Sifu Design Studio

Sifu is a great yarn shop with an awesome class selection. I’ve taken several classes with the owner, Lisa (Fix Your Knitting Mistakes, Knit A Stocking, Fox Hood, Double Knitted Cowl, Bedsheet Basket) as well as a couple with Audrey (Beginning Crochet) and Natalia (Beginner’s Drop Spindle), so I definitely have enough experience to say the classes are well worth it. I learn new techniques beyond what I expect to learn every time, and that’s added a lot to my confidence in and enjoyment of knitting and crocheting. As a nice bonus, you get 10% off your purchase while enrolled in a class, which applies to everything (!) except the consignment items.
The yarn selection is great, and it’s easy to request a special order for anything they carry that is currently out of stock (so long as the distributor has it available, of course) or pick up any needles, hooks, or notions you might need (including quite a bit of sewing/​embroidery supplies and a few craft kits geared towards children). I noticed one reviewer frowned upon the sale section as some of the tags were from other local shops. The reason for this is that Lisa accepts your unused skeins that you’ve no plans for in return for store credit. That means that yarn doesn’t have to sit in your stash but can be put back out there for someone who wants/​needs it for their own projects.
Stitch ‘n Brunch is every Sunday, so don’t be afraid to pull up a chair and take a look at what everyone else is working on. Or take a look through the store to find the many items made by local artists, jewelry makers, and crafters. Sifu is very supportive of both fellow creatives (space is provided to the local sewing guild to meet here monthly) and other local Edgewater small businesses. Knitting/​crochet repair and finishing services are available as well.

Great atmosphere, super affordable, and Lisa is just the best, most helpful, encouraging knitting buddy you could ever hope for. A truly rare gem.

i really like Sifu. i have visited a couple of times and am very impressed with their class offerings (though i wish they had a beginning crochet class), their yarn selection, the décor/​set-​up, and the accessories. besides yarn they also carry embroidery floss, sewing thread, soaps… prices are reasonable. nice selection of wool and wool blends. and they carry many sizes of needles.
recently came in to hang out for their Friday Sci-​fi movie and knit night. i called ahead to make sure this was still going on. lisa, the owner, ordered pizza and provided pop. they pick a new movie, at random, every week. it was really a lot of fun to hang out with fellow crafters. i felt quite welcome and can’t wait for the next one.
(also, for those reviewing talking about the «used yarn», they buy back unused yarns, in good condition, regardless of where you previously purchased it. i believe they give you a store credit, but you need to call to confirm that.)

This shop has a very cozy feel, like a tiny knitter’s cottage filled with yarn and happy people. It had a nice selection but nothing caught my eye, possibly because it was kind of dark in here and I couldn’t see everything, and it was kind of crammed in. There was a group of people knitting in the back, and someone there greeted us when we came in, but then no one spoke to us again. If I lived here I’d try it another time, but as a tourist I found other stores were more what I was looking for.

I stopped in to look for yarn for a sweater. As I am new to this, I asked for the yarn equivalent for my pattern. Lisa and Lucia helped me find yarn and a much better pattern for a beginner. It was above and beyond any help I’ve received from any other yarn store. They made me feel comfortable enough that if I need help I’ll stop in for their stitch-​n-​brunch. Thank you ladies!

This store has a great selection of yarns, but what I like most about it is the incredibly helpful staff. I’m not sure if the person I dealt with was the owner or an employee, but she took her time answering questions and helping me choose the best yarn for my project. At the Sunday Stitch ‘n’ Brunch she was very patient and gave me assistance when I needed it with my knitting project. I highly recommend this shop.

Love this place! Lisa’s beginner’s knitting class is wonderful. Before taking the class I knew absolutely nothing about knitting, but with Lisa’s clear and fun explanations and instruction (and incredible patience), I just finished knitting my very own hat and scarf! Everyone who works at the shop is super sweet and helpful and the Sunday brunches are lovely, as well! Can’t recommend Sifu enough.

The staff are friendly and the yarns are beautiful (and won’t break the bank.) What more can I say?

