When sitting down to talk with Marcy New about her store The New Knittery, the name of Renton’s premier shop for yarn and knitting or crocheting supplies, she told the Renton Reporter that she hoped an article in the newspaper would help clear up some confusion about her store’s name — as it used to just be called “The Knittery.”
“As far as I understand it, it had been in various places in Renton going back at least 50-some years as ‘The Knittery,’” she said. “And when I bought it, it turned out that with my last name being New, being the opposite of old, I just called it The New Knittery because I wanted to kind of keep the old name as well.”
Marcy New took over the yarn and craft shop in 2019 after buying it from Win Fisher, who had run the store but had been planning on closing it. New, who is in her 60s, used to frequent the old shop in her youth: “I remember as a girl going to ‘The Knittery’ with my mother when it was over in what is now the Fred Meyer in Renton,” she said.
Now, as the new owner, she demonstrates her knitting know-how and her fondness for helping others grow their own crafting skills by providing knitting and crocheting supplies — yarn, needles, hooks and more — as well as workshops, classes and a weekly get-together with fellow crafters called “Fiber Friends Meet Up,” which takes place every Friday night from 6-8 p.m.
At a recent meetup, New and about a dozen others sat on cushy vintage chairs and fold-out seats while enjoying each other’s company (plus cupcakes) and working on their own projects, be it needlework stitching or knitting a “The Big Lebowski”-type sweater.
Fiber friends like Tami Seamans from Renton and Cindy Roth from Kent say that they come back each Friday for the meetups because of the people, the beautiful yarn and New’s help with projects.
“I’m pretty sure I was taught by my mother and I was probably around eight or so. I’ve been knitting all my life,” New said of her creative experience. “I’ve crocheted some, but it’s not my preferred method. I have always enjoyed doing things with my hands, no matter what. I’ve done a stint of beading and I’ve tried leather work and things like that. I’ve always liked being creative.”
As one of several locally-owned Renton craft shops with loyal, returning customers and students of the slip stitch, it’s no surprise that The New Knittery is a runner-up for this year’s Best of Renton.
The New Knittery is located at 601 South Grady Way in Renton, near the Starbucks. For more information, call 425-228-4694, visit thenewknittery.com or follow “The New Knittery” on Facebook.
