Beauty Wool: 1135 Nanjing Xi Lu, by Shaanxi Bei Lu, 6267 2622. What the Quilting Shop is to piecers Beauty Wool is to knitters. Beautiful imported yarns (with hefty prices to match), this is also the place to find knitting needles with the SIZE clearly displayed as well as those elusive cable needles for knitting in the round. Knitting assistance is also provided to those in a jam, although bear in mind that a dearth of English speakers means that non-Chinese will be shown rather than told how to get out of your fix.

Ruijin Lu between Fuxing Lu and Taikang Lu: Those seeking good yarn at reasonable prices can generally find everything they need in the yarn shops sprinkled along this stretch of Ruijin Lu. The shops are located at the following addresses along Ruijin Lu: 388 (at the top of Taikang Lu), 215 (near Jianguo Lu), 202 (on the other side of Jianguo Lu – there are actually TWO shops with this number, separated by a few storefronts), and 149 (near Fuxing Lu). Beware that the Chinese have a habit of assigning a single street number to an entire block, so don’t be put off when you find 388 and see it attached to a clothing shop – just keep looking along the block.

As labels are in Chinese it can be hard for inexperienced knitters to weight of yarn – ie dk, worsted, etc. – they are buying. You can also find bamboo needles here but once again, there are no indications of what size needle you are buying. If you take along a picture of what you’d like to knit, however, you’ll be shown what yarn to buy, how much of it, and what size needles you’ll need. And the prices are much cheaper than anything you’d find in the west.

My Knitting Needle Lady, 225 Fuyou Lu in the Yuyuan Garden area, Stall number C74 : Jennifer Caringi found this one for us. Here you can actually find bamboo needles with balls on the end –a godsend for those of us who don’t knit in the round and who don’t want to pay Beauty Wool prices. She also sells darning needles, crochet hooks and big safety pins.

Shanghai Folink Yarn Company, 259 Wuzhong Lu, 7th floor: A factory outlet for yarn – who knew? This place can be tough to find. Head down the drive past the guard and around the corner to the back of the building. Trundle along past a big black gate, and KEEP trundling past the entrance with a sign posted on the right saying “Runmoon”. The next building entrance should have a long white sign to its right with Chinese characters in black running down it. This is the one you want. Take the elevator to the 7th floor, turn right on exiting the lift and then left. You’re there! The first door on the right holds discounted yarns, so have a browse. The second room on your right has samples of all they produce, and you can ask for them to bring you however much of whatever takes your fancy. There are some nice yarns here that say interesting things like “made in Italy” and “made in England”. Sure. But keep in mind that this goldmine is moving in the new year. We will keep you posted.