Mouliné

Il y a certaines laines qui sont pas mal mais qu’on trouve ailleurs. Par contre le service y est exécrable. Passez votre chemin et allez ailleurs.

Left for Montréal on the train, and as soon as I sat down I realized I needed knitting! A pleasant trip on VIA, I could research Montréal yarn shops online, and by chance my seat companion pulled out her knitting and so I asked for her opinions :-).
Later in the day, I made my way to this store in a spring rain, and found the most helpful wonderful woman on shift. As per other reviews, there was indeed a gentleman sitting in the corner by the window.
I meandered the entire well-​stocked shop and found Berroco Flicker to make a soft shawl for a friend. The woman handled three other customers as graciously as she helped me, and also made sure that the skeins were wound into balls – something I often think of once I get home LOL
Overall, a lovely experience.

Since my first review, Mouliné has changed location (no longer near Atwater, but over by Décarie), and with a new location takes on a new flavor, one that is a little less appealing.
They still have beautiful yarn. Huge amounts of it. Prices are good. But the atmosphere…
There just was no spirit here. No «gather here and let’s make something together» vibe. It looks like a department store of yarn and yarn paraphernalia, with its fluorescent lights and drab carpet and plastic bins. I’ll cut them some slack because when I visited they were just finishing setting up in their new space, but…
Then, there was the strange fact that in the corner, there was a man sitting by and scoping everyone out. He didn’t seem to be the abandoned spouse of one of the customers, and didn’t seem to work there or be shopping himself, but he did criticize a few customers’ choices without them asking for his input. Was he the owner? Or a creeper who hangs out at yarn shops? Not sure, but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
As someone very involved with knitting and the knitting community, I think it’s probably important for «old-​school» big yarn stores like this to exist (as many of them go the way of the dinosaurs). But, it’s not the sort of place that I’ll go for inspiration, to chat about my latest project, or to discuss what’s up-​and-​coming in the fiber world. I might check out their sales and books, but save my MadTosh dollars for some of the city’s other shops.

This store has, hands down, the highest quality yarns for the best prices in Montréal. Notably, it has a great selection of Rowan yarns and pattern books (a personal favorite), which you don’t find just anywhere. There are also a number of indie dyers sold here (Sweet Georgia, Madelinetosh, Tanis Fiber Arts, Handmaiden/​Fleece Artist) as well as classics (Malabrigo, Noro, Cascade and Berroco). Finally, you can find some great European yarns and multiple-​language pattern books from Phildar, Katia, Lang and others. What I love is that there is ALWAYS a sale (and I mean a REAL sale) on at least one yarn that I want.
Mouliné caters to knitters and crocheters alike and has a really impressive library of either up-​to-​the minute or oldie-​but-​goodie pattern magazines and books. You really can spend hours poring over their pattern section. Also, their needles and notions section is pretty comprehensive.
If you only have time to visit one store in Montréal, this is definitely the best choice.

Great store with beautiful although quite expensive yarns and all the knitting/​crocheting paraphernalia your heart can desire. Helpful staff even though some can seemed standofish at once. Got great knitting lessons given by a very experienced very generous teacher: Annick. The owner is frankly and overtly unpleasant with customers and most importantly with his staff: he comes across as rude and bullying with them. He does seem to have found a confortable niche for himself and knows it too well. Not a business I would wish to encourage if I can help it…

Would give zero stars if I could. The old man who works there was a total grouch, probably the most UNhelpful person I’ve ever met. I told him I was knitting a baby hat and needed standard circular knitting needles. He started berating me about not knowing the size yarn I was using (I told him it was old yarn that no longer had the packaging). He almost brought me to tears. I was appalled, since normally I love shopping at yarn shops because it’s usually a calm, enjoyable experience — I ended up buying needles because I really wanted to start on the project that day, but I felt horrible about supporting this place run by a person who treated me so horribly. The nice woman behind the counter apologized, which helped a bit, but I still left swearing I’d never set foot back in that place again.

Tons of various yarns to choose from, the owner has won many awards for her knit designs, some of which were featured in Vogue knits. She also runs knitting classes & workshops and will gladly advise you on your progects. I bought a flock kit (bulky wool & floss for THICK mittens), and she warned me about dividing the floss properly so as to avoid a a mitten resembling a boxing glove and a regular mitten. Lots of knitting needles, crochet hooks, various knitting accessories, one can find just about anything. Since the owner moved here from Notre Dame St., there is more space, light, and it’s easier to find things. Yarns range from bulky casual to beautiful baby alpaca, and cashmeres, in neutrals only. The prices are not cheap, but quality yarns never were.

Nice, well stocked store. The owner is horrible, grouchy, never smiles, unfriendly. Not a pleasant experience. Will not go back again. Owner treats customers like s – t.

I’m nowhere near the knitter you have to be to take full advantage of this place, but these are my impressions:
1) It’s tiny and cramped and there’s yarn everywhere. There was a misbehaving little boy in there when I was there, and that made getting to some things a nightmare. Also the staff were a little cranky because of him.
2) The stock tends towards finer yarns. I, a cheap-​Michaels-​yarn aficionada, found that there was actually very little I wanted to buy. I like yarns that are bulkier without being difficult to knit and/​or having pompoms on them. I also was shopping for my brother and felt like at least ⁵⁄₆ of the stock was way feminine for him. Soft yarns in black, dark grey, and anything patterned that didn’t look like either Lisa Frank or vomit were either out of stock or just not really in the repertoire.
3) It’s a little overwhelming. I’m positive I could have asked for help, and those folks seem like they live for knitting and crocheting, but I didn’t really know what I wanted and didn’t want to subject someone to my indecision.
4) This is an experience to share with a friend on a weekday, when you could maybe stand next to each other in the aisle without being slide-​tackled by a cranky 6-​year-​old.
5) If you’re looking for help with a project, fancy-​schmancy yarns, lots of colors, and a ton of suggestions, this is the place to go. They also give lessons.
If most of my points sound rather negative, that’s because those were just the sticking points. It was otherwise quite good, and I would imagine that, should I ever reach the skill level or income level to warrant using yarns like those, this place would be pivotal in my knitting-​related life choices.