When JOANN locked its doors for the last time on May 30, 2025, millions of crafters lost the store they had relied on for decades. If you're still hunting for your next skein, you're not alone. Here's an honest map of where to buy yarn now, what happened to Big Twist, and how to shop online without holding the yarn in your hands first.
Key Takeaways - JOANN filed for bankruptcy twice and closed all ~800 stores by May 30, 2025, cutting roughly 19,000 jobs (NPR, Axios, 2025). - Big Twist did not disappear. Michaels bought JOANN's brands and relaunched Big Twist in stores and online on October 31, 2025 (Michaels, 2025). - You have more good options than it feels like: Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Amazon, and online shops like Hobbii, LoveCrafts, and WeCrochet. - For a worsted you would have grabbed off a JOANN shelf, a #4 weight like Estako Star-Worsted is a close, OEKO-TEX® certified match, with one yardage caveat below.
What happened to JOANN?
As of 2026, JOANN is closed for good. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in under a year, first in March 2024 and again on January 15, 2025, and the second filing ended in a full liquidation of all roughly 800 stores across 49 states by May 30, 2025 (NPR, 2025). About 19,000 people lost their jobs, most of them part-time store associates (Axios, 2025).
The online store is gone too. Joann.com no longer takes orders, and Michaels now owns JOANN's brand and intellectual property, so former customers are pointed there instead. If you had a JOANN rewards balance or a go-to aisle, that's why your old links no longer work.
It helps to know the closure was a financial story, not a craft story. Demand for yarn never dropped. The knitting and crochet market is projected to grow by 10.69 billion dollars between 2024 and 2028, a compound annual growth rate of about 6.4% (Technavio via PR Newswire, 2025). The Craft Yarn Council estimates more than 50 million people in the United States knit, crochet, or craft with yarn (Craft Yarn Council). The shelves emptied. The community did not.
Where can you buy yarn now that JOANN is closed?
You have both in-store and online options, and most former JOANN shoppers land at Michaels first. After JOANN closed, Michaels acquired its brands, expanded its yarn selection by about a quarter, and added dedicated Knit & Sew sections (Michaels, 2025). Here's the honest rundown, big box to boutique.
In-store and mass market
- Michaels carries the widest everyday range and now stocks the relaunched Big Twist line, in stores and on michaels.com.
- Hobby Lobby is the closest big-box stand-in for JOANN's value acrylics, including its own I Love This Yarn! line.
- Walmart and Amazon cover convenience and price, with the usual mass brands like Red Heart, Caron, and Lion Brand, plus third-party sellers.
Online-first shops
- Hobbii (ships from Denmark) leans budget, with a large catalog and free patterns.
- LoveCrafts is a big crafting marketplace spanning beginner to advanced.
- WeCrochet / KnitPicks offers strong house-brand value for pattern-driven makers.
- Herrschners, a 126-year-old mail-order crafts retailer, now distributes Big Twist, so it is a direct path for that specific yarn.
- Jimmy Beans Wool sits in the mid-to-premium online lane with yarns and kits.
Local yarn stores (LYS) are worth a fresh look. They carry hand-dyed and premium fibers, and the in-person expertise that a big box never offered.
Our take: there's no single JOANN replacement, and any guide that names just one is selling you something. The right shop depends on the project in front of you. Match the yarn to the make first, then pick the store that carries it.
What happened to Big Twist yarn?
Good news: Big Twist survived the closure. When JOANN liquidated, Michaels acquired its private-label brands and relaunched Big Twist in stores and online on October 31, 2025, across lines like Value, Posh, Twinkle, and Baby Bear (Michaels, 2025). Herrschners also began distributing Big Twist in 2025 (Craft Gossip, 2025).
So if you specifically want Big Twist, you can still get it. The yarn most people are searching to replace is Big Twist Value: a Category #4 worsted, 100% acrylic, in a generous 6 oz / 170 g, roughly 380-yard skein, machine washable, made in Turkey (Ravelry; Herrschners). That profile, a big, cheap, easy-care worsted, is exactly what made it a blanket-and-amigurumi workhorse.
