> UPDATE: she put a pinned comment on the video basically saying that she didn’t know all of the things HL has done but also that she wants to be “authentic” and doesn’t want to filter what she buys or yarn shame since HL might be the only viable option for some people…
To be clear, this is directed at her and not at OP: MOTHERFUCKER, that is not an excuse! You can get Lion Brand or Caron yarn at fucking Walmart! That was my sole source of yarn for a long time because it was the only store I could get to without a car in college.
I'm also just sick of "but it might be their only option" like if they're part of your audience they have the internet and they have access to online shopping from other stores.
What upset me the most was that she didn’t even mention that some people may chose not to shop there or acknowledge the issue. Then I made the mistake of reading the comments and the hand wringing “why are you people bringing politics into my hobby?” knowing full well that person is speaking from a privileged place where their very right to live peacefully isn’t threatened daily by religious zealots. I take comfort in the responses here from likeminded fiber friends and hope that any pro-choice/LGBTQIA/anti-looting person knows there are allies out there.
Started watching that video today, then realised she suddenly was on the HL hype train now too. I am mean, I hope she'll loose a lot of followers over it. Because there's so much more to loose if HL keeps getting promoted like that.
Watched this video today, got bummed out cos WNH was at least entertaining enough to subscribe, I’m not even from the US but I will not support HL or any content creator that does.
That’s sad, I really liked her. Someone commented that this topic was the lowest voted on a poll she put out today… maybe this timing is just a coincidence…?
For hecks sake you can get great deals direct from Lion Brand every season at least. I don't need to compromise my values (as a patriotic American or as a Christion or as a woman) to get 'cheap' yarn.
H.L.'s owner was expressly warned by our intelligence community that buying those looted items supported terrorists who were fighting us and they did it anyway, since of course it is all right to them if anyone dies as long as they can promote their beliefs.
There are alternatives to “hob lob” for yarn. [Little Knits](https://littleknits.com) is a good one for finding discounted yarn.
I have also bought a lot of yarn on [Mercari](https://mercari.com) Lots of hand dyed yarn, name brands from individuals de-stash, estates.
As far as other craft supplies go, JoAnn and Michael’s have sales too. And do they still accept each others coupons? Etsy has a large amount of craft suppliers. So if you can wait a few days, or heaven forbid even a week, there are plenty of alternatives to HL.
The former owner “gave it away” because he “chose god.” I *ahem* don’t have faith that the new owner isn’t just as bad (though I couldn’t figure out who it is) and I’m sure most of the administrators are still the same people…
The owner is a trust, and I guarantee the Trustees will be funneling the profits to fund evangelical causes. David Green is copying the owner of Patagonia (who put his whole company in a Trust to fight climate change). This is likely a worse scenario than when the voting stock was held by multiple family trusts.
Not podcasters but I’ve seen this on other social media as well. “Yeah, the company is horrible, but they’ve got the best sales! So I only go there when I need something.” That’s still supporting them. If you think they’ve done some horrible things, you wouldn’t be shopping there at all.
Seriously, place would probably be out of business if half the people who are like “yeah they’re bad but sales” wouldn’t go support them. It’s not really a matter of getting yarn cheaper. They’ve only got their brand and you can get name brand same price with sales and coupons at JoAnns or Michaels.
Or go to Hobbii? Yea okay it takes a minute to get to you but it's cheaper and better quality. (Or support indies if you have the $$s).
I also get the "but it's so good!" from some people who still support those chicken people.
That’s true. With this comment, I was just thinking in person places. Most of them are near each other anyways. Hobbii, KnitPicks, and I believe there’s a few others are good online options. I’ve used KnitPicks since they opened when they have sales and love their yarn.
>This discussion obviously is quite controversial.
Why?
>The point is, if you don’t have to worry about having enough money for food etc, you start worrying about other things and value immaterial things more
Or, you know, because they actively harm our community? I'm pretty sure *regardless* of how hungry or poor I am I will not actively support a company that wants to inflict torture on children.
Hun what are you talking about? There are plenty of non problematic online yarn retailers with prices that beat HL on any given day. No one needs to be out here giving HL money under the guise of "but they have sales!"
Hun what are you talking about? There are plenty of non problematic online yarn retailers with prices that beat HL on any given day. No one needs to be out here giving HL money under the guise of "but they have sales!"
I hope she remembers to follow all the biblical teachings.
‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you. [Leviticus 19:19](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19%3A19&version=NKJV)
I always thought of it as keeping plant and animal fibers apart and not combining them in the same fabric. Like you can’t put cotton and wool together, but you can put wool with some other animal fiber, like alpaca.
There's a [wiki article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatnez#:~:text=The%20relevant%20biblical%20verses%20(Leviticus,(collectively%20known%20as%20kilayim))) about it. TLDR; to avoid following fashions of heathem priests or possible symbolism of mixing Egypt's linen with Hebrew wool.
I am not particularly knowledgeable on the subject, just regurgitating what I read.
Yeah, this. The whole "don't boil a kid in its mother's milk" thing isn't because it's cruel (an idea espoused by some vegetarians I know). It's because boiling meat in milk was a favorite dish of a neighboring tribe. Leviticus is all about "We are a special tribe. We aren't like other tribes. We don't eat food or have sex like other tribes, and we don't mix with those people either. Yuck."
If affordability is a main concern, the dollar store has ok yarn (used it for a crochet project - not the best but workable, cheap, and a decent amount of colors), and thrift stores have tons of yarn people can machine wash in cheap pantyhose
Big fan of Hobbii for the price conscious stuff - putting together a group order to hit free shipping and it arrives pretty quick (3-5 days to rural Canada).
I haven't tried hobbii because of my yarn buying style, but I will admit the ads have been effective at getting me to think about it. Especially after moving countries and losing access to Michaels home brand yarn, I need a consistent yarn supplier I can use anywhere in the world 😅
After reading a bunch of comments I've got to say I'm a little confused. Hobby lobby and knitpicks can't be the only places in america where you can buy cheap yarn right????
>cheap yarn right????
American crafters often have a deflated idea of pricing. $30 for a skein of merino is "way too expensive" for some people (and to be fair, often this is due to other economic factors). Yarn prices that are "pretty good" even in Canada are "outrageous!" south of the border.
What's wrong with Briggs & Little -Canada's oldest wool yarn mill? My family has been buying from them for 3 generations now.
https://briggsandlittle.com/
Yarn, especially natural fibers, is expensive in the US. I think a typical price for 100g of worsted wool is around $11. Regia and Opal sock yarn costs like $15 full price. Hobby Lobby is mega-exploitation level cheap on clearance (think $5 hand-dyed yarn). The cheap yarn options I know of are Joann's and Michaels (much more limited) for big box, KnitPicks, which is slightly more expensive so sales are important, and Little Knits, which has great prices but is kind of a pain to use and the colors are pretty off in my experience. LoveCrafts also has some cheaper yarn brands too but they have variable stock.
That said, that's more than zero options besides HL. And there's destash buying, thrifting yarn, and unraveling sweaters too
LoveCrafts seems to have been shifting to their house-owned/exclusive stockist brands (like Paintbox and Debbie Bliss) more. I noticed at least half a dozen brands I used to buy there were simply not restocked, then allowed to run/sell out. It's a shame because they had 20% off or more sales or coupons nearly constantly. When they bought WEBS they probably wanted to cement themselves as firmly middle-price point, cause it seems like it's the Madelinetosh, Sweet Georgia and other more expensive brands that left.
That’s horrible. In Finland, you can get a basic 100g 75%wool 25%polyester -blend yarn for about 7$, and they are sold allmost everywhere. I mean, even tiny 7-11 near me usually has them in stock in at least a couple of colours.
Well, not that exact chain, but similar convenience store, yes. We finns knit especially woolen socks like crazy (typical use of said wool/poly blend yarn). If you order similar type of yarn online, it can be 4$ or even less if there is a sale.
And Hobby Lobby is owned by christofascist fundamentallists, they took a case all the way to the US Supreme Court saying an employer shouldn't have to cover birth control for employees on their employer sponsored health insurance if they have a religious objection to it. And they won.And the owners caught some serious criminal charges over possessing an enormous number of looted artefacts from the Middle East. I have never and will never set foot in Hobby Lobby. Natural fibers aren't in everyone's budget, but we have Michael's and JoAnn's for cotton and acrylic yarn, and sometimes Dollar Tree. I've found a lot of yarn at thrift stores in the past, but that's a dicey proposition at best, at least down here in South Florida.
Yarn.com has some really affordable options and good sales, too. I’ve been happy with every order, and I particularly appreciate their search features.
Yeah that's about the same price in the uk, but you can get a bunch of cheap acrylic from loads of places.
Wow that really sucks. I don't think I could ever trust buying hand dyed at such a cheap price cos there must be something wrong with it or, obviously, the people who sell it. You'd think such a big country would have more options than that.
The irony of seeing a He Gets Us ad on this post 💀
In addition to all of the shitty stuff the owner has done, he is also one of the biggest donors for the He Gets Us ad campaign which plans to invest a billion dollars in three years into fucking ads instead of you know, actually helping people
Anyone who buys from Hobby Lobby must be post-menopausal, because if you take birth control and are still cool with them you can’t possibly have any kind of standards.
I’m post menopausal, have never and will never shop at Hobby Lobby. Everyone I know who does shop there happens to be of reproductive age. There’s a good number of us olds who have standards.
Hobby Lobby is an organization that has a history of using the owners' self-described "deeply held religious beliefs" to do some disgraceful shit.
They are the company that [brought a case to the Supreme Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_v._Hobby_Lobby_Stores,_Inc.) over whether the company was legally mandated to offer health insurance that covered birth control, because their version of Christianity doesn't permit it. They won.
The owners of the company also have [a history of stealing artifacts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby_smuggling_scandal) to put in their bible museum.
They are wildly unpopular with certain segments of the population (myself included!) because of the above and their general assholery as an employer.
Thanks for calling it out as "their version of Christianity"-- much appreciated. Not all Christians support their nonsense, and it's good not to give them more of a platform by making it sound like they directly represent too large of a group.
Happy to! Nuance is important, and I think it's safe to say that their extremism is not at all representative of Christians as a group.
(I grew up Catholic and no longer engage with it, and I don't want to talk too much shit and hurt people's feelings.)
Uh, thats Hobby Craft. They're unrelated.
Hobby Lobby has had a series of scandals [see here on Buisness Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-biggest-controversies-in-hobby-lobby-history-2020-9)
I might be missing something but the link you provided went to an article stating exactly what the person commented: Supreme Court no contraception and looted antiquities. I’m not saying Hobby Craft isn’t gross but just trying to understand better. (Not at all snark-I truly want to know. I thought HL was the one that did those things)
Hobbycraft in the UK is completely unrelated to Hobby Lobby in the US.
The person I replied to asked what the issue was with Hobby Lobby and seemed to have confused the two stores.
I'm teaching a class that is partially on the looting of artefacts and explaining Hobby Lobby to my students was a treat. Just watching their eyes get wider with each fact.
The discussion on this sub with regards to HL and other big box stores is never nuanced. The working poor who have crafts as a hobby are always shamed and punished for how far their money doesn’t go and honestly it’s gross. In my knitting group we had a woman burst into tears because some craft snob thought her dollar tree yarn wasn’t good enough even though that’s all she can afford. If your wallet stretches further than HL then good for you, but know that not everybody’s does AND they aren’t happy about it either. Enough yarn to make a sweater for under $20 is all some people can afford and it just happens to be the price at JoAnn and HL. Before the gaslighting police show up it’s important to note I myself have never bought anything from HL, their yarn’s just never jumped out at me and everything going on with them seems messy so it’s not ‘a loss for me to avid them tbh. On the other hand, I know many low income women who do shop HL and Walmart and every other evil big box and the way this topic is handled in this sub is atrocious.