I hope I can someday change this rating, I liked the shop at first. If has a great Sci-​Fi flair about it which is right up my ally!
I had heard a few not-​so-​good things about it, but hadn’t experienced anything negative. Then I’d signed up for a class. I was really looking forward to it & had discussed it with Lisa 3 times. The day of the class I showed up only to find that it’d been canceled. It would’ve been nice to to have known that before I got there. According to the employee (I felt bad for her stuck in the middle of an upset customer & the boss), Lisa had no way of contacting me to let me know it was canceled. That’s not true, but I got more apologies & excuses and eventually I told the girl to not worry that I wasn’t upset with her. I did save $ 30 for not having to pay for the class & discounted on the yarn & she gifted me the pattern. But I was very tired so it barely makes up for lack of communication.
I might keep going to the Sci-​Fiber night but no one really says hello to me when I do. Getting the impression this is a very cliquish place.
I will likely not try to take a class there again.
There are plenty of shops in Chicago to hang & hopefully I can try Sifu again someday.

SiFu is my favorite yarn store in Chicago. I love their selection and the owner, Lisa, and staff are always very helpful in selecting the items I need for all my projects. They are very accommodating and never complain about winding all my yarn skeins.
I highly recommend SiFu for yarn enthusiasts and admirers.

Great neighborhood store. They don’t have quite the extensive yarn selection as some other stores (ie loopy) but there’s a solid variety of brands in varying weights, lots of needles, and some other crafty items for sale. The staff is super friendly and helpful, and there are classes and weekly knit activities — scifi movies on friday nights, brunch on sundays, etc. I just moved to this neighborhood and I’m glad they’re here :)

Ok. Let’s get the first thing out of the way… this place AMAZING. I went in with a few friends & immediately fell in love with the vibe of the store. Started chatting it up with a few ladies (one worked there & the other was just hanging out, knitting — love that) & we talked about my interest in getting better at knitting, but also learning to crochet. The conversation inevitably turned to classes, which were reasonably priced & sound like a ton of fun!
Then…they said it. SCI-​FIBER FRIDAY. A night where people get together, knit/​crochet AND watch a sci-​fi movie??? I’m SO in.
The owner was FAB & elbow-​bumped me (in lieu of a handshake) & the girl working with her gave me a TON of amazing info! Needless to say, I got my first crochet hook, a helpful book to guide me through and more inspiration in the 30 min I was there than I knew what to do with. Definitely coming back!

Their new location has so much to choose from! Much bigger than the previous place, so they can offer a wider range of merchandise. (Mostly higher-​end stuff — this is not the place to go for cheap acrylics.) Loads of patterns available, too, including some unusual vintage stuff. The staff are friendly and very knowledgeable. Worth checking out.

I wandered into the new location after grabbing some custard at Lickity Split down the block. It was a Friday night and there seemed to be a knit group pot luck/​movie night going on. How fun!
Despite being in the middle of a movie, the owner quickly left the back and came over to see if she could help me with anything. She was so nice and welcoming! (something I’ve never experienced at Windy Knitty)
The yarn selection is bountiful, as are the patterns. I can’t wait to come back!

The first time I went in to Sifu was in their old location, and I was made to feel very welcome even though all I bought was a pin. The second time I went in was at the new location and was because I was trying to knit a Spock hat for a friend and kept getting very confused by the directions for the ears. Lisa immediately looked at the pattern instructions, declared them to be confusing to anyone, and proceeded to rewrite the entire pattern for me. I’ve never been able to spend more than $ 20 at a time there, but I’ve never felt pressured to purchase something.
The atmosphere is extremely welcoming. They didn’t know me from Adam but everyone there is happy to sit down and chat about all things craft related or even just life related. I’ve only taken the Kool-​Aid Dying class there (which was a lot of fun) but I plan to go back and take the spinning class at the end of the month.
I would highly recommend Sifu to anyone looking for a new LYS.

