Tricoter

Wife went here today and said she felt like the staff was cordial but kind of condescending and not very warm. She said she’s not going to go there again due to the judgmental vibe from the staff.

I love Tricoter. The yarn collections are gorgeous and beautifully organized. This place really inspires creativity! Some reviewers have criticized the store for having a cold atmosphere, but I disagree. While, it is true that Tricoter’s yarns tend to be pricier than at some other shops, I have been a customer for years, and always feel welcomed by the owners and employees. I am an intermediate knitter, and I seem to always have a million questions. Every single time I have requested assistance or guidance at Tricoter, I have gotten excellent help. Every last staff member there is an expert knitter or has some kind of special skill. You cannot get bad advice here! I find the people at Tricoter to be ridiculously generous with their time and knowledge.

In fairness, I’m giving this store five stars for what it is, however, this is not a place I personally would enjoy spending time in. Tricotier is very «high end» — their clientele and the yarns offered. The woman at the counter was very polite and showed me some of their lovely yarns but no one else really acknowledged me — it’s not exactly warm and friendly but I’m sure the people who frequent there enjoy it… It’s just that kind of shop. It appears that the yarns are arranged by color, not brand. I was looking for madelinetosh and didn’t see any. They had some lovely Zara (sp?) that would have been fun to work with if I had a specific project in mind. It didn’t seem like they had a big selection but maybe they only display small amounts and have stock in the back…
I did kind of feel like I was getting the «once over» when I walked in. The store is small and the table is right there when you walk in. I completely understand that when you’re working on a project and concentrating you don’t want to look up and grin at every patron who walks in the door, that being said, this could be intimidating to some people, and I can understand why some reviewers left poor reviews. It didn’t really bother me, I just prefer a more diverse gathering.
It is a lovely space, with lovely yarn, and I’m sure the people there know how to help.
If you’re looking for a space with a diverse clientele from all walks of life, and access to a very wide range of yarns then this is probably not the shop for you.

I don’t know how this shop stays in business! Owners and sales people are rude, pretentious, and unhelpfull! There are too many other great yarn shops in Seattle to have an aweful yarn shopping experience. Oh yeah, and they are expensive!

On a recent «yarn crawl» with a few friends to the area I called ahead to let them know when we were coming. Based on one Unilocalers review I felt that this shop was a must stop visit. We were all very happy we stopped in.
The other writer was right. We were not immediately greeted. No problem. It was gorgeous, colorful and well organized.
The major difference between this shop and others I have visited from Chicago to LA and Seattle is that almost EVERY single pattern/​project in this store is beautifully crafter with multiple strands of yarn. Gorgeous! And very very pricey! I had paid to download a «handbag» pattern and by the time I got done picking out the yarn etc… it was close to $ 300. I’ve paid that for leather handbags several times, but I fear I am not a good enough knitter to invest that much $$ to set an upcoming project in my «stash» box until I finish the other 9 projects on my list. I opted to put the yarn back for the time being.
Once they discovered that not all of us were buying the atmosphere turned very chilly and while everyone was pleasant we felt more than comfortable moving on.
I do recommend you stop by and revel in the beautiful yarns but be prepared to make a multi-​yarn project.
Additionally something I was told «you can only get these handles here now because they don’t make them anymore» I found for $ 20 cheaper the next day at a shop in La Conner. Hmmmm? Curious!
I will go back but cautiously.

I love this place. The yarn is gorgeous, the staff is great and it’s a wonderful place to meet other knitters. Plan on spending time in the store — sit down with a coffee, knit some swatches, look at the incredible stacks of books, introduce yourself to other knitters and take it all in. It really is a destination for anyone who loves knitting.

I love Tricoter and the ladies and men who work there! My husband was in Iraq and I learned to knit at this awesome store during his deployment. Not only did they teach me to knit, they also gave me lots of hugs/​tissues and support during a difficult time. The store is full of great yarn and great people.

Absolutely wonderful knitting store. Gorgeous selections of yarns, but that is not the true highlight of this shop. Do not let yourself be intimidated by the women who work here (seems like past reviewers did just that)! If you are having a problem with a project, they have several people on staff whose job is to help you out. If you are a beginning knitter, make it a point to haunt Tricoter-​you will be a better knitter for it. I can’t tell you how many «humps» in my knitting they’ve helped me get over through the last few years. I probably would not still be a knitter if it wasn’t for this store. More knitting shops should aspire to be like Tricoter.

This is not a Hobby Lobby or a Michaels. It’s a small, bustling yarn store with knitting enthusiasts that love what they do. You won’t be greeted immediately upon arrival, because the staff are usually working one on one with other customers or taking the time to admire a visitor’s work. Don’t take offense to this! Take some time to look around at the many different styles and colors of yarn and wait your turn.
Burle (correct spelling not gauranteed) asked me if she could help me find anything and then pointed me to the correct yarn and needle. She also introduced me to a nice young guy who does custom knitting projects for Tricoter patrons, who helped me get started with a pattern and swatch sample. As a guy, I don’t want to walk into a yarn store and get the high brow attitude. The employees are experts, professional, and there to help you if you ask.
This is an upscale yarn store. If it’s your first project and you need some one-​on-​one help, they’re there for you. I saw Burle helping a newcomer learn to cast on and knit for the first time. She didn’t just hand her a flier about knitting lessons and send her on her way. Burle also did something that I’m familiar with in Missouri but haven’t found to be as common here in Seattle. She asks for the customer’s NAME. «Hi, what’s your name?» is a simple way to recognize someone as a human being.
Kudos to this store for upping the ante on customer involvement.

