Whadd'ya wanna know?

50+ years tangled up in fiber and textiles. 30+ years helping other people untangle them.

Hi — I'm Tim Cardy.

I'm a lifelong fiber nerd, unapologetic yarn collector, and the mildly overqualified human behind YARN sb. What started as a love of making quietly escalated into a studio, a shop, and a life built one stitch (and one questionable impulse purchase) at a time.

I take yarn and textiles very seriously. Everything else? Slightly less so.

Over the years I've spent time in yarn mills, textile research and development, upholstery sourcing, fashion costing, conservation, restoration, historical fashion, and decorative handcrafts. I've taught for more than thirty years, worked with everyone from complete beginners to accomplished makers, and accumulated enough degrees and certifications to make sensible people question my life choices.

What all those years taught me is surprisingly simple: good materials matter. Good humor helps.

Every yarn here is chosen for more than color. I care about texture, durability, stitch definition, drape, and how a yarn behaves once it leaves the shelf and enters real life. Tools earn their place by being useful, comfortable, and dependable. Vendors are politely—but thoroughly—interrogated about quality and ethics before they make the cut.

Whether you're casting on your first project or quietly smuggling new skeins past your family, you're in good company. We see you. We approve. And we probably have a yarn you'll love, even if you didn't come in looking for it.

Who are My Top Yarn Brands and why!

Trendsetter Yarns

TRENDSETTER YARN GROUP brings a little quiet excitement into the yarn basket.
These are yarns chosen with an eye for texture, drape, and just enough surprise — fibers that feel current without ever feeling fussy.

Known for their thoughtful blends and beautiful color stories, Trendsetter yarns are a joy to work with and a pleasure to wear. They’re perfect for projects where the yarn does some of the talking, whether you’re knitting a simple shape or trying something new.

Approachable, interesting, and full of possibility —Trendsetter is for makers who like their yarn to feel a bit special, but still completely at home on the needles.

By the Skein or the Bag.

Cascade Yarns

CASCADE YARNS is the kind of yarn you grow up with — and keep coming back to.
Reliable, well-made, and thoughtfully produced, these are yarns that invite you to relax into the rhythm of making.

Known for their natural fibers, generous color ranges, and excellent value, Cascade yarns are perfect for projects meant to be worn, gifted, and truly lived in. They’re steady companions for sweaters, blankets, hats, and long afternoons of knitting with friends.

This is yarn that doesn’t demand attention — it earns trust.
Comfortable in the hands, dependable on the needles, and always ready for whatever you want to make next.

Urth Yarns

Urth Yarns

Not all hand-dyed yarn is created equal.

Urth Yarns begins with exceptionally soft extra-fine merino wool, then transforms it with richly layered hand-dyed colour created by artisans in Turkey. Using dyes inspired by natural roots, fruits, and nuts, every skein develops subtle variations that give finished projects a depth and character impossible to reproduce by machine.

Their celebrated Uneek collection does the colourwork for you, creating beautifully balanced stripes and gradients from a single skein. Whether you're knitting socks, shawls or garments, every project feels one-of-a-kind.

As if that weren't reason enough, every skein purchased also funds the planting of a tree through Trees for the Future—beautiful yarn with a lasting impact.