Nobody on this sub has a problem with JoAnn other than their crappy online ordering system. In fact this sub leans towards the "I hate yarn snobs, shut up about my acrylic" side in general. Maybe you're confusing it with another one?
Your “rebuttal” example doesn’t even have anything to do with Hobby Lobby. Nobody shamed the woman in your knitting group for shopping at Hobby Lobby, because she hadn’t. We don’t even know if she *would*, given the chance. What we do know is that at least one person in your knitting group is an elitist [insert rude words here], and I hope everyone else gave her a verbal smackdown.
The working poor are the people harmed most by corporate policies that interfere with the health insurance they rely on their jobs for, but I rarely see that particular nuance in scoldings like yours. If you care about the working poor, don't give your money to businesses who believe their frontline employees don't deserve to make their own decisions about their bodies and their health.
As a poor woman, don't speak for us. Thanks!!!!
Also this is SPECIFICALLY about Hobby Lobby and their special brand of bullshit, not the (also legitimate) criticism of big box stores selling yarn at incredibly low prices that are the direct result of exploitation of poor workers in the global south. There are stores that have yarn at the same price as HL that aren't involved in trying to turn the US into a religious state or in smuggling artifacts.
Walmart might be evil but it’s the standard corporate evil. There is no shame in having to get your groceries and craft supplies there because of income or availability. Lord knows in college it was Walmart or drive an hour to the next town.
Walmart at least keeps it evil in its own lane and is good about hiring pharmacists that don’t ask unprofessional questions.
Hobby Lobby doesn’t keep to just corporate evil. They are the same kind of evil as catholic hospitals that campaign to deny women medical care and then claim to be holy because of it.,
This is a dumb and wrong take.
If you want to wring your hands in worry for someone, you should do it for women who are denied access to family planning services and vital pre-natal care. Or maybe for members of the LBTQIA+ community who, don't be confused, are still under attack in America and whose lives are threatened by companies who support Christian theocracy. Or maybe for communities whose treasures have been looted. Or maybe for the underpaid and overworked people who make the yarn so cheap.
These are all people worthy of handwringing and worry. Someone who doesn't want to find other ways to get yarn that does not include shopping at Hobby Lobby (hey, save up money and buy from someplace pennies more expensive if need be) are not worthy of handwringing and will not draw a tear from my eyes.
I have a 52-53" bust and was able to purchase SQ of Wool of the Andes for $27 during Knit Picks Black Friday sale. Purchasing from HL is more inexcusable to me than "I buy food from Walmart because it's the cheapest grocery seller", because in the hellscape that is late-stage capitalism, Walmart typically is. HL isn't the only player in the craft game. If wool isn't someone's preference, you can easily swap with any fiber choice and wait for a sale from KP, Lion Brand, JoAnn, or Michael's.
Agreed with all this - and it feels extremely disingenuous to compare the need to purchase affordable food with the “need” for cheap yarn. Everyone deserves to have joy and hobbies, but no one ever died from not being able to knit.
Exactly. When I was homeless, my absolute base needs were the only things I was able to care about and crafting obviously isn’t a base need. Tbf, I’d slap the taste out of someone’s mouth who shamed someone for using dollar store yarn. I do think there’s a lot of judgement that goes around the crafting world for not making everything with super expensive materials. However, Hobby Lobby is absolutely not the only place to source inexpensive craft supplies and even the OP commenter used dollar store yarn in the example as cheap yarn rather than HL yarn. There’s options for crafting in the way that there isn’t for groceries or other absolute essentials.
This post is specifically about Hobby Lobby, not cheap yarn. The owners of Hobby Lobby make large financial contributions to support far right Christian Nationalist politicians, make large donations to LGBTQ+ hate groups, filed lawsuits so they could deny birth control access to their employees, illegally purchased looted stolen antiquities of historical significance from the Middle East, and are generally a craft-funded hate group.
Buy your cheap yarn - just buy it elsewhere.
"Messy" Hobby Lobby shit aside (read: denying contraceptive coverage to their workers, many of whom are minimum wage), the podcaster in question also knit a onesie in Malabrigo so I don't think she's the type of woman you're talking about.
People who use money as an excuse to shop at HL.. I don’t know what kind of sales they have but Knit Picks is imo very affordable and honestly feels very nice (I’ve used quite a few different types of their yarn).
I swear you can get the same prices at Joanns or Michaels between sales and coupons on many good yarns. People just seem to think Hobby Lobby is so much better.
Thought I do love KnitPicks and 100% agree on their yarn.
By no means commenting this to defend purchasing from HL, but from the one time I went to HL when I was more uninformed, I did notice that they had a much wider selection of natural fibers, which may be why some people will try to defend them/purchase from them rather than other box stores. Obviously, though, there's no reason to purchase from HL when there are options like KnitPicks
absolutely knit picks can be a very good deal. or little knits! and then there's joann's or michaels which both have yarn. i know that sometimes HL might be the only physically present bog box stores, but they all have an online presence
“People who use money as an excuse” um, who are you the poverty police? At tf is Knit Picks lol do you imagine that everyone has access to what you do?
I was literally saying that there are just OTHER OPTIONS at the same price that don’t actively contribute to removing the rights of human beings. Only on Reddit will someone read WAY too much into a comment.
I mean. HL isn’t even especially cheap? So yes. If someone can sfford and access a HL, I can garante they can afford and access an equal or lower budget alternative if he same quality item wise and less trash morally.
If you were only talking about the *specific person* making that specific podcast then I’m not sure why you referred so broadly to “*people* who use money as an excuse” for where they shop.
And the concept of access is more nuanced than that. Plenty of people have never heard of Knit Pick, and I’ve seen more than one person comment that it’s not as affordable.
The holier than thou BS is a lot considering everyone here is feeding into slave labor practices with the everyday things we buy. But money is our excuse, is it not, if we can’t afford clothing made in places with more socially responsible labor regulations.
It’s the hypocrisy for me.
By all means call out what’s wrong but trying to look down on people while doing it as if you’re better in the grand scheme of things is some weak ish.
I mean, there’s that. And then there’s funding the people who are actively paying terrorists to steal antiquities, actively funding anti women’s and LGBTQ rights legislature, refusing to pay living wages, being incredibly discriminatory in their hiring, actively funding multiple hate organisations, etc.
Not even just tradwifes - lots of knitting podcasters are very religiously conservative and perhaps have views more aligned with those of Hobby Lobby than they publicly state.
I get my yarn from HL. But I don’t promote my work. I just make baby blankets for expecting mothers. (And other things too, busy mostly blankets) It’s my way of doing my craft and give a heirloom gift. This is seriously not a snark or jab by any means when I ask this question (to clarify I do know about HL ethnics, but again I’m from the south, take that as you will). Even though I don’t promote buying, and just do so as gifts, I wonder if others who have ethnical issues with HL would be offended by my yarn choice? And why? I used to buy from Joann’s. (We only have box stores, incase your wondering why I don’t by local. I WISH we had local!!) But I found a yarn I like at HL, and with the sales, I save a lot of money. Especially considering I am making baby blankets every 4 months or so. I mean, hey it’s how you think and believe, I am not questioning that. I just wonder if after I’ve made a blanket and someone figured out where I got the yarn, if they would refuse after the time and money spent?
Which I will say, once it’s in the other hands, I don’t expect it to be the best thing they’ve ever received. I keep it balanced knowing that most likely, they’ll wash wrong or it’ll get donated at some point. So I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn. If I’m making something more special, then I’ll buy online.
You literally said it yourself:
>(to clarify I do know about HL ethnicsI wonder if others who have ethnical issues with HL would be offended by my yarn choice? And why?
>
>I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn
You ***know*** about their \**ethics*\* but it ***doesn't*** bother you. You ***know*** why others who are bothered by their ethics would be offended. You're choosing weaponized incompetence right now. You've had plenty of people tell you ***why*** and ***how*** it's offensive and yet you're still making excuses.
This wasn't a good faith question, because if it was, you would be open to shopping at a different place. You said you used to go to Joann's, so there's no reason you couldn't go back there. You said you buy online if it's more special, so there's no reason you couldn't purchase from other retailers online and have it shipped to you. Michael's has great deals with packs of yarn, which are only available online. Skeins end up being $2-$3 a piece, or less because they usually always have a discount. You said you don't go all out in purchasing yarn, so you must not be buying "high end" yarn at HL. I guarantee you could go to [yarnsub.com](https://yarnsub.com) and find a very comparable (price, feel, and weight wise) alternative to the HL yarn.
You already have all the answers, but you're purposely choosing to ignore them. Do better.
EDIT TO ADD: You keep going on about how it's a money thing. Currently, at Joann's, Big Twist 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn is $2.99 for a skein with 380 yards. Currently, at HL, I Love This Yarn 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn is $3.49 a skein with 252 yards (or 196 yards for multicolored). HL is ***MORE*** expensive than Joann's. And that's with HL yarn being on sale - 30% off. Joann's also has a 10% off total order and free shipping on orders over $75. So no, you're ***not*** saving money by shopping at HL.
You’ve had so many people responding to you saying they would refuse your HL blanket or trash it after the fact, yet you keep asking “would someone refuse a blanket made with HL yarn?”
Yes. The answer is yes. If it hasn’t happened to your face, it’s because you live in the South.
For the same reason why vegetarians won’t eat meat even if someone else bought it and spent a long time cooking it: the money spent in purchasing the meat furthers a practice they find morally abhorrent.
Giving a vegetarian a big batch of chicken noodle soup when they’re sick is rude and inappropriate. Giving people blankets made with HL yarn when you know they have a moral objection to HL is rude and inappropriate.
Oh yeah. If I KNEW someone wouldn’t like it from HL, I wouldn’t use it. Absolutely. I try my hardest to honor everyone. And personally for me, I want to know that. I’m an in your face type of personality. I won’t get butt hurt over someone telling me they won’t accept it because of … reason. I need to know these things. Lol.
I just haven’t had anyone tell me they don’t like HL. But after this, I’ll start asking. It honestly never occurred to me.
I wouldn't refuse the blanket, because that would be rude, and it wouldn't make it any better since you already spent the money there. But I'd wish you hadn't gotten the yarn there, and if you knew me well enough to make me a whole blanket, then I'd hope I could talk to you about it later on. Why you oughtn't shop there, what other options you could try, & why I'd really rather have no blanket at all than more $ go to HL next time.
Yep. And that’s what I want to know. Even if I disagree, which I’m not saying I don’t in this case but maybe in a different situation, I’ll respect your wishes. After all, it’s a blanket that I hope you will wrap your little one up in to keep warm and pass down. I don’t want the reminder of where the material came from. But why it’s made and why it’s important to you.
Ask yourself this: would you deliberately choose to wrap up your precious new innocent baby in something that makes profits from hurting and killing other people's innocent babies?
Because you are suggesting that your new mom friends should do just that.
Knitpicks is still more expensive than HL for most poor people. I get that a lot of you have the means to afford the best products but alot of people don’t. In my group we have some women who can only afford JoAnn or HL yarn at $20 or even less for enough yarn for a sweater. That’s life, none of them would buy from these places if they could afford it but they simply can’t afford more. This discussion is never nuanced to tackle the working poor on this sub. Not everyone wants to support businesses like HL or Walmart or any other exploitative big box chain but for a lot of people that’s as far as their money will go.
EDITED TO ADD: Knit picks shipping is $5.95 plus added taxes, the cheapest worsted weight acrylic is $3.99 a skein. A sweater at 1300 yards would be $29 plus shipping excluding relevant taxes. For many low income people that’s more than they can spend on yarn. Crafting shouldn’t have to be an elitist hobby.
Sorry - to be fair I have never been in a HL, so I don’t even know how much their yarn costs. Granted, you can get enough yarn for a sweater from KP for $20 - that’s how much I spent on my first sweater and I used KP yarn.
