Athens yarn store exterior
Travelling

An Unexpected Athens Yarn Store

Sometimes yarn stores appear out of nowhere, as if through the wardrobe into Narnia! A surprise find on a food tour of Athens.

5 September 2023 | 3 min read

Sometimes yarn stores appear out of nowhere, as if through the wardrobe into Narnia! No sooner than I started out on a food tour of Athens this summer, suddenly we were walking through a fabric district. Although most stores were for everyday textiles, one yarn store appeared on my route.

My excursion was taking a quick pit stop to taste something, which was going to take a few minutes, so I had a chance to run back the couple of blocks to see if the yarn store was still open, as it was coming up to lunchtime.

Yarn store interior

There were a couple of customer trickling in and out. The store is quite big and is a jumble of textiles, yarns, cottons and embroidery thread.

The main yarn stash was in a separate room on the right of the main door. The help desk was in a different room where two women were helping another customer.

The yarn stash room

I was looking for some sock yarn as it has multiple purposes for me: not only socks, but also simple mitre-squared blankets and an extendable all-in-one granny square blanket (I just love the task of making blankets/afghans). The women serving appeared to be slightly taken aback that a solo male was in the store (rather than a guy there supporting his wife). However, one of them rallied and came to help me find the stock they had of sock yarns.

Sock yarn display

There was a really gorgeous olive green cashmere-inspired sock yarn in large balls, sufficient for a decent pair of large socks. While I was there, I had a quick rummage through the deals and found two smaller balls of sock yarn that will suffice for a blanket square or two.

I felt I was dealt with politely at all times; just that perhaps a guy showing up to buy sock yarn on a 95 degree summer afternoon was less than usual.

This store is worth checking out if you’re in Athens for a visit. It’s the kind of place that probably has everything, but you will need help to find specific items beyond the main yarns on display.

Patrick Hughes

Patrick Hughes

Writing about craft, philosophy, and the places where textile traditions live. Based in the north of Ireland, near Slieve Gullion, where the gorse blooms yellow against grey stone.

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