What is the best Big Twist substitute?
The best substitute matches the weight class first. Big Twist Value was a Category #4 worsted, knit at about 16 to 20 stitches per 4 inches in the Craft Yarn Council's standard yarn weight system (Craft Yarn Council, 2026). Match that #4 worsted weight with an easy-care fiber and your existing patterns translate directly. Everything else is feel and budget.
If you want a step up from pure acrylic, a worsted wool blend fits the same patterns with a little more warmth and structure. That's where our Estako Star-Worsted lands: a 75% acrylic, 25% wool, #4 worsted at 100 g / 186 yds, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified and machine friendly. It works on the same hooks and needles your Big Twist patterns call for.
One honest caveat on yardage, so your skein math works out. Big Twist Value packs about 380 yards in a large 170 g skein, while Star-Worsted is a smaller 100 g / 186 yd ball. Plan on roughly two skeins of Star-Worsted for every one Big Twist Value ball by yardage. We'd rather you over-order by one ball than run short mid-blanket on a dye lot you can't rematch.
For softer, cotton-rich makes, the same logic points elsewhere in our range. Royal Cotton suits crisp, washable projects, Happy Cotton gives a softer cotton blend, and DailyKnit-DK is an easy everyday acrylic for big, washable throws. If weights still confuse you, our yarn weight guide lines them all up.
How do you buy yarn online without seeing it first?
More than 50 million people in the United States knit, crochet, or craft with yarn (Craft Yarn Council), and with JOANN's aisles gone, more of that shopping has moved online. Buying online removes the squeeze-and-feel test, so specs and a swatch do the work. Check three things on the label: the weight category (#1 through #7), the fiber, and the recommended hook or needle. Match those to your pattern and the yarn will behave, even sight unseen.
A few habits make online buying safe. Buy one skein first and swatch it before you commit to a project's worth. Order all the yarn for one project in a single purchase so the dye lots match, since a mid-project color shift is the most common online regret. And read the fiber care, because acrylic, cotton, and wool each wash differently.
This is also where certification earns its keep. Every Estako line is OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified, which means it has been tested for harmful substances, a useful signal when you can't inspect the yarn in person. We ship worldwide with duties included, so the price you see at checkout is the price you pay, with no surprise customs bill on delivery. If you're newer to all this, our guide to the best yarn for beginners is a gentler starting point, and our fiber comparison explains cotton versus wool versus acrylic in plain terms.
I started Estako because I wanted yarn I'd happily knit with myself: certified, honestly described, and shipped without nasty surprises at the door. If JOANN's closing left you without a home shop, I'd be glad to be one of your options. Browse the full collection and order a single skein to test before you stock up.
Esref
Frequently Asked Questions
Is JOANN really closed for good?
Yes. JOANN closed all of its roughly 800 US stores by May 30, 2025, after a second bankruptcy filing in January 2025, and joann.com no longer sells yarn (NPR, 2025). Michaels now owns the JOANN brand and its private labels.
Can I still buy Big Twist yarn?
Yes. Michaels relaunched Big Twist in stores and online on October 31, 2025, and Herrschners distributes it as well (Michaels, 2025). The popular Value line is a #4 worsted, 100% acrylic, about 380 yards per 170 g skein.
What is a good substitute for Big Twist Value?
Any Category #4 worsted, easy-care yarn will follow the same patterns. A worsted wool blend like Estako Star-Worsted (75% acrylic, 25% wool, 100 g / 186 yds, OEKO-TEX® certified) is a close match, though you will need about two skeins per old Big Twist ball by yardage.
Where do most former JOANN shoppers buy yarn now?
Most land at Michaels first, since it bought JOANN's brands and expanded its yarn range (Michaels, 2025). Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Amazon, and online shops like Hobbii, LoveCrafts, and WeCrochet round out the everyday options.
How do I avoid color mismatches when buying yarn online?
Buy all the yarn for one project in a single order so the dye lots match, and swatch one skein before committing. A mid-project dye-lot change is the most common online buying regret, and it is easy to avoid by ordering together.