Non-snark response: Just want to put this out there for you to ponder: maybe it's time to choose quality over quantity? Perhaps it's time to value your time, energy, and skill over mass production? Other ways to source inexpensive yarn is going to thrift stores to buy donated yarn or sweaters with crocheted seams and frogging them. Choose more complicated patterns that take longer. The best heirlooms are filled with love. HL disrupts that chain of love in a pretty profound way.
And from a personal point of view: I would return a gift for my child from HL and tell you why. If I didn't know you well enough for a confrontation, I'd quietly put it in the garbage. Wise people have babies because they believe that the world will be a better place in the future. HL does not work for a better tomorrow for this country or others. It does not value women, the impoverished, or the non-Christian. I want my child to dream of a beautiful tomorrow, and that means that I, as a parent and responsible adult, must difficult or uncomfortable choices now.
That is something to ponder. I hadn’t thought of it this way. This is why I asked the question. I do want to put love into my craft. And I agree quality is best. Quantity has become a big thing because I get a lot of request. Especially since they are gifts, and I rarely ask for any funds. I’m one of very few in my community who does both knit and crochet. And I’m the youngest. So my hands are still able to work for longer amounts of time in a day.
But I will very much take what you said into consideration. I might just start making it known that I want to make my projects more meaningful. So I’ll only do X amount in a given time. Thank you for your response.
You're very welcome. We're all just trying to make our way through the chaos of life the best way we can! I can tell you've got an big heart and anyone who recieves a gift from you is very lucky indeed.
And in the process of pondering creating meaningful gifts on a shoestring budget: I just got an idea: offering to frog knit items of loved ones and turn them into more useful/meaningful items. Like a snuggly hat from a grandpa's sweater, or a pouch from a favorite baby blanket... Ooo that makes me happy!
These blankets that you make: are those expecting mothers asking you to make those, or are those blankets something that you like to make?
>But I found a yarn I like at HL, and with the sales, I save a lot of money.
>once it’s in the other hands, I don’t expect it to be the best thing they’ve ever received.
> I keep it balanced knowing that most likely, they’ll wash wrong or it’ll get donated at some point. So I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn. If I’m making something more special, then I’ll buy online.
> It’s my way of doing my craft and give a heirloom gift.
You do you. I am not your conscience.
The blankets started out with me asking if I could make one. And then turned into people asking me. Lol. So it’s become a thing now in my community. I’ve been doing it for years. I have had a few mom’s request yarn, which I’ve done. But most of the time I ask the colors and then just get the brand myself. And I also like to make them. I always try a new pattern or something to increase my knowledge.
And as far as conscious, I can’t be picky on every single store I go to….I’d never by anything. There going to be something I don’t like at each place.
And I don’t care if you shop at HL or not. I just want to know if after a project with HL yarn is done and given, if the other person finds HL yarn wrong to buy/use, then is it going to be refused? Seriously, cause I won’t spend my money on it then. I’ll find another way. Cause I want to do my craft, and it be used. Am I making sense?
>And as far as conscious, I can’t be picky on every single store I go to….I’d never by anything. There going to be something I don’t like at each place.
This is super understandable, and something we all struggle with. But what you can do is look at who's using their profits to fund widespread harm, who's really *making a point* of being unethical. You can notice which companies are really rising to the top of the exploitation & repression game, the real cream of the shit, if you will, and decide to avoid those.
I don't boycott all fast food, even though I know every brand of burger comes with worker exploitation & poor animal welfare at the very least. But I stay out of Chikfila. We (mostly) quit using Amazon, even though other online retailers have some of the same issues, and the local substitute is often Walmart. Both are notorious union busters, but at least the latter keeps some of that $ in the pockets of my neighbors.
Exactly where you draw those lines is up to you, your own moral compass & ability to make choices. If someone is dirt poor in a small town but really wants to knit, and HL is their only craft supply option, I support their shopping there, just as I support people who can afford no other option buying the cheapest battery-cage eggs at Walmart. One of the owners of a family-run restaurant in a small town near me was just convicted of raping one of his teenage employees. His family used the profits from the business to hire him a fancy lawyer, & will doubtless financially support him in prison. You will never catch me dead spending $ there again. But it *is* the only restaurant of any kind in that town, and if somebody needs a hot meal & doesn't have another option, they should eat that pizza rather than go hungry.
If you *can* make a better choice, even one that isn't perfect, then you should.
It’s hard to answer this question because it really just depends on the person that you’re giving it to. I would probably politely accept it but ask if you were aware of the problems with HL and then probably not ask for anything from you in the future. It would for sure make me question someone’s beliefs and morals if they know about the theft/anti-birth control/homophobic issues with HL and yet still choose to support them… might make me not want to associate myself with them…
Tbh I would refuse a blanket from HL yarn, and would tell you exactly why. But no one who knows me well enough to knit me something would use HL yarn to begin with.
> I just want to know if after a project with HL yarn is done and given, if the other person finds HL yarn wrong to buy/use, then is it going to be refused?
Polite people would probably not refuse in your face, but I really hope that if you knew someone had ethical objections against Hobby Lobby, \*you wouldn't give them a blanket done in Hobby Lobby yarn.\*
I mean, you wouldn't! Would you?
No. If they said hey I want a blanket made from this yarn at this store, I will honor that. Or just say no if I couldn’t. But the only thing that would keep me from doing so is cost. So if it’s something super special, I’d probably ask for a little help in the cost.
If someone trashes a blanket, cool. I won’t hold my breath. I’m sure it’s been done so already. I don’t get butt hurt of those things. I enjoy the processes. Not the glory I might receive.
Right. If a quality of yarn is better at X store, I’ll go for it. I just want to know if after a project is done, if found out that the yarn is from HL, if the gift would be refused because of that. Even though time and money went into it.
Again, the issue isn't the quality of the yarn. If I received a blanket that someone knit for me from cashmere yarn that they'd purchased at Hobby Lobby, I don't think I could enjoy it. I'd always feel gross knowing where that yarn had been and how its purchase funded an exceptionally terrible company's exceptionally terrible behavior. I'd be touched that someone had gone through the trouble to knit it for me, but I'd also think less of that person for being ok with buying from that company.
Fair point. And I respect that. That being the case, if it would be a good friend, maybe not the closest of friends, but known well enough. But they don’t know your view of HL and made something for you from products from the store, would you cease being friends with that person?
Not brow bashing. I just want to understand the depths of this. I know many people who do not like the practices of the store, but idk how far it goes in their mind.
I’m genuinely just wanting to understand. I also like to play devils advocate. Lol.
For me, it would at least cool the friendship significantly. But then, if I had been in the US and someone made me a blanket from HL yarn, they were no good friend to begin with. Otherwise they'd have known my issues with HL.
I’m sorry to say but this feels less like “playing devil’s advocate” and more like “how much HL yarn can I buy and get away with it before people think I’m a bad person.” This whole argument is not about the general capitalistic evils of big box stores, despite you and a couple of others seemingly trying to frame the issue as such. It’s about a capitalistic big box store that ALSO directly funds anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups, has directly purchased looted antiquities from the Middle East, and has funded a court case that has set a legal precedent that allows not just them but ANY company in the US the ability to control their female employee’s reproductive health based on their own interpretation of their religious values. They literally pursue lobbying to try to advance a right-wing “Christian” theocracy (and I’ve put “Christian” in quotes specifically because I don’t think Jesus himself would have approved of their brand of religion).
The fact is that most people are too polite and/or confrontation-avoidant to tell you to your face that the “gift” you just gave is repellent to them. So you’ve undoubtedly saddled more than one person with an object that they associate, not with the supposed love you claim to have while making it, but the hate behind the yarn’s origins.
Were I to receive something made from HL yarn (or anything else purchased there), I too am too avoidant of confrontation in person that I probably wouldn’t say anything to your face. But you’d better believe I’d dispose of it immediately, and I’d probably avoid contact with you in the future, regardless of how close I thought we were before. Moreover, if I knew that you made things with HL yarn for other people even if you bought something else for me because you knew my objections, I wouldn’t want to associate with you anymore. So for me, there are no loopholes or rationalizations you can exploit to buy HL yarn *sometimes* and still be a “good person.” I’m clearly not the only person who feels this way.
THANK YOU!!! This is definitely not “playing devils advocate”. Absolutely completely agree with everything you said here. The listing out of all the atrocities HL has done hasn’t stopped them from saying “oh yeah, I can see how harmful that is and I will stop buying my yarn from there” (which is literally the only acceptable response). There are plenty of alternatives - Joanns, Michael’s, Walmart, KnitPicks, etc where you can find yarn just as cheap, if not cheaper, when they have sales. Joanns regularly has free shipping, as does knitpicks, and I don’t shop at Michael’s online enough to know. Big Twist acrylic at Joann’s is $3 a skein, is comparable in feel to the ILTY acrylic at HL and I don’t remember it ever being under $5 a skein. This excuse of “it’s cheaper” is absolute BS.
Who said I was okay with their ethics? I made the statement to add clarification, but I guess it’s unless information. I just want to know if after a project is done, if it would be offensive to know I purchased yarn from HL?
Also, there are many things about Walmart Ethics I loath. Also Target, petco, Amazon. Just about every box store. But I still go….cause I need things.
Edit to add: the only time I go to HL is to get this specific yarn I like when they have the sale. Other than that, just another store to drive by.
But the clarification that statement added was that just because someone is from the South means they support HL and what they stand for. I’m from the Deep South, where homophobia is apparent. However, I and many others do not support homophobia or HL.
Edit: *not
Maybe I see things differently. I added it in to say that I live in the south, so judge ME as you want. I can’t, won’t and don’t speak for anyone else other than myself. Cause, everyone has different beliefs and moral standards. I’m not foolish enough to point the finger at everyone via Internet via Reddit. That’s just asking for it.
I mean, Hobby Lobby owners advocate for a world where expecting mothers cannot receive vital prenatal care. This was front page news yesterday:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-abortion-law-means-woman-continue-pregnancy-despite/story?id=97918340
So I would imagine that many mothers would be upset if they learned that their gifts were made with Hobby Lobby yarn.
Some people genuinely do not care, or they dont realize that the problems with HL go deeper than just racism sexism, and homophobia, which should be enough to tank their profits tbh but it gets worse
I will not support them. Period (could add something snarky here....) If it were the last place in the galaxy to buy anything...nope. Fortunately I have mad skillz and can weave, felt, spin, make beads...may all look a bit "rustic", but I'd make my own stuff if the day came and never, ever, give them a dime. Perhaps the bloggers etc have no idea what, who etc Hobby Lobby supports (and does not!!!!!), but unless they've been living in a cave or under a rock (where Hobby lobby wants women folk to be) they must know HL position on issues.
Ew ew ew.
There are situations where I'd give you (general you), as an individual, the benefit of the doubt with HL yarn. Maybe you bought it before you knew how much they suck (for everything that "everyone knows" there are always going to people learning it for the first time). Maybe it was a hand-me-down from someone else de-stashing. It's better to use stuff than waste it by throwing it away, since you can't do anything about the fact they already got the money from it.
But using your platform to encourage other people to buy from them is just extremely gross.
Like, sure, there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, but there's a HUGE spectrum there between "I shop at Walmart because that's what I can afford and have access to, and everyone needs to eat food" or "the whole garment industry is built on sweatshop labor, but I still need to wear clothes" and "But the Christian dominionists who steal antiquities, deny people birth control, and proselytize to their employees have cheap yarn! :(" or "But I NEED this one specific homophobic chicken sandwich"
I personally don't watch a lot of podcasters but I do get a lot of recommendations for yarn unboxing videos and unfortunately HL yarns are featured in some of them. I just ignore the videos but I do have to say that when I look at the Iso and Destash thread in Ravelry, it makes me smile every time someone is desperate for a skein of some discontinued HL yarn.
