Rose City Yarn Cawl: A Look Back

• Posted on 2 April 2026
• By Anne
• 0

Another successful Crawl behind me. I'm always amazed by the event. And looking back, incredulous how far we've come since this Rose City Yarn Crawl began. So let's take a look back together.

Eighteen years! My oh my how it's changed. Here's my best (and worst) memories from Crawls of the past to present. Enjoy the ride.

The Inaugural Event - The Portland Yarn Crawl. If my math is correct, it was March 2008. Organized by two sales reps for a fee, it was a 2-day event, and eighteen shops (including us) participated. The goals were the same then as now - to spark business during the spring lull, and to give fellow makers an opportunity to become familiar with the many and diverse local yarn stores in the Portland Metro area. We were in our original location - a quaint little space in the Beaverton Town Square that was just under 800 square feet. There were no shop patterns, trunk shows, or passports. And just one prize - a grand prize basket of fiber goodies. Each shop did feature a favorite cowl design and had it on display. To win the prize, one had to visit each shop, find and record the cowl's name, then call the organizers once all had been collected. First person to call wins! Sound simple? Well, it was a disaster. Crawlers quickly figured out how to cheat, dividing up into teams to visit the shops and find the cowls. Divide and conquer. And those that did visit all eighteen shops spent little time looking around. I remember people running through my shop to find the cowl, then leaving post haste once found. So much for spending time and experiencing the diversity of our local yarn stores. And the icing on top? The organizer that was suppose to take the calls and determine the winner forgot to charge her phone. Soooo the winner is . . .

The Rose City Yarn Crawl. Two years into the Portland Yarn Crawl, the eighteen shops decided to part ways with the original organizers. We saw many areas for improvement, and decided that eighteen heads could do it better than two. We had our work cut out for us, as that decision was made a mere 3 months before the scheduled March date. But we pulled it off, and the Rose City Yarn Crawl was born.

The first thing to go was the scavenger hunt. The Passport took its place that first year, with finishers entered into a drawing for the prize basket. And we began meeting monthly to shape and plan for each upcoming Crawl - first at the downtown library, then in a donated banquet room, Twisted's classroom, a coffee shop, a park, a room adjacent to Fiber Rhythm, and finally (thanks to the pandemic) via Zoom. We formed an LLC, created teams to tackle specific tasks, opened a bank account, created a website, and courted vendors for prize donations. We welcomed new shops, and sadly said goodbye as shops closed. Many, many, MANY changes over the years (some good, some not so much). As best my memory serves, here's a list of the many things tried, added, changed, and eliminated over the past years, making it the successful event it is today.

• Shop Patterns. Other than ditching the scavenger hunt for the passport, this was the very next addition made. Each shop creating a knit and / or crochet pattern to give crawlers when they made a purchase. I think our first shop pattern was a Rose City hat designed by an employee. Initially, pattern formatting and photography was the responsibility of each shop. A few years in, the RCYC decided to contract with someone to do them all, making the patterns uniform and professional looking. That person, Joanna has taken pictures and polished the shop patterns every year since. And pattern codes were not always the norm. I recall printing and handing out physical patterns, as well as spending a lot on ink.
• Theme. Believe it or not, there wasn't always have a theme for each Crawl. Very early on, however it was realized that a central theme pulled it all together. Some of those early themes included Portland Landmarks (2015 - we designed a hat around the "Allow Me" statue in Pioneer Square), Oregon Grows Great Things (2016 - we drew inspiration from hops), Portland Pastimes (2017), and Oregon Waterways (2018 - our McKenzie Hat is still a huge hit). Hmm, what it might be in 2027?
• Prizes! One prize didn't cut it. The RCYC planners quickly moved to change that, forming a Prize / Donations team and soliciting the many vendors the shops all work with to contribute. From a single prize, to a grand prize for passport finishers, to individual shop prizes. This past year, each shop awarded 5 shop prizes, and the RCYC gave away two magnificent grand prizes as well as a basket of goodies for one lucky Virtual Passport finisher.
• Swag. One of the two ways the RCYC team pays for the things that keep it going. Totes in all shapes and sizes have been a part of each Crawl for many years now. Stitch markers and enamel pins have made appearances. And the past few years saw the addition of t-shirts and stickers.
• The Mystery Alongs. The second way the RCYC earns income to keep things going for Crawlers. The very first mystery-alongs were in 2014, with designers Michele Lee Bernstein (PDX Knitterati) and Laurinda Reddig contributing. Since then, a parade of talented designers, most of whom are from our own backyard created fun, beautiful designs for the RCYC's annual MCAL and MKAL. 
• Kick-Off Reception. Believe it or not, one year there was a reception at a downtown hotel to kicking off the Crawl. Held the night before the first day of the event, makers wore their mystery shawls, drank cocktails and munched on snacks while rubbing elbows with local vendors and shop owners. It proved to be a road to far, and only was able to be pulled off that one time. If you were there, you have a classic one-of-a-kid memory.
• An Expanded Weekend. From two days, to three days, to the current four days. It became clear that trying to make it to all the shops in two days (18 shops in the beginning years) did not promote the Crawl's goals. And it wasn't as much fun for Crawlers. So it went to a 3-day weekend for a few years, then settled on the optimal four days for the event. And many of you may remember 2021, when the Crawl happened over a ten day period to accommodate the social distancing required by the pandemic. 

I'm sure I've left out other twists and turns along the road to today's Crawl, but hey, I'm getting older and my memory's not as good - 18 years is a long time to look back. But heck, that's a good summary of this fun journey we've been on. And how amazing to reflect on where it all started and where it is now. The RCYC starts planning next week and will meet monthly, planning yet another great Rose City Yarn Crawl. Can't wait!!!