Piedmont Yarn & Apparel

Great yarn store and teaching center!
I went in with a British pattern book and the very kind woman found an equivalent yarn, helped with the math — and all inbetween helping a woman pick up dropped stitches, replacement yarn for another and answering the phone. A gem of a place.
Linda Keating

Highly disappointed with the quality of both the yarns that were stocked and the help that was given.
If I want cheap yarn (for instance to make dog sweaters, etc) I’m gonna go to Joann’s or Michaels with a coupon. What’s the point of a LYS if it has nothing above the level of those 2 very commercial stores…

In town from the East coast and needed knitting help ASAP. Piedmont yarn helped me fix my problem. Its a lovely shop with a great yarn collection and very knowledgeable staff.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this LYS as there was only a small area in the front to knit and the yarn selection seemed mostly geared towards Cascade yarns. I’m not a huge fan of Cascade being that they produce majority of the yarn from China.
Customer service was lacking and they had a small classroom in the back next to their bathroom for classes.
Very low inventory on basics such as Malabrigo and MadTosh. The store is medium sized and had a large selection of yarns but it felt like filler yarn brands. Pricing is .25 to $ 1 higher than what I’ve found at other LYS.

I would like to say I am a novice knitter, so going to a LYS is definitely a step up for me! I have gone here twice, once was when they were closing, and once was to actually shop. I decided to get a better yarn to make an infinity scarf for my mom on Mother’s Day!
YARN SELECTION: The yarn selection is great. I will say that the yarn prices are higher, but you can feel the quality difference of this yarn than your typical craft store. I was able to get this nice deep purple color wool that feels better than anything I’ve gotten at one of those chain craft stores. There are small sale yarn baskets, so I will definitely have to sift through those when I come back. Overall, they have a great selection, and the yarn is high quality. I am willing to pay more to get good quality yarn that I know that will not break down on me when I put it in the wash.
SERVICE: I believe I was talking to Bente, but I did not catch her name unfortunately. Her help was great in helping me find the right yarn for my price range and also right thickness/​quality for a gift. She also took the time to help me ball up my yarn, which is nice because I am not very patient for that. She took great detail asking me what kind of pattern I am doing, getting needles, looking online, and determining the number of stitches to cast on.
I highly recommend Piedmont Yarn & Apparel! There are classes here, and they look like fun. This store is local and you are buying right into the Oakland business. The quality is great, although it is a bit pricey for a ball of yarn, the product you get at the end is unique and beautiful.

Love the selection and they have some interesting classes too! I will definenitely be shopping here again :)

The customer service here is pretty poor. I walked in and an hour and a half later I am no better off then when I walked in. I was trying to make a blanket. I call before hand to ask if they had patterns. Sure they said. They actually had about 6 and told me to look online, which I had already done before going in. They also told me that is I wanted to make a blanket in all one color, they never have enough of anyone color on site to do that. When I tried to get their hell to make conversions from the type of yarn the pattern called for to the one I was going to get, neither women could figure it out. I try to support small local businesses, but this is ridiculous.

After years and years of telling myself I want to eventually learn how to knit I finally stopped by Piedmont Yarn.
Fantastic customer service. I felt completely at ease and was greeted with a warm welcome.
I feel confidant that I found my new fiber arts home base.

This was a draft that was sitting in my account for a while: Bente has sold the store since my last visit. I will update the review once I have the opportunity to visit.
I am so happy that there is another LYS in my area. Piedmont Yarn is organized by fiber content and then weight which makes it extremely easy to find a particular yarn when I have a fiber type in mind for projects. They sell everything from cheapy nylon only yarn to the luxurious cashmere and alpaca only yarns. I think I must have gotten lost in the alpaca section for at least 10 minutes just touching the alpaca!
I have yet to bump into the owner in person, but I have spoken with Bente on the phone. Bente was extremely helpful and even provided advice when I was trying to decide on which dpn length to buy.

I visited the store on a Friday around noon hoping to find some thicker yarn to try arm knitting. When I entered the store, the bells hanging on the door jingled. Two women were chatting by the entrance and one of them seemed to be the store proprietor. Neither acknowledged my presence. I took a slow, deliberate walk around the store to look at the inventory and give the two a chance to finish up so I could ask the store clerk about the thicker yarns.
I kept looking toward them to catch their eye but it was like I was a ghost to them. They even walked by close to me at one point but still no eye contact or even a «hello.» Finally, I was done looking through the whole store. I walked by them again, no acknowledgement, so I kept walking and out the door. It is weird to go to a store and be so blatantly ignored like that. 3 stars for their selection of yarn and 0 for service/​friendliness. It’s too bad. I wanted to support a small local business.