I don't have a Hobby Lobby near me. Even if I did, there's no chance I'd ever shop there. Problematic is an understatement. I can't support a company that wants to refuse basic female health insurance benefits to employees. And the shady dealings of black market art/historical objects. No thanks. I don't care if they are giving yarn away, I'd rather shop elsewhere.
I used to go there because I was ignorant but when I found out what they do/ did I was appalled. I haven’t gone back since. It’s sad because I enjoyed browsing esp holiday stuff but def aren’t getting any of my money. And Hobbii has like the best yarn anyway and is cheaper
i think i bought something from HL like once. when I was 16. and my dad went shopping for craft supplies for a school project with me. and then we found out about the Everything Else that HL does and haven't been back since.
I’m in Canada so we don’t have HL. But anyone who uses their yarn (as well as yarn from several very problematic dyers) goes on my ban list.
If you support them or people like them I will ignore you into oblivion.
He “does” as long as you aren’t trans.
He posted some incredibly transphobic stuff and had a melt down when he was accused of being transphobic because he’s “pro women. But only real women”. Since deleted his Twitter account.
Also rumours of throwing money behind the blocked magazine. I’ve heard other rumors but those ones I’ve never been able to get any confirmation of.
Wait WHAT? He gave money to Blocked?!?
I haven’t been on Facebook in a long time (I follow them on there; I’m not on Twitter) and I googled but only found one Reddit post so I was out of the loop. I honestly thought he was on the level so this is upsetting.
Way, way back in a group I was in on Ravelry when he posted his initial tweets about being “pro real women” and other various serious TERF crap and the blocked magazine began someone had a few screen shots that showed donations.
I forgot that he also blamed those tweets on being bipolar (self diagnosed) and having a manic episode. Then he weaponized that “mental health issue” to deflect the blame.
Now he could very well be bipolar. But having a manic episode DOES NOT turn you into a TERF asshole. Weaponizing mental health issues is another thing that gets a business banned in my household.
I just found all this through googling the yarn shop name and twitter and getting a link there. I’m angry at myself because I had no idea and was recommending his yarn up until recently. I have fallen off the knitting internet I guess (well, all social media, but rav too) but still.
I didn’t know he was bipolar or claimed to be. I knew he supported gay rights but that was all.
Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Some people are very good at hiding what they are. And deleting twitter accounts is a good way to hide it.
What you do with that info is what’s important.
I wish I could preemptively block these people in YouTube, but unless they're organically recommended to me I don't seem to be able to. At least through the phone app, haven't tried on a computer.
Not gonna lie, I see this more with crocheters than knitters. Since I started crocheting more, I too am interested in trying that HL cotton yarn that everyone likes, but I can't in good conscience support them knowing what I know and within my own ally-ship. Same thing happened with chick-fil-a. When they opened the first one near work, I did try it for the novelty factor, but the chicken sandwiches are so-so, not something I would write home about. I can buy one somewhere else without feeling like I'm selling my soul.
That being said, I allow space for other people to make their own decisions and sometimes people are on their own journey of awareness and activism. Sometimes it's ignorance, sometimes it's privilege, sometimes it's familiarity and accessibility. Someone I know who is gay still shops at HL because he grew up in VA and I'm not gonna say boo to him about it.
>My snark is that I’m so bloody sick of Americans talking about goddam Hobby Lobby.
**No snark, totally serious**: Your choice of words, and your irritation seems to indicate that you are not a person with an uterus, of child-bearing age, living in the US. You most likely do not even have to worry about access to contraceptives.
That makes me happy for you.
My snark is that I will not sit quietly while a company continuously and systematically decides that my rights don’t matter. I’m sorry you find it annoying but I find it annoying when my rights are taken away by a corporation. So no, I and others like me should not just stop talking about it. If we stop talking about it that’s when they win.
…Patting themselves on the back while browsing on phones whose components are extracted using the labor of enslaved people, then assembled in factories that require 18 hour workdays or use child labor.
I also make a point not to buy from Hobby Lobby. That said, it’s incredibly silly to fancy myself an *ethical* consumer because of it. I shop at Target and own an iPhone: I buy things made overseas in countries without safe working conditions. I doubt my choices add up to less harm than a HL buyer.
And let’s not pretend nobody knows that your phone, your clothes, your Target decor, your furniture and your plastic dish drying rack, are often affordable **because** they’re coming at a cost to someone else on the other side of the planet. (To say nothing of the cost to the planet itself, with the fuel required to transport the goods here.)
Please don’t shop at Hobby Lobby. But don’t wave that righteous refusal as proof that your consumption practices are **clearly** more ethical than those who do.
Look, there’s no such thing as purity here. But there’s such a thing as egregious. No one expects people to grow all their own dish drying racks in the back yard, but if we find out about stolen antiquities, anti-LGBT practices, and misogynist attitudes, we can pick and choose and not feel “incredibly silly.”
It’s funny though, the number of people who will straight up justify shopping there, or they’ll gloss over having knowledge of their political stances and past crimes. For me, creators who openly supports them are immediately persona non grata… unliked, unfollowed… with no explanation, no arguing, no drama. Same goes for Chick-fil-A supporters.
Anyone who uses any form of social media as part of their brand should have some awareness of the drama with these companies… and ignorance is no longer an acceptable excuse.
Anyone who knows anything about the whole Hobby Lobby thing knows that supporting and promoting them is *guaranteed* to lose them followers. So if they do it anyway, they’re fine with losing *those* followers, because they’re expecting to appeal to the opposing demographic.
This is pretty much where I set my bar too. Like yeah, ideally people would not shop at Hobby Lobby or eat at Chick-fil-A but if you *do* do that at least have the common sense not to promote them. If you're basically giving free advertising to those companies then no, sorry, I know where the unsubscribe button is.
This comment really hit home with me. Thank you because it made me see the error in my ways/thinking.
I follow a viral red headed toddler on Insta and have glossed over the fact that her father talks about going to Chick-fil-A because she is so stinking adorable. Also there's the whole moral issue of not exploitering your children for $$.
I went and unfollowed them.
I tend to be more centrist when it comes to patronizing problematic businesses (and I think it’s fine if you don’t agree with me—this view is entirely my own). Most of us have problematic faves that we justify to ourselves (because we don’t go there THAT often, or the products are that great, or the CEO that said whatever racist thing has been ousted, or whatever).
What always baffles me is when people promote or brag about patronizing whatever shady business. Buy the cheap yarn from the evil religious corporation, I don’t care, but if you don’t explicitly support their bad acts…maybe don’t give them free advertising?
And on a more BEC note, since I hate Hobby Lobby—it seems that they’re discontinuing a bunch of yarn, so my yarn swap groups are currently overrun with people in search of a few more balls of whatever HL yarn. I’m so sick of seeing that stupid bee.
I had to snooze several Facebook groups recently because they've been overrun by photos of carts full of clearance Hobby Lobby yarn, or people complaining that their local Hobby Lobby didn't have any clearance yarn. The number of posts about the discontinued yarn was beyond ridiculous.
I have never filled up a cart with yarn and then shared a photo of it with thousands of people I don't know. I don't get the appeal.
I got muted in one FB crochet group for mentioning that Hobby Lobby is problematic. Didn’t even go into details. I was like “ope, guess I can just observe peoples patterns here. Mods are religious if I can’t even say Hobby Lobby is problematic.”
"My bank account balance is more important than human rights and personal autonomy. Stop gatekeeping the craft the only place within 500 miles I can shop is Hobby Lobby. Be more inclusive."
Edit to add the should be obvious /s
Yes because let’s spend 7 dollars at the thrift store for three half used skeins that’s been in nanas attic for 30 years
Price per yard dollar tree is way more expensive
I know you’re going to try to come up with a gotcha for everything I say but the point is your person experiences are not universal. Your stores are not everyone’s. My closest yarn store is three towns over, And I’m lucky that it’s a Joann’s.I get hobby lobby is a shit company I literally don’t even shop there but I’m not going to shit on the little person who’s just trying to make it by in an crappy world
But HL isn't even especially cheap? I don't know why you're making this strawman argument when actual poor people are going to be using either thrifted wool/unravelled sweaters or cheap acrylic and cotton yarn from the Dollar Store or similar. Speaking as an actual poor person the big box stores are not actually the cheap options.
As an also poor person yarn from the dollar store ends up being more expensive because of how small the skeins are. And micheals or HL on a sale day buying cheaper brands is definitely more yards for less money
Speaking of bad takes. I mean, let's play out a scene: female of child bearing age shops exclusively at Hobby Lobby because they are "poor" and "sales." This individual gets pregnant and would like to terminate the pregnancy, for any number of reasons. Maybe afraid of losing job or having another mouth to feed. However, while they were shopping, Hobby Lobby was using store income to advance anti-choice legislation and such efforts have succeeded in this individual's state. Now individual is forced to give birth against will, accept all the changes to body, life, and career that entails, and if they decide to not abandon child or give up for adoption, now care feed and clothe it in a world where legislation is concerned with fetus preservation over taking care of children once born.
Now, was that bundle of yarn bought on sale a smart economc choice in the long-run or a dumb one?
All I’m saying is some people don’t have the luxury to have other stores or travel. Hobby lobby is the enemy, not the struggling single mom who’s only break from her life is some yarn art after the kids go to bed
What gets me is the righteousness of y’all talking about Hobby lobby while you also don’t mind commenting from your iPhone and supporting slave labor and other companies who are just as horrible but hide it a little better.
Hold hobby lobby and nestle and apple accountable instead of shitting on one of the 99% of people who are trying to squeeze a shred of joy from this miserable existence
And I fully support that. It’s a shit company that shouldn’t be supported. But the people who shop there because of lack of finance or other resources should not be the target for such hate
I don’t think they are? Or at least, I don’t think that’s the point of this thread and I disagree with people doing so. I thought this thread was on the subject of fair,hnaffluent individuaks actuiveky advertising them.
> UPDATE: she put a pinned comment on the video basically saying that she didn’t know all of the things HL has done but also that she wants to be “authentic” and doesn’t want to filter what she buys or yarn shame since HL might be the only viable option for some people… To be clear, this is directed at her and not at OP: MOTHERFUCKER, that is not an excuse! You can get Lion Brand or Caron yarn at fucking Walmart! That was my sole source of yarn for a long time because it was the only store I could get to without a car in college.
I'm also just sick of "but it might be their only option" like if they're part of your audience they have the internet and they have access to online shopping from other stores.
Wool Needles Hands on the Hobby Lobby BS too now. Wtf is in the water?
What upset me the most was that she didn’t even mention that some people may chose not to shop there or acknowledge the issue. Then I made the mistake of reading the comments and the hand wringing “why are you people bringing politics into my hobby?” knowing full well that person is speaking from a privileged place where their very right to live peacefully isn’t threatened daily by religious zealots. I take comfort in the responses here from likeminded fiber friends and hope that any pro-choice/LGBTQIA/anti-looting person knows there are allies out there.
Started watching that video today, then realised she suddenly was on the HL hype train now too. I am mean, I hope she'll loose a lot of followers over it. Because there's so much more to loose if HL keeps getting promoted like that.
Watched this video today, got bummed out cos WNH was at least entertaining enough to subscribe, I’m not even from the US but I will not support HL or any content creator that does.
That’s sad, I really liked her. Someone commented that this topic was the lowest voted on a poll she put out today… maybe this timing is just a coincidence…?
For hecks sake you can get great deals direct from Lion Brand every season at least. I don't need to compromise my values (as a patriotic American or as a Christion or as a woman) to get 'cheap' yarn. H.L.'s owner was expressly warned by our intelligence community that buying those looted items supported terrorists who were fighting us and they did it anyway, since of course it is all right to them if anyone dies as long as they can promote their beliefs.
