Yarn Shops in Russia

Are you a passionate knitter planning to visit Mother Russia soon? Probably you want to have a look at Russian yarns? On this page I would like to share with you some addresses of local yarn shops in Saint Petersburg and (probably) Moscow.  But who wants to go to Moscow if you can see this:

(sorry, I am clearly biased, but I hope the information below on St.Petersburg yarnshops will help you!)

So...Yarn brands & shops in St.Petersburg, Russia

There are two types of shops selling yarns in Russia: those selling relatively cheap yarns and those selling some international brands. Russian yarns are usually cheaper not only because they are locally produced but also because the quality standards of raw materials are not as high as in Europe or US. Although sometimes local producers are trying to increase the quality and reach the level of foreign brands. Main Russian yarn producers are Troitsk Wool, Pehorka yarn, and "Spinning and Thread Plant" (named after S. M. Kirov). I have also discovered the Nevskaya Yarn recently, but I have never seen this yarn in any local shop.

These factories have been producing their products since Soviet times and their standards seems to be still inspired by the market with no competition and undemanding customers. Quality and colour palette is not always inspiring for creativity. Of course, these producers still have a fair share of market due to the low price and availability. Yarns of these brands you can easily find almost in shops that belong to the chain called Iskusnitsa (Искусница), sections of big hobby supermarkets like LEONARDO (Леонардо) or smaller shops that sell various knitting and sewing items. Such small shops also sell yarns produced in China and Turkey, so you can get a broad range of non-European yarn experience. Turkish brands are rather popular in Russia (e.g. Alize), but they mostly offer cotton or wool mixed with nylon or acrylic fibers. Clearly, these are not made for the Northern winter!

to be continued...

NB! All information collected on this page does not contain  any paid promotion and represents only my personal experience and impressions of the listed yarn shops.