Illustrated mock-up of Knit Dallas. Courtesy of Meredith Zapata.
Update (Nov. 28): This story has been updated to reflect the version in the Advocate‘s December 2022 issue.
Forest Hills neighbor Meredith Zapata has seen several local yarn stores close over the past few years.
There was even one in East Dallas’ Medallion Center, called Fleece. A victim of the pandemic, it closed its doors in 2020 after more than a decade in business.
The business closures were part of the reason why Zapata decided to open her own yarn store, Knit Dallas, which debuted in Lakewood last month.
Zapata started knitting when her kids were little, over a decade ago, though it was slow going. She says it took about a year to complete her first scarf. Then again, she was having to worry about taking care of her children.
“It was very therapeutic just to sit and knit,” she says. “And it was meditative, in the rhythm of knitting. And you could kind of just zone out. Or maybe it was that you became more focused on just your knitting, and everything else just fell away. You didn’t have to think about it.”
She says she remembers visiting a yarn store in the State Thomas area years ago and being mesmerized by the fibers and the colors.
When she was ready to start her own business, Zapata knew she wanted to open a store in East Dallas. It had to be somewhere close to Central Expressway, accessible to customers throughout Dallas. But she also wanted it to be in the neighborhood, close to home.
She landed on a location at the southeast corner of E. Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road. The retailers in the strip center have all been so welcoming, she says.
“I wanted a place that would be a community place where everyone could come who either already knits and crochets and does other fiber arts, or wants to learn about these things — but a place that was very inclusive so that everyone felt welcome here,” she says.
Yarns from Texas and across the world are available at the store, but Zapata says she has a focus on natural fibers and companies that produce in a sustainable way, treating their animals and human employees well. Brands include Blue Sky Fibers, Myak, Baltimore-based Plied Yarns, Woolfolk, Manos del Uruguay and Madelinetosh.
Inside the store, yarns of all colors fill white cubbies and hang from pegboards lining the walls. Customers can relax in the seating areas, which are placed throughout Knit Dallas.
Eventually, Zapata says she plans to offer classes on knitting and crocheting, with more to come. But for now, she’s just working on getting her first business off and running.
“I just want this to be a community place that everyone feels welcome to come in and learn, and sit and knit for a while with their friends,” she says.