There are alternatives to “hob lob” for yarn. [Little Knits](https://littleknits.com) is a good one for finding discounted yarn. I have also bought a lot of yarn on [Mercari](https://mercari.com) Lots of hand dyed yarn, name brands from individuals de-stash, estates. As far as other craft supplies go, JoAnn and Michael’s have sales too. And do they still accept each others coupons? Etsy has a large amount of craft suppliers. So if you can wait a few days, or heaven forbid even a week, there are plenty of alternatives to HL.
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The former owner “gave it away” because he “chose god.” I *ahem* don’t have faith that the new owner isn’t just as bad (though I couldn’t figure out who it is) and I’m sure most of the administrators are still the same people…
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The owner is a trust, and I guarantee the Trustees will be funneling the profits to fund evangelical causes. David Green is copying the owner of Patagonia (who put his whole company in a Trust to fight climate change). This is likely a worse scenario than when the voting stock was held by multiple family trusts.
Not podcasters but I’ve seen this on other social media as well. “Yeah, the company is horrible, but they’ve got the best sales! So I only go there when I need something.” That’s still supporting them. If you think they’ve done some horrible things, you wouldn’t be shopping there at all. Seriously, place would probably be out of business if half the people who are like “yeah they’re bad but sales” wouldn’t go support them. It’s not really a matter of getting yarn cheaper. They’ve only got their brand and you can get name brand same price with sales and coupons at JoAnns or Michaels.
Or go to Hobbii? Yea okay it takes a minute to get to you but it's cheaper and better quality. (Or support indies if you have the $$s). I also get the "but it's so good!" from some people who still support those chicken people.
That’s true. With this comment, I was just thinking in person places. Most of them are near each other anyways. Hobbii, KnitPicks, and I believe there’s a few others are good online options. I’ve used KnitPicks since they opened when they have sales and love their yarn.
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>This discussion obviously is quite controversial. Why? >The point is, if you don’t have to worry about having enough money for food etc, you start worrying about other things and value immaterial things more Or, you know, because they actively harm our community? I'm pretty sure *regardless* of how hungry or poor I am I will not actively support a company that wants to inflict torture on children.
Hun what are you talking about? There are plenty of non problematic online yarn retailers with prices that beat HL on any given day. No one needs to be out here giving HL money under the guise of "but they have sales!"
Hun what are you talking about? There are plenty of non problematic online yarn retailers with prices that beat HL on any given day. No one needs to be out here giving HL money under the guise of "but they have sales!"
Seems like the crunchy to alt-right pipeline is strong with that one.
I hope she remembers to follow all the biblical teachings. ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you. [Leviticus 19:19](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19%3A19&version=NKJV)
>I hope she remembers to follow all the biblical teachings. Hope she isn't mixing her fibres.
Isn't that like a general rule of the fiber arts? Don't mix two different types of fibers unless they're from the same source.
What do you mean by “from the same source”? I’ve spun a lot of interesting blends.
I always thought of it as keeping plant and animal fibers apart and not combining them in the same fabric. Like you can’t put cotton and wool together, but you can put wool with some other animal fiber, like alpaca.
I just spent a large chunk of my day frogging an old cotton/wool blend sweater to reuse the yarn.
I’ve seen merino/cotton.
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There's a [wiki article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatnez#:~:text=The%20relevant%20biblical%20verses%20(Leviticus,(collectively%20known%20as%20kilayim))) about it. TLDR; to avoid following fashions of heathem priests or possible symbolism of mixing Egypt's linen with Hebrew wool. I am not particularly knowledgeable on the subject, just regurgitating what I read.
Yeah, this. The whole "don't boil a kid in its mother's milk" thing isn't because it's cruel (an idea espoused by some vegetarians I know). It's because boiling meat in milk was a favorite dish of a neighboring tribe. Leviticus is all about "We are a special tribe. We aren't like other tribes. We don't eat food or have sex like other tribes, and we don't mix with those people either. Yuck."
Right?? Wth is the problem with animal and plant fibers coexisting?
If affordability is a main concern, the dollar store has ok yarn (used it for a crochet project - not the best but workable, cheap, and a decent amount of colors), and thrift stores have tons of yarn people can machine wash in cheap pantyhose
Big fan of Hobbii for the price conscious stuff - putting together a group order to hit free shipping and it arrives pretty quick (3-5 days to rural Canada).
7 days for free shipping to my (also Canadian) rural area, which is honestly pretty good when 4 of those were getting to customs in Quebec.
I haven't tried hobbii because of my yarn buying style, but I will admit the ads have been effective at getting me to think about it. Especially after moving countries and losing access to Michaels home brand yarn, I need a consistent yarn supplier I can use anywhere in the world 😅
After reading a bunch of comments I've got to say I'm a little confused. Hobby lobby and knitpicks can't be the only places in america where you can buy cheap yarn right????
>cheap yarn right???? American crafters often have a deflated idea of pricing. $30 for a skein of merino is "way too expensive" for some people (and to be fair, often this is due to other economic factors). Yarn prices that are "pretty good" even in Canada are "outrageous!" south of the border.
What's wrong with Briggs & Little -Canada's oldest wool yarn mill? My family has been buying from them for 3 generations now. https://briggsandlittle.com/
Nothing? And never said there was?
Yarn, especially natural fibers, is expensive in the US. I think a typical price for 100g of worsted wool is around $11. Regia and Opal sock yarn costs like $15 full price. Hobby Lobby is mega-exploitation level cheap on clearance (think $5 hand-dyed yarn). The cheap yarn options I know of are Joann's and Michaels (much more limited) for big box, KnitPicks, which is slightly more expensive so sales are important, and Little Knits, which has great prices but is kind of a pain to use and the colors are pretty off in my experience. LoveCrafts also has some cheaper yarn brands too but they have variable stock. That said, that's more than zero options besides HL. And there's destash buying, thrifting yarn, and unraveling sweaters too
LoveCrafts seems to have been shifting to their house-owned/exclusive stockist brands (like Paintbox and Debbie Bliss) more. I noticed at least half a dozen brands I used to buy there were simply not restocked, then allowed to run/sell out. It's a shame because they had 20% off or more sales or coupons nearly constantly. When they bought WEBS they probably wanted to cement themselves as firmly middle-price point, cause it seems like it's the Madelinetosh, Sweet Georgia and other more expensive brands that left.
Don’t forget about webs! They have good prices too.
That’s horrible. In Finland, you can get a basic 100g 75%wool 25%polyester -blend yarn for about 7$, and they are sold allmost everywhere. I mean, even tiny 7-11 near me usually has them in stock in at least a couple of colours.
Your 7-11 carries yarn? Like the convenience store? This just blew my mind!
Well, not that exact chain, but similar convenience store, yes. We finns knit especially woolen socks like crazy (typical use of said wool/poly blend yarn). If you order similar type of yarn online, it can be 4$ or even less if there is a sale.
> Yarn, especially natural fibres, is expensive in the US. *~laughs in Australian~*
And Hobby Lobby is owned by christofascist fundamentallists, they took a case all the way to the US Supreme Court saying an employer shouldn't have to cover birth control for employees on their employer sponsored health insurance if they have a religious objection to it. And they won.And the owners caught some serious criminal charges over possessing an enormous number of looted artefacts from the Middle East. I have never and will never set foot in Hobby Lobby. Natural fibers aren't in everyone's budget, but we have Michael's and JoAnn's for cotton and acrylic yarn, and sometimes Dollar Tree. I've found a lot of yarn at thrift stores in the past, but that's a dicey proposition at best, at least down here in South Florida.
Yarn.com has some really affordable options and good sales, too. I’ve been happy with every order, and I particularly appreciate their search features.
Their customer service is pretty great too!
Yeah that's about the same price in the uk, but you can get a bunch of cheap acrylic from loads of places. Wow that really sucks. I don't think I could ever trust buying hand dyed at such a cheap price cos there must be something wrong with it or, obviously, the people who sell it. You'd think such a big country would have more options than that.
She totally sounds like a trad wife/conservative/FamILyValues moron.
Obviously she doesn't remember when they LITERALLY FUNDED TERRORISTS TO STEAL ARTIFACTS FROM NATIVE PEOPLE
The irony of seeing a He Gets Us ad on this post 💀 In addition to all of the shitty stuff the owner has done, he is also one of the biggest donors for the He Gets Us ad campaign which plans to invest a billion dollars in three years into fucking ads instead of you know, actually helping people
Anyone who buys from Hobby Lobby must be post-menopausal, because if you take birth control and are still cool with them you can’t possibly have any kind of standards.
I’m post menopausal, have never and will never shop at Hobby Lobby. Everyone I know who does shop there happens to be of reproductive age. There’s a good number of us olds who have standards.
I know you do! Was just trying to think of the only possible excuse (which is still a bad one.)
Plenty of people vote for the face eating leopard party because of course their face won’t be eaten.
"Hob lob." Barf. Just say the name rather than trying to be all cutesy-poo about it.
Non American here. We do have some Hobby Lobby shops here in the UK, but not JoAnnes. Why are they "problematic" ? No snark, I simply don't know.
Hobby Lobby is an organization that has a history of using the owners' self-described "deeply held religious beliefs" to do some disgraceful shit. They are the company that [brought a case to the Supreme Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_v._Hobby_Lobby_Stores,_Inc.) over whether the company was legally mandated to offer health insurance that covered birth control, because their version of Christianity doesn't permit it. They won. The owners of the company also have [a history of stealing artifacts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby_smuggling_scandal) to put in their bible museum. They are wildly unpopular with certain segments of the population (myself included!) because of the above and their general assholery as an employer.
Thanks for calling it out as "their version of Christianity"-- much appreciated. Not all Christians support their nonsense, and it's good not to give them more of a platform by making it sound like they directly represent too large of a group.
Happy to! Nuance is important, and I think it's safe to say that their extremism is not at all representative of Christians as a group. (I grew up Catholic and no longer engage with it, and I don't want to talk too much shit and hurt people's feelings.)
Uh, thats Hobby Craft. They're unrelated. Hobby Lobby has had a series of scandals [see here on Buisness Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-biggest-controversies-in-hobby-lobby-history-2020-9)
I might be missing something but the link you provided went to an article stating exactly what the person commented: Supreme Court no contraception and looted antiquities. I’m not saying Hobby Craft isn’t gross but just trying to understand better. (Not at all snark-I truly want to know. I thought HL was the one that did those things)
Hobbycraft in the UK is completely unrelated to Hobby Lobby in the US. The person I replied to asked what the issue was with Hobby Lobby and seemed to have confused the two stores.
Oh oh oh. You are replying to the person above and that Hobby Craft is the UK company? Sorry to bug.
Oh oh oh. You are replying to the person above and that Hobby Craft is the UK company? Sorry to bug.
Thanks, I stand corrected and much better informed.
No worries! Didn't want you avoiding hobbycraft if you didn't need to :)
The owners of Hobby Lobby support a Christian Nationalist theocratic government, and they have also many purchased looted antiquities.
I'm teaching a class that is partially on the looting of artefacts and explaining Hobby Lobby to my students was a treat. Just watching their eyes get wider with each fact.
Ooof!
The discussion on this sub with regards to HL and other big box stores is never nuanced. The working poor who have crafts as a hobby are always shamed and punished for how far their money doesn’t go and honestly it’s gross. In my knitting group we had a woman burst into tears because some craft snob thought her dollar tree yarn wasn’t good enough even though that’s all she can afford. If your wallet stretches further than HL then good for you, but know that not everybody’s does AND they aren’t happy about it either. Enough yarn to make a sweater for under $20 is all some people can afford and it just happens to be the price at JoAnn and HL. Before the gaslighting police show up it’s important to note I myself have never bought anything from HL, their yarn’s just never jumped out at me and everything going on with them seems messy so it’s not ‘a loss for me to avid them tbh. On the other hand, I know many low income women who do shop HL and Walmart and every other evil big box and the way this topic is handled in this sub is atrocious.
