Earlier last month (4th April 2025), I was lucky enough to attend The Woolly Good Gathering – a yarn festival here in Edinburgh, Scotland. This is the second year the festival has run and it was my very first time attending. I loved it and will definitely be back for more next year!
The one big tip I have for you if you’re considering coming along is, book your place as soon as tickets go live. As well as being a lovely market-place filled to the brim with indie yarn, crochet, knit, macrame (you name it!) sellers, there were a series of workshops and talks all happening within another building that you needed to pre-book if you wanted to attend. Sadly, I was not quick enough on the booking front and only managed to get market tickets this year. However, the market was great and that is what I’m focusing on in this blog post today – my haul from The Woolly Good Gathering.
My Woolly Good Haul
I may have gone a little overboard with my spending at The Woolly Good Gathering, but it was my very first yarn festival after all. Now I think I’m hooked (no pun intended) and you’ll definitely be hearing more about other yarn festivals I attend in future. But for now, let’s dive in so I can show you all the yarny goodness I picked up.
Woolly Good Bag
The first item I thought was most appropriate to share, was my purchase of some good ol’ merch. Since this was my first ever yarn festival, I wanted a little token to remember the occasion. So I bought one of these cute festival tote bags, which I’ll be using as a WIP bag.
I’m not a traitor, but I may become a knitter…
You might be surprised by this one, but I bought a pair of knitting needles! Even though I’ve always been a crocheter, I thought it was time to finally give knitting a go. Along with the needles, I picked up a triangular Bunting Scarf pattern by Meg Rodger from The Birlinn Yarn Company (From Seafaring Sheep).
Meg was absolutely lovely to chat with. She’s based on the Outer Hebrides and raises her own sheep to create her yarn. I bought two gorgeous skeins from her – one in ‘North‘ (a deep dark blue) and one in ‘Reef‘ (a beautiful blue-green). The yarn is Hebridean wool, organically dyed, and it has such a natural, rustic feel. I can’t wait to learn how to knit using these!
Toft Crochet Kit
As a die-hard amigurumi crocheter, I couldn’t resist visiting the Toft stand. They had a wall of adorable amigurumi displays, and you could build your own custom crochet kit based on your favourite amigurumi character.
I chose a blue-embroidered elephant amigurumi kit called, Denby the Elephant. Inside the kit bag, I received:
- Luxurious Toft DK yarn
- A crochet hook for the project
- A flyer with tutorial links
- The crochet pattern itself was emailed to me as a PDF
This kit feels really special because of all the embroidery details that bring the little elephant to life – and the yarn feels absolutely gorgeous to touch.
Handmade Earrings
Next up, I treated myself to a pair of handmade felted earrings by Lindsay Walters Jewelry. They’re bright, colourful, and made right here in Scotland. Lindsay’s stand had so many cute stunning chunky necklaces and felted accessories – I had to restrain myself from just choosing one item!
Handy Crochet Accessories from Jen Hogg
I also stopped by Jenerates by Jen Hogg and picked up some really clever crochet accessories:
- Wooden stitch markers with numbers, perfect for marking what hook size I’m using on a WIP.
- A needle minder made from recycled acrylic (the same material used to build bus stops – fun fact!)
- A yarn gauge tool, which you use by wrapping yarn around it to determine its weight. This is going to be a game-changer for using my scrap yar when designing new patterns!
Moorit Crochet Magazines
Moorit is an independent crochet magazine based in Scotland and run by Alyson Chu. Alyson is also one of the organisers of the Woolly Good Gathering, and obviously, a fellow crocheter! I had to stop by this stall since I love crochet magazines (and supporting fellow crocheters, of course!). So here I grabbed their most recent magazine issue along with an older issue they had on sale. There were loads to choose from but these two stood out for me. I also got another cool tote bag (yup, I know, another one! haha), which I’ll also be using as a WIP bag. Fun fact – I met Alyson’s mum at the stand who told me about their podcast, ‘Keep Calm and Carry Yarn‘, which I’ll definitely be tuning into!
Reflections on the Woolly Good Gathering
One thing I noticed at The Woolly Good Gathering was that it leaned more heavily towards knitting than crochet – there were far more knitting patterns and supplies. That said, there was a great mix overall, including weaving, felting, embroidery, and more. It’s such a welcoming and inspiring event no matter what craft you love most.
Next year, I’m definitely aiming to book some workshops and talks as well – I’d love to dive even deeper into the experience.
Final thoughts
Visiting the Woolly Good Gathering 2025 was such an inspiring experience. I came away with so many beautiful materials, a few new tools, and a tonne of motivation to try new things – including knitting!
I hope you enjoyed this little behind the scenes peek. If you want to see everything in more detail, be sure to check out my YouTube video below where I show you all the goodies on camera!
Until next time, happy crocheting,
Cilla x
