It all started with peanut butter. At least that’s how I remember it. The size of the jar got significantly smaller and the price went up.
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Then I started noticing smaller stuff everywhere: Cheerios boxes, diapers, toilet paper. You name it the size decreased and the price increased. Pile that on top of skyrocketing gas and electricity prices and ARGH! Enough already!
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As fiber fans, we’ve been pretty lucky. The prices of our favorite yarns haven’t increased much or at all in the past 5 years. Yarn companies have been feeling increases in raw material costs for years, doing their best not to pass it on to the consumer. However, it has finally all become too much and now we are about to feel it too.
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Some of the big yarn companies will be increasing prices on many, many yarns in the coming months.
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Because we are fiber lovers like you, we are going to do our best to source the best yarn for the best price we can. We are going to do all we can to absorb as much as possible, but there will most certainly be increases on yarns you have come to love. For example, our beloved Cascade Eco Wool is going up $5 a skein. Now, it has been said that this yarn was a big, big bargain to begin with, but $5 is a big increase. Cascade 220 will go up by $2 a skein. Plymouth Happy Feet will go up from $5.99 to $7.99 and Cascade 220 will go up by $2 a skein. You get the idea.
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There are many things that contribute to this price increase. Less sheep and more demand is the simple answer. If you want a little more history about why yarns are going up check out this Wall Street Journal Article.
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The silver lining in all of this is that wool producers might actually make some money on wool, and we certainly want to support them. Farmers, who typically don’t make enough money to cover the cost of sheering their flock, might actually cover the cost now.
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I think she knows she’s valuable. She’s smirking.
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I think it might be wise in the coming months to get to know your wool. Where does it come from anyway? I know I will be paying closer attention.
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Now, like peanut butter before it, if Cascade 220 becomes Cascade 196, I might have to start complaining.
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