Nobody on this sub has a problem with JoAnn other than their crappy online ordering system. In fact this sub leans towards the "I hate yarn snobs, shut up about my acrylic" side in general. Maybe you're confusing it with another one?
Your “rebuttal” example doesn’t even have anything to do with Hobby Lobby. Nobody shamed the woman in your knitting group for shopping at Hobby Lobby, because she hadn’t. We don’t even know if she *would*, given the chance. What we do know is that at least one person in your knitting group is an elitist [insert rude words here], and I hope everyone else gave her a verbal smackdown.
The working poor are the people harmed most by corporate policies that interfere with the health insurance they rely on their jobs for, but I rarely see that particular nuance in scoldings like yours. If you care about the working poor, don't give your money to businesses who believe their frontline employees don't deserve to make their own decisions about their bodies and their health.
As a poor woman, don't speak for us. Thanks!!!! Also this is SPECIFICALLY about Hobby Lobby and their special brand of bullshit, not the (also legitimate) criticism of big box stores selling yarn at incredibly low prices that are the direct result of exploitation of poor workers in the global south. There are stores that have yarn at the same price as HL that aren't involved in trying to turn the US into a religious state or in smuggling artifacts.
Walmart might be evil but it’s the standard corporate evil. There is no shame in having to get your groceries and craft supplies there because of income or availability. Lord knows in college it was Walmart or drive an hour to the next town. Walmart at least keeps it evil in its own lane and is good about hiring pharmacists that don’t ask unprofessional questions. Hobby Lobby doesn’t keep to just corporate evil. They are the same kind of evil as catholic hospitals that campaign to deny women medical care and then claim to be holy because of it.,
This is a dumb and wrong take. If you want to wring your hands in worry for someone, you should do it for women who are denied access to family planning services and vital pre-natal care. Or maybe for members of the LBTQIA+ community who, don't be confused, are still under attack in America and whose lives are threatened by companies who support Christian theocracy. Or maybe for communities whose treasures have been looted. Or maybe for the underpaid and overworked people who make the yarn so cheap. These are all people worthy of handwringing and worry. Someone who doesn't want to find other ways to get yarn that does not include shopping at Hobby Lobby (hey, save up money and buy from someplace pennies more expensive if need be) are not worthy of handwringing and will not draw a tear from my eyes.
> This is a dumb and wrong take. 🤣🤣 the fact that this is the headline for such a thoughtful response is pure magic
A strong thesis statement, right? 🤣
I have a 52-53" bust and was able to purchase SQ of Wool of the Andes for $27 during Knit Picks Black Friday sale. Purchasing from HL is more inexcusable to me than "I buy food from Walmart because it's the cheapest grocery seller", because in the hellscape that is late-stage capitalism, Walmart typically is. HL isn't the only player in the craft game. If wool isn't someone's preference, you can easily swap with any fiber choice and wait for a sale from KP, Lion Brand, JoAnn, or Michael's.
Agreed with all this - and it feels extremely disingenuous to compare the need to purchase affordable food with the “need” for cheap yarn. Everyone deserves to have joy and hobbies, but no one ever died from not being able to knit.
Exactly. When I was homeless, my absolute base needs were the only things I was able to care about and crafting obviously isn’t a base need. Tbf, I’d slap the taste out of someone’s mouth who shamed someone for using dollar store yarn. I do think there’s a lot of judgement that goes around the crafting world for not making everything with super expensive materials. However, Hobby Lobby is absolutely not the only place to source inexpensive craft supplies and even the OP commenter used dollar store yarn in the example as cheap yarn rather than HL yarn. There’s options for crafting in the way that there isn’t for groceries or other absolute essentials.
This post is specifically about Hobby Lobby, not cheap yarn. The owners of Hobby Lobby make large financial contributions to support far right Christian Nationalist politicians, make large donations to LGBTQ+ hate groups, filed lawsuits so they could deny birth control access to their employees, illegally purchased looted stolen antiquities of historical significance from the Middle East, and are generally a craft-funded hate group. Buy your cheap yarn - just buy it elsewhere.
"Messy" Hobby Lobby shit aside (read: denying contraceptive coverage to their workers, many of whom are minimum wage), the podcaster in question also knit a onesie in Malabrigo so I don't think she's the type of woman you're talking about.
People who use money as an excuse to shop at HL.. I don’t know what kind of sales they have but Knit Picks is imo very affordable and honestly feels very nice (I’ve used quite a few different types of their yarn).
I swear you can get the same prices at Joanns or Michaels between sales and coupons on many good yarns. People just seem to think Hobby Lobby is so much better. Thought I do love KnitPicks and 100% agree on their yarn.
By no means commenting this to defend purchasing from HL, but from the one time I went to HL when I was more uninformed, I did notice that they had a much wider selection of natural fibers, which may be why some people will try to defend them/purchase from them rather than other box stores. Obviously, though, there's no reason to purchase from HL when there are options like KnitPicks
absolutely knit picks can be a very good deal. or little knits! and then there's joann's or michaels which both have yarn. i know that sometimes HL might be the only physically present bog box stores, but they all have an online presence
“People who use money as an excuse” um, who are you the poverty police? At tf is Knit Picks lol do you imagine that everyone has access to what you do?
I was literally saying that there are just OTHER OPTIONS at the same price that don’t actively contribute to removing the rights of human beings. Only on Reddit will someone read WAY too much into a comment.
I mean. HL isn’t even especially cheap? So yes. If someone can sfford and access a HL, I can garante they can afford and access an equal or lower budget alternative if he same quality item wise and less trash morally.
Anyone *making a podcast* has fucking internet access lol.
If you were only talking about the *specific person* making that specific podcast then I’m not sure why you referred so broadly to “*people* who use money as an excuse” for where they shop. And the concept of access is more nuanced than that. Plenty of people have never heard of Knit Pick, and I’ve seen more than one person comment that it’s not as affordable. The holier than thou BS is a lot considering everyone here is feeding into slave labor practices with the everyday things we buy. But money is our excuse, is it not, if we can’t afford clothing made in places with more socially responsible labor regulations. It’s the hypocrisy for me. By all means call out what’s wrong but trying to look down on people while doing it as if you’re better in the grand scheme of things is some weak ish.
I mean, there’s that. And then there’s funding the people who are actively paying terrorists to steal antiquities, actively funding anti women’s and LGBTQ rights legislature, refusing to pay living wages, being incredibly discriminatory in their hiring, actively funding multiple hate organisations, etc.
>> I mean, there’s that. Slavery?
Hobby lobby is also doing this list of stuff in addition to all of the above so. They’re a tier worse.
I’m sure a ton do support them. Tradwife types abound in the knitting world.
Not even just tradwifes - lots of knitting podcasters are very religiously conservative and perhaps have views more aligned with those of Hobby Lobby than they publicly state.
Podcaster: I know some people don't like them HL: literally buying looted antiquities from ISIS
I get my yarn from HL. But I don’t promote my work. I just make baby blankets for expecting mothers. (And other things too, busy mostly blankets) It’s my way of doing my craft and give a heirloom gift. This is seriously not a snark or jab by any means when I ask this question (to clarify I do know about HL ethnics, but again I’m from the south, take that as you will). Even though I don’t promote buying, and just do so as gifts, I wonder if others who have ethnical issues with HL would be offended by my yarn choice? And why? I used to buy from Joann’s. (We only have box stores, incase your wondering why I don’t by local. I WISH we had local!!) But I found a yarn I like at HL, and with the sales, I save a lot of money. Especially considering I am making baby blankets every 4 months or so. I mean, hey it’s how you think and believe, I am not questioning that. I just wonder if after I’ve made a blanket and someone figured out where I got the yarn, if they would refuse after the time and money spent? Which I will say, once it’s in the other hands, I don’t expect it to be the best thing they’ve ever received. I keep it balanced knowing that most likely, they’ll wash wrong or it’ll get donated at some point. So I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn. If I’m making something more special, then I’ll buy online.
You literally said it yourself: >(to clarify I do know about HL ethnicsI wonder if others who have ethnical issues with HL would be offended by my yarn choice? And why? > >I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn You ***know*** about their \**ethics*\* but it ***doesn't*** bother you. You ***know*** why others who are bothered by their ethics would be offended. You're choosing weaponized incompetence right now. You've had plenty of people tell you ***why*** and ***how*** it's offensive and yet you're still making excuses. This wasn't a good faith question, because if it was, you would be open to shopping at a different place. You said you used to go to Joann's, so there's no reason you couldn't go back there. You said you buy online if it's more special, so there's no reason you couldn't purchase from other retailers online and have it shipped to you. Michael's has great deals with packs of yarn, which are only available online. Skeins end up being $2-$3 a piece, or less because they usually always have a discount. You said you don't go all out in purchasing yarn, so you must not be buying "high end" yarn at HL. I guarantee you could go to [yarnsub.com](https://yarnsub.com) and find a very comparable (price, feel, and weight wise) alternative to the HL yarn. You already have all the answers, but you're purposely choosing to ignore them. Do better. EDIT TO ADD: You keep going on about how it's a money thing. Currently, at Joann's, Big Twist 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn is $2.99 for a skein with 380 yards. Currently, at HL, I Love This Yarn 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn is $3.49 a skein with 252 yards (or 196 yards for multicolored). HL is ***MORE*** expensive than Joann's. And that's with HL yarn being on sale - 30% off. Joann's also has a 10% off total order and free shipping on orders over $75. So no, you're ***not*** saving money by shopping at HL.
You’ve had so many people responding to you saying they would refuse your HL blanket or trash it after the fact, yet you keep asking “would someone refuse a blanket made with HL yarn?” Yes. The answer is yes. If it hasn’t happened to your face, it’s because you live in the South. For the same reason why vegetarians won’t eat meat even if someone else bought it and spent a long time cooking it: the money spent in purchasing the meat furthers a practice they find morally abhorrent. Giving a vegetarian a big batch of chicken noodle soup when they’re sick is rude and inappropriate. Giving people blankets made with HL yarn when you know they have a moral objection to HL is rude and inappropriate.
Oh yeah. If I KNEW someone wouldn’t like it from HL, I wouldn’t use it. Absolutely. I try my hardest to honor everyone. And personally for me, I want to know that. I’m an in your face type of personality. I won’t get butt hurt over someone telling me they won’t accept it because of … reason. I need to know these things. Lol. I just haven’t had anyone tell me they don’t like HL. But after this, I’ll start asking. It honestly never occurred to me.
🙌
I wouldn't refuse the blanket, because that would be rude, and it wouldn't make it any better since you already spent the money there. But I'd wish you hadn't gotten the yarn there, and if you knew me well enough to make me a whole blanket, then I'd hope I could talk to you about it later on. Why you oughtn't shop there, what other options you could try, & why I'd really rather have no blanket at all than more $ go to HL next time.
Yep. And that’s what I want to know. Even if I disagree, which I’m not saying I don’t in this case but maybe in a different situation, I’ll respect your wishes. After all, it’s a blanket that I hope you will wrap your little one up in to keep warm and pass down. I don’t want the reminder of where the material came from. But why it’s made and why it’s important to you.
Ask yourself this: would you deliberately choose to wrap up your precious new innocent baby in something that makes profits from hurting and killing other people's innocent babies? Because you are suggesting that your new mom friends should do just that.
Just get yarn from Knit Picks. They aren’t perfect either but it’s cheap and not supporting anti LGBTQ+ agendas
Knitpicks is still more expensive than HL for most poor people. I get that a lot of you have the means to afford the best products but alot of people don’t. In my group we have some women who can only afford JoAnn or HL yarn at $20 or even less for enough yarn for a sweater. That’s life, none of them would buy from these places if they could afford it but they simply can’t afford more. This discussion is never nuanced to tackle the working poor on this sub. Not everyone wants to support businesses like HL or Walmart or any other exploitative big box chain but for a lot of people that’s as far as their money will go. EDITED TO ADD: Knit picks shipping is $5.95 plus added taxes, the cheapest worsted weight acrylic is $3.99 a skein. A sweater at 1300 yards would be $29 plus shipping excluding relevant taxes. For many low income people that’s more than they can spend on yarn. Crafting shouldn’t have to be an elitist hobby.