This review is more for the store owners than customers.
I’m not in this part of the neighborhood often, so when I saw a «new» yarn store I was super excited. I came in literally the next day to browse and possibly purchase at least 5 skeins for a project I had in mind.
It was a Saturday and they had a class going. I browsed the entire store and was quite pleased with their selection; they had a bunch of supplies for any budget, plus some interesting stock (like Kool-​Aid dyed yarn). The store is set up nicely and easy to browse without feeling overwhelmed.
So, why only 3 stars? The 15 minutes I was in the store, I was never acknowledged. I’m not the type who wants to be waited on and questioned to the point of annoyance, but I at least expect a smile or hello. When I was close to the table where the class was, a woman was having a conversation across the room to what seemed like a customer, but it was obviously someone she knew. When I rounded the corner, I found two women chatting and eating custard, one partially behind the counter while the other stood outside. I gave a smile and made very brief eye contact with the woman behind the counter; from my perspective, she was more interested in the size of the frozen custard cone she was eating than to say hello (I’m not kidding — she asked her friend to take a picture of it while I was trying to browse in the area her friend was in front of). Anyway, I found the skeins that were perfect for my project, but I couldn’t see a Visa symbol on their door and frankly, I was too frustrated to actively find someone to ask. Needless to say, I left empty handed.
I didn’t feel welcomed in the store and it sure didn’t feel like they were interested in my business; it felt like a close-​knit (no pun intended) community that’s selective on who belongs there. I hope that I just got off the wrong foot with them, but it wasn’t a pleasant first experience. Like I said though, the store has a great selection and I’ll more than likely come in again when there isn’t a class, but I’ll be a little biased.

I love Sifu so much. It’s warm and cozy, the aesthetic is very DIY, but it’s the friendly atmosphere which is the number-​one thing that keeps me coming back. The social events (brunch, movie nights, etc) are tons of fun and I never feel pressured to buy anything if I’m just there for the company.
That said — the shopping is great! They’re small but still manage to have a wide range of yarns, from basics like Cascade to standards like Noro to awesome local hand-​dyed yarns, and also a trade-​in section in the back — trade in your unloved stash yarns for store credit! Or buy interesting single skeins of yarn on the cheap. They also have a good selection of needles and crochet hooks and other tools, fiber for spinning and felting, dyes, and various and sundry handcrafted goodies for sale.
I suspect their classes are great — I really with I had time to take some! Maybe someday in the coming year I’ll make time.

My girlfriend and I started thinking about taking random classes together and later that week we stumbled upon a Groupon that was being offered for a beginners class at SIFU. I knew how to knit a basic pattern, but needed a refresher course and I wasn’t teaching my girlfriend very well. We’d been in before and felt an immediate homey feel. We were welcomed. Lisa, the owner is such a doll. She’s so cool too! Most people would call her hipster, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. She’s got her own unique style and it reflects in the store.
Never before have I been to an establishment or place that has offered extra help at no extra charge. A place to come and practice what you’ve learned or to get extra help. Lisa has a weekly event called «Sci Fiber Fridays» where fiber arts admirers convene and watch a fun sci fi movie while knitting or what have you. On Sundays she also holds «Stitch and Brunch Sundays». Attendees that decide to drop in bring some sort of breakfast items to share, much like a potluck.
I choose Lisa’s shop because I’ve never felt a bit of pretension (like I do at other nearby yarn shops) and her selection is just right. Not too much and not too little. I haven’t seen yarn as cool sold at a store as the stuff she sells. I’d have to go online to find some of the stuff she sells and it’s pricey too.
I always have fun and find new things I want at SIFU. I mean c’mon where else are you going to find knitting needles with sushi on top?

It’s like a real live Etsy store!
Sifu is great. I’m on my way there now. It has a great selection of knitting yarns and supplies, and Lisa is always handy with an idea, pattern, or information. Also, whenever I walk in, it looks like something fun is going on. The real surprise treat, though, is that every little crack of the store is stuffed either with crafting materials or handcrafted items! Cute buttons! Crocheted earrings! Hand-​sewn knitting needle organizers! So if you’re still in that «I’m learning to knit but all I can make are scarves that seem to come out trapezoidal» phase, you can still pick up a nice gift for someone, or, preferably, yourself.

Due to the proximity of where I live, I’ve seen this place develop from an empty skeleton of a space and emerge from construction dust to be filled with yarn and other crafty goods.
I’m no knitter (not that there’s anything wrong with it). For those that are, this is a nice addition to the SoFo area of Andersonville. Once Lisa (disclosure: I’ve gotten to know the owner a little only because I’m in the area) gets completely up and running, I’m confident this will be a great go-​to spot for the knitting/​artsy types looking for a small, local shop with a knowledgeable crew.
More stars will surely surface as the store gets established.