Polka Dot Sheep yarn shop leans on tight-knit community

Bundles of yarn in deep blue, vibrant green, sunny yellow and most any color you can conjure up line the shelves at the Polka Dot Sheep Fine Yarns.

There’s also knitting needles and patterns for inspiration. The shop — formally known as the Knit ‘N Needle — this spring moved into a new building on Lupfer Avenue on the same lot where the shop had been offering knitting supplies since 2003 in an old Railway District home.

Owner Aimee Alexander says the new building had been part of her plans for the last roughly five years and offers not only better access at street level, rather than climbing five stairs into the shop, but also a considerable larger space for retail offerings and a place for knitters to gather.

Alexander was part of a knitting group for many years that met at the Dire Wolf, but at the time they were forced drive to Missoula to purchase yarn.

“I was at a place in my life where I happen to be looking for something else to do,” she said. “We’ve been in business 18 years.”

The business has expanded over the years with Alexander designing her own patterns and eventually dyeing her own yarn that is now shipped wholesale throughout the country. She’s still always knitting herself with one of her projects in her car and one always beside her chair at home.

A former employee began dyeing yarn as a hobby and then Alexander eventually bought out that part of business. For years, she dyed the yarn out of her garage but with the new building she was able to move the dye studio into the back half of the shop. They produce about 100 different colors of yarn with Montana names like beargrass, Continental Divide and huckleberry.

“We began experimenting out of our kitchens and now it’s so much more efficient with the studio,” she said. “We are dyeing a couple hundred skeins of yarn three to four days per week.”

The change in the name of the shop came about to match the line of yarn they produce. Alexander says customers would often come in from all over the country and be excited to find the yarn not knowing that it was produced at the shop.

“It’s become something beyond what I could have imagined,” she said.“Knitters are such an amazing community of people.”

Polka Dot Sheep is extremely active on social media and crafting online forums, and has a strong online sale presence through its website.

“We have many customers that make trips here for workshops,” she said.“There’s some knitters who live in Minnesota that consider us their home store because they’re part of our community online.”

That strong following also helped while the shop was closed to customers this spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. The shop stayed open for curbside pickup locally, and typically spring months are slower for sales, but Alexander says the store’s strong online following along with more folks purchasing crafting supplies meant the business was fortunate enough to do well during that time.

A large table inside the shop, prior to the coronoavirus pandemic, was also the center of focus for workshops and played host to impromptu knitting gatherings. Knitting provides the opportunity to share projects, but also to chat while you work, Alexander explains.

“Knitting is a community,” Alexander said. “It’s a social thing that brings us together. We get to share tips and learn about different stitches or learn about something technically. You also get inspired by other people’s work.”

For more information, visit https://polkadotsheep.com/