UPPER WEST SIDE — New Yorkers will be weaving their way through the city this weekend.
Several thousand "yarnistas" are expected to participate in this year's Yarn Crawl, a three-day festival running from Friday, Sept. 23, through Sunday, Sept. 25.
Ten local knitting stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan have signed on to the festival, offering giveaways, treats and discounts to participants, said organizer Kristen Couchot.
The stores include Knitty City on the Upper West Side, Argyle Yarn Shop in Windsor Terrace and Purl Soho in SoHo, among others.
The annual crawl was started by a group of independent stores eight years ago as a way to stimulate new business.
"The local shops that are part of this are small, mostly women-run businesses, and for some of them this is the biggest day of the year," Couchot said. "Sales from this event can really help support them through the slower summer season."
The crawl is not limited to knitters, as weavers, crocheters and yarn spinners are also encouraged to join the festival.
To entice participants to travel the entire route across both boroughs, organizers are holding a scavenger hunt with clues at each shop.
Here's the map of all the stores participating this year:
