I Love Yarn Day
Hop on social media to get involved in I Love Yarn Day, a day for sharing and exploring all sorts of yarn-based crafts, from knitting to crochet and beyond.
Activate yarn and craft supply retailers with user-generated content campaigns and product showcases targeting engaged hobbyists during peak seasonal crafting interest.
- Share your latest knit/crochet project with #ILoveYarnDay for a chance to be featured
- Yarn brand takeovers: behind-the-scenes fiber production and craftsperson spotlights
- Tutorial content: beginner-friendly patterns and needle/yarn pairing guides
- Community spotlight: celebrate local yarn shops and independent fiber artists
I Love Yarn Day is gots its start in 2011 after the Craft Yarn Council decided that it needed to launch an event to promote the benefits of the industry’s products.
I Love Yarn Day is very much a product of the internet age. The majority of people who take part do so through the web. Doing so gives them access to Craft Yarn Council’s educational programs and lets them share their experience with other knitters and crocheters.
Because there is such diversity of council members, I Love Yarn Day provides the perfect opportunity for people to learn about the craft. Aska, for instance, is the world’s largest acrylic fiber producer and has more than 1,200 employees. Likewise, Clover Needlecraft specializes in Takumi bamboo knitting needles, representing what it calls “the pinnacle of craftsmanship.” Interweave is a front-running art and craft media company that circulates a magazine and even has a book publishing arm. And Lion Brand Yarn Company, based in NYC, creates a range of traditional yarns designed to help crocheters and knitter make stunning, stylish outfits you might see on the catwalk. You get the picture.
We must ask ourselves what our lives would be like without yarn. Historically, it was something that people needed to do for survival, especially in northern climes. On cold winter nights, our ancestors relied on being able to create fabrics that retained body heat as they shivered in their mud huts. With industrial clothing production, the fundamental problem of staying warm disappeared, but it introduced a new issue: generic clothing.
Therefore, working with yarn today is viewed as a fun pastime, and something the Craft Yarn Council is keen to promote. According to Jenny Bessonette, the executive director of the organization, the industry is seeing a resurgence of interest in the craft. She puts this down partly to current consumer trends, and partly because of the Council’s promotional efforts.
I Love Yarn Day, however, isn’t just an event for the purpose of increasing the popularity of knitting and crocheting as a hobby. The Council also says that it is vital for improving health too. Numerous studies reveal that working with yarn has multiple health benefits, from increasing confidence to reducing the conscious experience of stress. For instance, a 2019 study found that 97 percent of people thought that working with yarn helped them to “slow down” and relax.
The organizers of I Love Yarn Day, therefore, see it as something that can assist in wellness. They hope that the day will make it easier for people to discuss their experiences of yarn online and in-person, explaining how it makes their lives better.