Do you love to knit or crochet but do not want to spend a lot of money on yarn? You can find good quality yarn at bargain prices if you know where to look. Here are three tips to help you get inexpensive, quality yarn to feed your crafting habit.

This post includes affiliate links.

3 Ways to Find Inexpensive, Quality Yarn

Buy New Yarn on Sale

The easiest and most obvious way to buy inexpensive, quality yarn is to shop seasonal sales. Yarn trends change each year and manufacturers introduce new yarns each season. Watch for sales on last season’s yarn. Check local yarn shops, discount stores and online retailers for quality yarn at clearance prices. And don’t forget coupons—you can find many coupon online, or on manufacturer’s and retailer’s websites.

Check the Dollar Stores or Mighty Dollar. One year I found yarn for $1.00 a skein. I picked up enough to create lots of scarves and projects all winter long!

Tip: If you shop at Michaels or Hobby Lobby, make sure you do a quick search on your phone and get a 40% off coupon. I have heard some people who say that Joann’s will accept competitor coupons. I don’t have a Joann’s Faric near me, so I can’t personally confirm.

Buy Previously Loved Yarn

Many crafters have extra yarn. Some buy more than is needed for a project or lose interest in a project after purchasing the yarn. You can find good quality, previously loved yarn locally or online. Check out these sources:

Yard and Garage Sales – Read ads and flyers to find yard and garage sales with yarn.

Thrift stores – Check your local thrift stores for yarn. Talk to an employee to find out if there are set sale days for craft items. You can also buy knitted and crocheted scarves and unravel them for the yarn. I tried this last week and scored 2 skeins of yarn for $1.00 each when I purchased 2 scarves. Score! It’s a good idea to toss these items in the dryer for at least 20 minutes to make sure you aren’t bringing home any unexpected guests that might crawl around.

Online – Many crafters post excess supplies on various selling or swapping websites. Search your local Facebook marketplace or browse sites like Ebay.

Recycle Sweaters to Make Your Own Yarn

One of the best ways to get quality yarn for pennies is to unravel good condition, high-quality commercially knitted sweaters or scarves. Ask friends and family for old sweaters, or buy them at thrift stores and yard sales. Sweaters at yards sales often sell for less than a dollar and many thrift stores routinely have bag specials where anything that fits into a bag is a few dollars.

To unravel a sweater, carefully take it apart at each seam without cutting through the fibers in the body of the garment. Lay each piece flat and find the beginning of the yarn, usually at one end of the shoulder. If the beginning is not obvious, you can cut through the yarn at one end and pull to start unraveling the yarn.

Wrap the yarn neatly around a large cardboard rectangle as you unravel it from the sweater. When you are done, tie the yarn together in four or five places and carefully remove it from the cardboard. Soak the yarn in cold water for a few minutes and then squeeze to remove excess water. Lay the damp yarn flat on a towel and allow it to dry completely. Once the yarn is thoroughly dry, roll it into balls to use in your next project.

Finding inexpensive, good quality yarn can be fun and easy. In fact, you may soon have more than you can use! As you add to your yarn collection, remember to label each new find according to fiber content and care requirements so that you can easily choose the best yarn for all your great knitting and crocheting projects.