If you enjoy a yarn shop with great supportive people who really care then you will be thrilled as I am with Piedmont Yarn!
Great yarns, roving for spinning, hand dyed yarns, so many more classes than any other job I know and two days for drop in/​knitting circle. I really enjoy myself at Piedmont Yarn!

Nice people working. Informative knitting class, and it was affordable. Love the selection of yarn. The helpful /​positive attitude of the staff is what will keep us coming back for more classes and yarn!
Nothing negative to say about this place.

I purchased a beautiful one of a kind brushed mohair. I am on vacation and the regulars welcomed me into their knitting circle. It was a very fun afternoon and I would recommend this store to every knitter!

I needed help with a vaguely written pattern, and the owner/​salesperson most graciously helped me identify the issue. Not an enormous selection of yarns, but what they have is gorgeous! It was my first trip there, and will not be my last! Finally, a LYS I can stand behind. Only a 4-​star because of it’s smallish yarn selection. I WILL be a returning customer! Much better than any other LYS I’ve been to in Oakland. Thank you!!!

Just returned from my first trip to the store. There was a customer there getting helped who seemed really chatty in a doesn’t-get-out-of-the-house kind of way. She had made a few mistakes in yarn selection and it would take some work on the part of the nice staff lady to fix the situation. She was endlessly patient with the customer though, and consistently responded to the customer’s repeated apologies with kindness and grace. When it was my turn to check out she chatted with my baby and made him smile, and people who are nice to my baby are good people in my book. I felt welcome and informed, but not hovered-​over. The selection seems good (I don’t really know though – I’m a first time crochet-​er) and it’s full of high quality goods. I definitely wanted to BUY ALL THE THINGS!
Excellent store, excellent staff!
Also stroller friendly! :)

This is a fun store! Piedmont Yarn is the closest yarn store to my home, and not only do they have luscious yarn — lots of neat handspun and hand-​dyed tasty goodies– but they have a tempting selection of spinning fiber. The cashmere-​silk blend has me in raptures.
I’ve always gotten good help here. They have ordered yarn for me, answered all my questions, and have been wonderfully encouraging. Lots of supplies, a decent book selection, and some amazing exotic fibers — which is why I have a single skein of fuzzy purple mink. I would never have learned to knit socks without their help!
They also have great samples and unique patterns. You can sign up for the mailing list. The prices seem reasonable, and even when I have not found the perfect yarn for a project, I don’t think that I’ve ever left empty-​handed!

Maybe it’s the floors, maybe it’s the lighting, or maybe it’s both that contribute to the cold feel of the shop. Don’t get me wrong, the folks that work here are lovely. And the yarn selection is nice. I love all the local yarns, and the spinning fibers and paraphernalia was intriguing but I just don’t see myself I had such high hopes when I moved back into the area for this to be my LYS but it doesn’t cut it.

I will not be going to another yarn store in Oakland now that I’ve been to Piedmont Yarn & Apparel.
I wholeheartedly agree with the other reviewers that the proprietor is helpful without hovering, has a wonderful attitude, the prices are fair, and there is a well-​organized and good selection of yarn given the store’s size.
The best part of my experience was that Bente was happy to let me use the swift/​ball winder (so long as no one else needed it). I received some yarn as a gift and had bought some out-​of-​town, so I had 6 or so hanks to wind. She helped me when one was a little off and didn’t say a word about the yarn not coming from her store. I purchased a couple of skeins there and gave a small donation to thank her for being so nice, helpful, friendly, and for not judging me about where I bought my yarn.
Piedmont Yarn & Apparel is truly a gem and I wish I hadn’t bought yarn from the other store in Oakland so I could give more of my business to this lovely shop.

I don’t even have the time to take up another hobby but every time I pass Piedmont Yarn & Apparel, I am mesmerized by their inspiring window displays, shelves full of tidily organized skeins of yarn in very appealing colors and the power of possibility — even the suggestion that taking up this hobby again would give me the much coveted time to do it! I adore this store and next time I do a craft binge — I’m afraid that it might be here! I’m due a nice scarf and nobody has made me one yet!

What a cute little store in the Piedmont area of Oakland! When I entered the store, I was greeted by the lady at the counter. The shop is well organized and they have a good selection of nice yarns. They have the standard stuff: Noro, Cascade, etc. They also have spinning fiber near the front of the store. Prices are about the same as other local yarn stores. They also have knitting accessories in one area.
I didn’t notice any area to sit and knit, but I believe it’s in the back. Parking can be a bit tough, so park in the lot behind the store for a few quarters.
I ended up buying some Blue Faced Leicester /​Silk handpainted spinning fiber. I wish I lived in this neighborhood, so I can visit more often!