I love this store. I have always been greeted warmly, and the women who work there are very helpful. I love being able to just sit down and get help as well as company on any project I’m attempting. I love the warm, cozy feel of the place, and it makes me happy to be able to sit and knit and listen to all the regulars. It is on the pricey side, though.

I visited this store for the first time yesterday. Lots of lovely and expensive yarns, arranged by color which doesn’t happen to be my preference. However, the employee who assisted me was very helpful and friendly, I chatted with a couple of other people in the store, one sitting and knitting, the other shopping and found the store atmosphere fine. This store carries high end yarns, some found at other stores, and some I hadn’t seen before. It’s probably not a store I will shop in much, but I enjoyed going, and spent a pleasant hour and a half there and did make a purchase. Some people may appreciate the custom pattern service they offer, free if purchasing yarn.

I love this place. Don’t let the posts of the whiney, self-​loathers who seemingly are irritated by the community of knitters who frequent the place dissuade you from checking out the beautiful yarn/​notions. Yes the prices are high but high quality, hand painted yarn is not cheap.
And how nice (rare?) it is that the owners encourage people to sit and knit rather than shop and immediately vacate the premises. Wish my local bookstore was this friendly.

I have been to Tricoter several times in the past year, traveling through I-​5 traffic to get there from Tacoma! I do this because the folks there have been unfailingly helpful and welcoming and their yarn selection is gorgeous. They have helped me correct problems with several sweaters that were turning out less than great– and not all were made with yarn purchased from their shop. It’s definitely worth a look.

I decided to take a trip to Madison Park to check out Tricoter’s Winter Sale… as most of the yarn was 40% off. I used to live at the edge of Madison Park and I’m well aware how some of shops/​restraurants here will treat you if you are… what’s a good word for it… less affluent.
But I love yarn and even more, I love yarn on sale.
So, despite the lackluster reviews, I decided to visit Tricoter on the last day of their sale. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The place was packed and there were plenty of people in the front of the store knitting. However, I never felt as if I was unwelcomed. The staff was nice – perhaps a little overly helpful (ie…constantly asking me if I was finding what I needed or if I needed help).
The selection was less than what you might find at other places (like at Weaving Works or the Fiber gallery) and I found the yarns on average to cost a couple dollars more. For these reasons, I probably won’t go too often. However, I did see several types of yarn that I haven’t seen at other yarn stores, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

I love visiting yarn stores while traveling. Was very easy to get to from downtown on the number 11 bus. Though buses in Seattle, that’s a whole nother story.
I found the store nice and friendly, got good help from the staff and stayed to knit. The local knitters were very welcoming.
I’m not crazy about color coded yarn but the store was bright airy and welcoming. Got good lunch advice as well

My first and last visit to this store was last week.
The place was packed with knitters but apparently we were the only ones shopping. People had to shift their chairs or pull in their feet for us to move around the store. Something is wrong when the one actual CUSTOMER in the store is made to feel that they are upsetting everyone else’s Zen.
I absolutely HATE that they arrange by color. After browsing the entire store I wanted to scream, «Where is the damn sock yarn section?» Yes, the yarn looks pretty arranged by color but it makes for a disastrous and frustrating shopping experience.
I still have no idea whether they had any sock yarn other than a handful of Socks That Rock in a basket by the register (STR was my entire reason for shopping there). By the way, they informed me they ONLY carry the lightweight and they only had about three colorways. Plus the price was jacked up.
I had to go home and order five skeins of STR MW from the Blue Moon website — cheaper and sales tax-​free — just to shake off the bad yarn shopping trip.
I didn’t know a bad yarn shopping trip was even POSSIBLE! :-)
I gave one extra star because we were greeted by a sales person and got a parking spot.

My favorite store to knit is Tricoter by far. The staff knows what they’re doing and can help anyone along the way to making a great knitted item whether it be a scarf, throw, or sweater.
The staff and owners are not rude!

Edit: I’m just going to add that I had a really *lovely* message from someone calling me a «tacky ass b*tch» for this review, which I really would not have expected from a shop that appeared to cater to the cardigan twin set crowd when last I stepped foot in it. It made me laugh because I love internet drama, but sadly, it did not make me change my opinion of this shop. I know, shocker, having your minions (employees? I really don’t know.) harass reviewers will NOT actually make said reviewers love your establishment. Also, he wouldn’t even engage in some mutual internet trolling — he blocked me after his heart warming message. Failing grade in internets! Anyway, keep on being classy, Tricoter and friends.
Original review: I’ve been knitting for 7 years or so, and just heard about this shop a few months ago. Since then I’ve stopped in twice. Both times events were going on in the shop (a stitch n’ bitch night the first time, and a book release party the second). No one said hi to me when I first walked into the store, or at any other time. People were sitting at tables throughout the store knitting, so the yarn and other products were really difficult to get to, and the employees didn’t offer to help. Everyone there seemed to already know each other. I felt like because I’m younger and didn’t really fit into the aesthetic of the store (yuppy), I was totally ignored. Granted, I happened to go on days that are probably busy and inclined to be more clique-​y, but I was not impressed.
My other complaint about Tricoter is that the yarn seems to be arranged by color (or something; it was hard to tell). This looks fine, but made it next to impossible to find anything. I’ll stick with Weaving Works or Hilltop from now on.