Loops & Locales: Yarn Con 2025 (Chicago)

May 26

2 min read

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YarnCon 2025: A Celebration of Fiber in the Windy City

YarnCon 2025, held on April 5–6 at Chicago’s Plumbers Union Hall, was a vibrant gathering that brought together fiber enthusiasts from across the country. The vendor lineup showcased a diverse array of independent artisans, offering everything from hand-dyed yarns to unique knitting accessories.

My attempt at a panoramic pic of the entire hall from the balcony.

My Experience at Yarn Con 2025

I had the opportunity to meet my niece at the event, as she lives in Chicago. As a new knitter, this was her first yarn fest and it was fun experiencing my first Yarn Con with her. Those of us that have traveled to Rhinebeck, Maryland Sheep and Wool, and other fiber fests can forget how overwhelming they can be for newbies!

We arrived around 10:30 am, a bit after the event began. It was PACKED! There was a steady stream of cars arriving and with what looked like a dedicated parking garage, there seemed to be ample parking. I had Ubered from my downtown hotel and my niece had a short walk from her apartment so neither of us can vouch for the parking situation firsthand.

Vendors on the first floor (we somehow missed these), which is a pity because I love Yarn Love, UP North Yarns, and White Birch.

There were lots of vendors in attendance. The organizers use every bit of available space and we overlooked an area that contained a few vendors.

What I Bought

I bought a few skeins of fingering weight, my weakness. I just can't pass up a good fingering weight.

I grabbed a Yarn Con small project back and will be using it as my travel knitting bag (for socks). I'll include the sock ruler (purple) and the small "how much further" ruler in there.

I fell in love with a couple of patterns:

And this one, Chloris by Makenzie Alvarez.

Yep, I even bought the exact yarn - which is not like me, at all!

Mochiland was there and I bought two kits. Tiny kittens and the angry uterus.

But as a fair isle aficionado, I am really looking forward to using the doodles. These are little cards (size of a playing card) with fair isle patterns. I think they will be perfect for travel knitting (so I can do more than just socks).

And all of my purchases fit in this lovely bag...which was free for me since I invested heavily in the doodles.

Exactly! Nothing Haunts You Like The Yarn You Didn't Buy!

We wrapped up the day at my niece's favorite sushi place. We celebrated her first yarn fest (she said she had a ton of fun and even bought a skein). She's such a new knitter that she has a stash of six WHOLE skeins in her tiny one bedroom apartment.