From “Snowball in Hell,” by They Might Be Giants.

Introducing our Panel Discussion!

This year we are trying new things in the virtual realm, and along with our online class offerings, we are also hosting a panel discussion via Zoom. We hope this is the first of many to come.

Our first discussion will be on the subject of diversity and inclusion in the yarn world. For the last few years, we have been talking about racism in our fiber community, usually when someone says or does something offensive. We thought it would be good to talk about it on a more regular basis, in order to keep the conversation going.

We are honored to have Gaye Glasspie (https://ggmadeit.com/), Diane Ivey (https://ladydyeyarns.com/), and Louis Boria (https://www.brooklynboyknits.com/) on our inaugural panel.

Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/yarncon-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-fiber-world-panel-discussion-tickets-301931273567
Or from our class page where you can see all of our classes available this year.

If you have questions or topics you would like to see us address during the panel discussion, please leave them in the comments. Thanks!

On-line classes you say?

When we announced that YarnCon is offering on-line (virtual) classes this year, we received a message about pricing. Why are we charging the same amount for an on-line class as for an in-person class? Glad you asked! The reason is that the main consideration in pricing our classes is that we fairly compensate our teachers. Our teachers are doing the same job, teaching the same material, and for the same maximum class size whether they come to a conference room, or they teach via Zoom. In fact, there is more work on their ends when they teach via Zoom because they have to be responsible for their camera set up, Zoom account, internet connection, etc., while still making sure to give just as much attention to their students as they would in person.

I think if the last two years have taught us anything, it is that we can be flexible, and teach in different settings, such as remotely or in the class-room. We all have our preferences, and that’s fine! But, let’s remember that the teacher is teaching the same material, and is working just as hard to make sure their students are getting the most out of their classes, and deserves to be compensated fairly for their work, and the expertise they bring to the classroom, virtual or otherwise.

So, I hope you will take a look at our fantastic class offerings for this year, sign up to learn some new skills, and plan a cozy space in which to Zoom in and enjoy taking a workshop with other stitchers.

All classes are listed here: https://www.yarncon.com/schedule/ and include a link to the registration page.
Please also check out our Instagram page where we are sharing pictures and details about the upcoming classes! https://www.instagram.com/yarncon/

Classes are open for registration!

We are excited to announce that our virtual YarnCon Symposium for 2022 is open for registration! We have a wonderful selection of classes to offer from our experienced instructors, and you can take these classes from the comfort of your own home, or where ever you choose to Zoom.

Vera Videnovich is standing in the middle of a circle of people seated on a stage. Vera has her arms raised as she demonstrated how to spin on a DIY drop spindle.
Vera Videnovich teaching DIY Drop Spinning during YarnCon 2019.

To see the class schedule, please click on: Class Schedule. (each class will have a link to the registration page on Eventbrite.)
To go straight to the registration page, please click on: Class Registration.
Please sign up soon! Spaces in each class are limited.

Please keep an eye on the schedule, along with classes, we will also be adding a Diversity and Inclusion in the Yarn World Panel Discussion that we will be offering over Zoom.