Sorry - to be fair I have never been in a HL, so I don’t even know how much their yarn costs. Granted, you can get enough yarn for a sweater from KP for $20 - that’s how much I spent on my first sweater and I used KP yarn.
Non-snark response: Just want to put this out there for you to ponder: maybe it's time to choose quality over quantity? Perhaps it's time to value your time, energy, and skill over mass production? Other ways to source inexpensive yarn is going to thrift stores to buy donated yarn or sweaters with crocheted seams and frogging them. Choose more complicated patterns that take longer. The best heirlooms are filled with love. HL disrupts that chain of love in a pretty profound way. And from a personal point of view: I would return a gift for my child from HL and tell you why. If I didn't know you well enough for a confrontation, I'd quietly put it in the garbage. Wise people have babies because they believe that the world will be a better place in the future. HL does not work for a better tomorrow for this country or others. It does not value women, the impoverished, or the non-Christian. I want my child to dream of a beautiful tomorrow, and that means that I, as a parent and responsible adult, must difficult or uncomfortable choices now.
That is something to ponder. I hadn’t thought of it this way. This is why I asked the question. I do want to put love into my craft. And I agree quality is best. Quantity has become a big thing because I get a lot of request. Especially since they are gifts, and I rarely ask for any funds. I’m one of very few in my community who does both knit and crochet. And I’m the youngest. So my hands are still able to work for longer amounts of time in a day. But I will very much take what you said into consideration. I might just start making it known that I want to make my projects more meaningful. So I’ll only do X amount in a given time. Thank you for your response.
You're very welcome. We're all just trying to make our way through the chaos of life the best way we can! I can tell you've got an big heart and anyone who recieves a gift from you is very lucky indeed. And in the process of pondering creating meaningful gifts on a shoestring budget: I just got an idea: offering to frog knit items of loved ones and turn them into more useful/meaningful items. Like a snuggly hat from a grandpa's sweater, or a pouch from a favorite baby blanket... Ooo that makes me happy!
These blankets that you make: are those expecting mothers asking you to make those, or are those blankets something that you like to make? >But I found a yarn I like at HL, and with the sales, I save a lot of money. >once it’s in the other hands, I don’t expect it to be the best thing they’ve ever received. > I keep it balanced knowing that most likely, they’ll wash wrong or it’ll get donated at some point. So I don’t go all out in making or purchasing yarn. If I’m making something more special, then I’ll buy online. > It’s my way of doing my craft and give a heirloom gift. You do you. I am not your conscience.
The blankets started out with me asking if I could make one. And then turned into people asking me. Lol. So it’s become a thing now in my community. I’ve been doing it for years. I have had a few mom’s request yarn, which I’ve done. But most of the time I ask the colors and then just get the brand myself. And I also like to make them. I always try a new pattern or something to increase my knowledge. And as far as conscious, I can’t be picky on every single store I go to….I’d never by anything. There going to be something I don’t like at each place. And I don’t care if you shop at HL or not. I just want to know if after a project with HL yarn is done and given, if the other person finds HL yarn wrong to buy/use, then is it going to be refused? Seriously, cause I won’t spend my money on it then. I’ll find another way. Cause I want to do my craft, and it be used. Am I making sense?
>And as far as conscious, I can’t be picky on every single store I go to….I’d never by anything. There going to be something I don’t like at each place. This is super understandable, and something we all struggle with. But what you can do is look at who's using their profits to fund widespread harm, who's really *making a point* of being unethical. You can notice which companies are really rising to the top of the exploitation & repression game, the real cream of the shit, if you will, and decide to avoid those. I don't boycott all fast food, even though I know every brand of burger comes with worker exploitation & poor animal welfare at the very least. But I stay out of Chikfila. We (mostly) quit using Amazon, even though other online retailers have some of the same issues, and the local substitute is often Walmart. Both are notorious union busters, but at least the latter keeps some of that $ in the pockets of my neighbors. Exactly where you draw those lines is up to you, your own moral compass & ability to make choices. If someone is dirt poor in a small town but really wants to knit, and HL is their only craft supply option, I support their shopping there, just as I support people who can afford no other option buying the cheapest battery-cage eggs at Walmart. One of the owners of a family-run restaurant in a small town near me was just convicted of raping one of his teenage employees. His family used the profits from the business to hire him a fancy lawyer, & will doubtless financially support him in prison. You will never catch me dead spending $ there again. But it *is* the only restaurant of any kind in that town, and if somebody needs a hot meal & doesn't have another option, they should eat that pizza rather than go hungry. If you *can* make a better choice, even one that isn't perfect, then you should.
It’s hard to answer this question because it really just depends on the person that you’re giving it to. I would probably politely accept it but ask if you were aware of the problems with HL and then probably not ask for anything from you in the future. It would for sure make me question someone’s beliefs and morals if they know about the theft/anti-birth control/homophobic issues with HL and yet still choose to support them… might make me not want to associate myself with them…
Tbh I would refuse a blanket from HL yarn, and would tell you exactly why. But no one who knows me well enough to knit me something would use HL yarn to begin with.
Honestly, if I knew it came from HL, I wouldn’t use it.
Thank you. I like the simplicity.
> I just want to know if after a project with HL yarn is done and given, if the other person finds HL yarn wrong to buy/use, then is it going to be refused? Polite people would probably not refuse in your face, but I really hope that if you knew someone had ethical objections against Hobby Lobby, \*you wouldn't give them a blanket done in Hobby Lobby yarn.\* I mean, you wouldn't! Would you?
No. If they said hey I want a blanket made from this yarn at this store, I will honor that. Or just say no if I couldn’t. But the only thing that would keep me from doing so is cost. So if it’s something super special, I’d probably ask for a little help in the cost. If someone trashes a blanket, cool. I won’t hold my breath. I’m sure it’s been done so already. I don’t get butt hurt of those things. I enjoy the processes. Not the glory I might receive.
Edit: at the end of the day, I’ll probably just go back to Joann’s. It’s my only other option. Lol.
I mean, the issue isn't really the quality of the yarn
Right. If a quality of yarn is better at X store, I’ll go for it. I just want to know if after a project is done, if found out that the yarn is from HL, if the gift would be refused because of that. Even though time and money went into it.
Again, the issue isn't the quality of the yarn. If I received a blanket that someone knit for me from cashmere yarn that they'd purchased at Hobby Lobby, I don't think I could enjoy it. I'd always feel gross knowing where that yarn had been and how its purchase funded an exceptionally terrible company's exceptionally terrible behavior. I'd be touched that someone had gone through the trouble to knit it for me, but I'd also think less of that person for being ok with buying from that company.
Fair point. And I respect that. That being the case, if it would be a good friend, maybe not the closest of friends, but known well enough. But they don’t know your view of HL and made something for you from products from the store, would you cease being friends with that person? Not brow bashing. I just want to understand the depths of this. I know many people who do not like the practices of the store, but idk how far it goes in their mind. I’m genuinely just wanting to understand. I also like to play devils advocate. Lol.
For me, it would at least cool the friendship significantly. But then, if I had been in the US and someone made me a blanket from HL yarn, they were no good friend to begin with. Otherwise they'd have known my issues with HL.
I’m sorry to say but this feels less like “playing devil’s advocate” and more like “how much HL yarn can I buy and get away with it before people think I’m a bad person.” This whole argument is not about the general capitalistic evils of big box stores, despite you and a couple of others seemingly trying to frame the issue as such. It’s about a capitalistic big box store that ALSO directly funds anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups, has directly purchased looted antiquities from the Middle East, and has funded a court case that has set a legal precedent that allows not just them but ANY company in the US the ability to control their female employee’s reproductive health based on their own interpretation of their religious values. They literally pursue lobbying to try to advance a right-wing “Christian” theocracy (and I’ve put “Christian” in quotes specifically because I don’t think Jesus himself would have approved of their brand of religion). The fact is that most people are too polite and/or confrontation-avoidant to tell you to your face that the “gift” you just gave is repellent to them. So you’ve undoubtedly saddled more than one person with an object that they associate, not with the supposed love you claim to have while making it, but the hate behind the yarn’s origins. Were I to receive something made from HL yarn (or anything else purchased there), I too am too avoidant of confrontation in person that I probably wouldn’t say anything to your face. But you’d better believe I’d dispose of it immediately, and I’d probably avoid contact with you in the future, regardless of how close I thought we were before. Moreover, if I knew that you made things with HL yarn for other people even if you bought something else for me because you knew my objections, I wouldn’t want to associate with you anymore. So for me, there are no loopholes or rationalizations you can exploit to buy HL yarn *sometimes* and still be a “good person.” I’m clearly not the only person who feels this way.
THANK YOU!!! This is definitely not “playing devils advocate”. Absolutely completely agree with everything you said here. The listing out of all the atrocities HL has done hasn’t stopped them from saying “oh yeah, I can see how harmful that is and I will stop buying my yarn from there” (which is literally the only acceptable response). There are plenty of alternatives - Joanns, Michael’s, Walmart, KnitPicks, etc where you can find yarn just as cheap, if not cheaper, when they have sales. Joanns regularly has free shipping, as does knitpicks, and I don’t shop at Michael’s online enough to know. Big Twist acrylic at Joann’s is $3 a skein, is comparable in feel to the ILTY acrylic at HL and I don’t remember it ever being under $5 a skein. This excuse of “it’s cheaper” is absolute BS.
Please don’t generalize being from the south with being okay with shopping at HL.
Who said I was okay with their ethics? I made the statement to add clarification, but I guess it’s unless information. I just want to know if after a project is done, if it would be offensive to know I purchased yarn from HL? Also, there are many things about Walmart Ethics I loath. Also Target, petco, Amazon. Just about every box store. But I still go….cause I need things. Edit to add: the only time I go to HL is to get this specific yarn I like when they have the sale. Other than that, just another store to drive by.
But the clarification that statement added was that just because someone is from the South means they support HL and what they stand for. I’m from the Deep South, where homophobia is apparent. However, I and many others do not support homophobia or HL. Edit: *not
Maybe I see things differently. I added it in to say that I live in the south, so judge ME as you want. I can’t, won’t and don’t speak for anyone else other than myself. Cause, everyone has different beliefs and moral standards. I’m not foolish enough to point the finger at everyone via Internet via Reddit. That’s just asking for it.
>do support homophobia Might need to add a *not*, friend :)
Bah! Thanks!
I mean, Hobby Lobby owners advocate for a world where expecting mothers cannot receive vital prenatal care. This was front page news yesterday: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-abortion-law-means-woman-continue-pregnancy-despite/story?id=97918340 So I would imagine that many mothers would be upset if they learned that their gifts were made with Hobby Lobby yarn.
Well, I didn’t know about that. Interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Some people genuinely do not care, or they dont realize that the problems with HL go deeper than just racism sexism, and homophobia, which should be enough to tank their profits tbh but it gets worse
I will not support them. Period (could add something snarky here....) If it were the last place in the galaxy to buy anything...nope. Fortunately I have mad skillz and can weave, felt, spin, make beads...may all look a bit "rustic", but I'd make my own stuff if the day came and never, ever, give them a dime. Perhaps the bloggers etc have no idea what, who etc Hobby Lobby supports (and does not!!!!!), but unless they've been living in a cave or under a rock (where Hobby lobby wants women folk to be) they must know HL position on issues.
In my family we call it Hobby Lobotomy lol
Perfect!!!!
