Curses are REAL and the worst type is the curse of the DISCONTINUED!

“Discontinued” is the most hated work in my crafting vocabulary, I bet I’m not alone.

I’m a yarn enthusiast and a retailer so I have double fear of the curse.

It’s one thing to find out that your favourite yarn has been discontinued after you’ve just finished your project; to find out half way through a project is more than a little irritating.

It’s yet ANOTHER thing, as a retailer, to learn that a whole line has been totally revamped or discontinued. You’d think that there be a nod from the yarn companies that the line was about to be murdered. NO not a peep, I usually find out when I try to re-order.

So what can be done about this predicament? Well here are some tips.

Finding Discontinued Yarn Tips

1. Ebay, is your friend (obvious yeah I know!). I been rescued many a time by Ebay.

2. Contact the manufacturer of the yarn directly. They may just have some stock available in their warehouse. Or they may be able to tell you who they distributed their last lot to. A lot of yarn companies will also send out an “in search of” email to all their stockist on your behalf.

3. Social Network yourself to death. Many craft, magazine and yarn company sites let you post on their Facebook wall or Google+ circle, Twitter etc. Post to as many places as you can, there are so many helpful souls out there.

4. Just get over it! Let go of the love you have for a particular yarn and go find a substitute. Yarndex.com is a yarn directory. You can search for current and discontinued yarns. Using the advanced search you can filter your results to find a similar yarn to fall in love with.

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What’s your tale of discontinued woe? Got any tips on finding discontinued yarn?

What is, or rather, was your favourite discontinued project (yarn or other crafty goods)?.