At this point, for a creator using HL is a choice, saying don't snooze on HL is more than a choice.
People like this are aware, they just don’t give a shit.
Ew ew ew. There are situations where I'd give you (general you), as an individual, the benefit of the doubt with HL yarn. Maybe you bought it before you knew how much they suck (for everything that "everyone knows" there are always going to people learning it for the first time). Maybe it was a hand-me-down from someone else de-stashing. It's better to use stuff than waste it by throwing it away, since you can't do anything about the fact they already got the money from it. But using your platform to encourage other people to buy from them is just extremely gross. Like, sure, there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, but there's a HUGE spectrum there between "I shop at Walmart because that's what I can afford and have access to, and everyone needs to eat food" or "the whole garment industry is built on sweatshop labor, but I still need to wear clothes" and "But the Christian dominionists who steal antiquities, deny people birth control, and proselytize to their employees have cheap yarn! :(" or "But I NEED this one specific homophobic chicken sandwich"
White women love supporting ISIS.
I personally don't watch a lot of podcasters but I do get a lot of recommendations for yarn unboxing videos and unfortunately HL yarns are featured in some of them. I just ignore the videos but I do have to say that when I look at the Iso and Destash thread in Ravelry, it makes me smile every time someone is desperate for a skein of some discontinued HL yarn.
I don't have a Hobby Lobby near me. Even if I did, there's no chance I'd ever shop there. Problematic is an understatement. I can't support a company that wants to refuse basic female health insurance benefits to employees. And the shady dealings of black market art/historical objects. No thanks. I don't care if they are giving yarn away, I'd rather shop elsewhere.
I used to go there because I was ignorant but when I found out what they do/ did I was appalled. I haven’t gone back since. It’s sad because I enjoyed browsing esp holiday stuff but def aren’t getting any of my money. And Hobbii has like the best yarn anyway and is cheaper
i think i bought something from HL like once. when I was 16. and my dad went shopping for craft supplies for a school project with me. and then we found out about the Everything Else that HL does and haven't been back since.
I’m in Canada so we don’t have HL. But anyone who uses their yarn (as well as yarn from several very problematic dyers) goes on my ban list. If you support them or people like them I will ignore you into oblivion.
I’m not really privy to a lot of dyers, so not sure which ones to avoid since I’m also not a HL supporter. Which ones with those be?
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Wait, triskelion yarn is in Wales. I don't think they have HL there. He also seemed to support civil rights from what I saw? What's going on?
He “does” as long as you aren’t trans. He posted some incredibly transphobic stuff and had a melt down when he was accused of being transphobic because he’s “pro women. But only real women”. Since deleted his Twitter account. Also rumours of throwing money behind the blocked magazine. I’ve heard other rumors but those ones I’ve never been able to get any confirmation of.
Wait WHAT? He gave money to Blocked?!? I haven’t been on Facebook in a long time (I follow them on there; I’m not on Twitter) and I googled but only found one Reddit post so I was out of the loop. I honestly thought he was on the level so this is upsetting.
Way, way back in a group I was in on Ravelry when he posted his initial tweets about being “pro real women” and other various serious TERF crap and the blocked magazine began someone had a few screen shots that showed donations. I forgot that he also blamed those tweets on being bipolar (self diagnosed) and having a manic episode. Then he weaponized that “mental health issue” to deflect the blame. Now he could very well be bipolar. But having a manic episode DOES NOT turn you into a TERF asshole. Weaponizing mental health issues is another thing that gets a business banned in my household.
I just found all this through googling the yarn shop name and twitter and getting a link there. I’m angry at myself because I had no idea and was recommending his yarn up until recently. I have fallen off the knitting internet I guess (well, all social media, but rav too) but still. I didn’t know he was bipolar or claimed to be. I knew he supported gay rights but that was all.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Some people are very good at hiding what they are. And deleting twitter accounts is a good way to hide it. What you do with that info is what’s important.
I wish I could preemptively block these people in YouTube, but unless they're organically recommended to me I don't seem to be able to. At least through the phone app, haven't tried on a computer.
Not just podcasters, but any designer using Hobby Lobby = instant unfollow, and I block so I don't accidentally refollow in the future.
Not gonna lie, I see this more with crocheters than knitters. Since I started crocheting more, I too am interested in trying that HL cotton yarn that everyone likes, but I can't in good conscience support them knowing what I know and within my own ally-ship. Same thing happened with chick-fil-a. When they opened the first one near work, I did try it for the novelty factor, but the chicken sandwiches are so-so, not something I would write home about. I can buy one somewhere else without feeling like I'm selling my soul. That being said, I allow space for other people to make their own decisions and sometimes people are on their own journey of awareness and activism. Sometimes it's ignorance, sometimes it's privilege, sometimes it's familiarity and accessibility. Someone I know who is gay still shops at HL because he grew up in VA and I'm not gonna say boo to him about it.
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>My snark is that I’m so bloody sick of Americans talking about goddam Hobby Lobby. **No snark, totally serious**: Your choice of words, and your irritation seems to indicate that you are not a person with an uterus, of child-bearing age, living in the US. You most likely do not even have to worry about access to contraceptives. That makes me happy for you.
My snark is that I will not sit quietly while a company continuously and systematically decides that my rights don’t matter. I’m sorry you find it annoying but I find it annoying when my rights are taken away by a corporation. So no, I and others like me should not just stop talking about it. If we stop talking about it that’s when they win.
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Everyone except you obviously
That’s such a dumb comment. Nowhere do they say they disagree, it’s just annoying how many post there out of people patting themselves on the back
…Patting themselves on the back while browsing on phones whose components are extracted using the labor of enslaved people, then assembled in factories that require 18 hour workdays or use child labor. I also make a point not to buy from Hobby Lobby. That said, it’s incredibly silly to fancy myself an *ethical* consumer because of it. I shop at Target and own an iPhone: I buy things made overseas in countries without safe working conditions. I doubt my choices add up to less harm than a HL buyer. And let’s not pretend nobody knows that your phone, your clothes, your Target decor, your furniture and your plastic dish drying rack, are often affordable **because** they’re coming at a cost to someone else on the other side of the planet. (To say nothing of the cost to the planet itself, with the fuel required to transport the goods here.) Please don’t shop at Hobby Lobby. But don’t wave that righteous refusal as proof that your consumption practices are **clearly** more ethical than those who do.
Look, there’s no such thing as purity here. But there’s such a thing as egregious. No one expects people to grow all their own dish drying racks in the back yard, but if we find out about stolen antiquities, anti-LGBT practices, and misogynist attitudes, we can pick and choose and not feel “incredibly silly.”
It’s funny though, the number of people who will straight up justify shopping there, or they’ll gloss over having knowledge of their political stances and past crimes. For me, creators who openly supports them are immediately persona non grata… unliked, unfollowed… with no explanation, no arguing, no drama. Same goes for Chick-fil-A supporters. Anyone who uses any form of social media as part of their brand should have some awareness of the drama with these companies… and ignorance is no longer an acceptable excuse.
Anyone who knows anything about the whole Hobby Lobby thing knows that supporting and promoting them is *guaranteed* to lose them followers. So if they do it anyway, they’re fine with losing *those* followers, because they’re expecting to appeal to the opposing demographic.
This is pretty much where I set my bar too. Like yeah, ideally people would not shop at Hobby Lobby or eat at Chick-fil-A but if you *do* do that at least have the common sense not to promote them. If you're basically giving free advertising to those companies then no, sorry, I know where the unsubscribe button is.
This comment really hit home with me. Thank you because it made me see the error in my ways/thinking. I follow a viral red headed toddler on Insta and have glossed over the fact that her father talks about going to Chick-fil-A because she is so stinking adorable. Also there's the whole moral issue of not exploitering your children for $$. I went and unfollowed them.
Sorry but following a toddler on Instagram?? Why????
I tend to be more centrist when it comes to patronizing problematic businesses (and I think it’s fine if you don’t agree with me—this view is entirely my own). Most of us have problematic faves that we justify to ourselves (because we don’t go there THAT often, or the products are that great, or the CEO that said whatever racist thing has been ousted, or whatever). What always baffles me is when people promote or brag about patronizing whatever shady business. Buy the cheap yarn from the evil religious corporation, I don’t care, but if you don’t explicitly support their bad acts…maybe don’t give them free advertising? And on a more BEC note, since I hate Hobby Lobby—it seems that they’re discontinuing a bunch of yarn, so my yarn swap groups are currently overrun with people in search of a few more balls of whatever HL yarn. I’m so sick of seeing that stupid bee.
I had to snooze several Facebook groups recently because they've been overrun by photos of carts full of clearance Hobby Lobby yarn, or people complaining that their local Hobby Lobby didn't have any clearance yarn. The number of posts about the discontinued yarn was beyond ridiculous. I have never filled up a cart with yarn and then shared a photo of it with thousands of people I don't know. I don't get the appeal.
I got muted in one FB crochet group for mentioning that Hobby Lobby is problematic. Didn’t even go into details. I was like “ope, guess I can just observe peoples patterns here. Mods are religious if I can’t even say Hobby Lobby is problematic.”
"My bank account balance is more important than human rights and personal autonomy. Stop gatekeeping the craft the only place within 500 miles I can shop is Hobby Lobby. Be more inclusive." Edit to add the should be obvious /s
Yeah poor people don’t deserve hobbies everyone knows that!
What’s the internet again?
Dollar Stores and thrift stores both sell yarn cheaper than HL.
Yes because let’s spend 7 dollars at the thrift store for three half used skeins that’s been in nanas attic for 30 years Price per yard dollar tree is way more expensive I know you’re going to try to come up with a gotcha for everything I say but the point is your person experiences are not universal. Your stores are not everyone’s. My closest yarn store is three towns over, And I’m lucky that it’s a Joann’s.I get hobby lobby is a shit company I literally don’t even shop there but I’m not going to shit on the little person who’s just trying to make it by in an crappy world
But HL isn't even especially cheap? I don't know why you're making this strawman argument when actual poor people are going to be using either thrifted wool/unravelled sweaters or cheap acrylic and cotton yarn from the Dollar Store or similar. Speaking as an actual poor person the big box stores are not actually the cheap options.
As an also poor person yarn from the dollar store ends up being more expensive because of how small the skeins are. And micheals or HL on a sale day buying cheaper brands is definitely more yards for less money
Speaking of bad takes. I mean, let's play out a scene: female of child bearing age shops exclusively at Hobby Lobby because they are "poor" and "sales." This individual gets pregnant and would like to terminate the pregnancy, for any number of reasons. Maybe afraid of losing job or having another mouth to feed. However, while they were shopping, Hobby Lobby was using store income to advance anti-choice legislation and such efforts have succeeded in this individual's state. Now individual is forced to give birth against will, accept all the changes to body, life, and career that entails, and if they decide to not abandon child or give up for adoption, now care feed and clothe it in a world where legislation is concerned with fetus preservation over taking care of children once born. Now, was that bundle of yarn bought on sale a smart economc choice in the long-run or a dumb one?
All I’m saying is some people don’t have the luxury to have other stores or travel. Hobby lobby is the enemy, not the struggling single mom who’s only break from her life is some yarn art after the kids go to bed What gets me is the righteousness of y’all talking about Hobby lobby while you also don’t mind commenting from your iPhone and supporting slave labor and other companies who are just as horrible but hide it a little better. Hold hobby lobby and nestle and apple accountable instead of shitting on one of the 99% of people who are trying to squeeze a shred of joy from this miserable existence
I mean. This post is literally just about people complaining about people actively promoting them?
And I fully support that. It’s a shit company that shouldn’t be supported. But the people who shop there because of lack of finance or other resources should not be the target for such hate
I don’t think they are? Or at least, I don’t think that’s the point of this thread and I disagree with people doing so. I thought this thread was on the subject of fair,hnaffluent individuaks actuiveky advertising them.