About Sassy Black Yarns

Bold, hand-dyed yarn for knitters & crocheters with a bit of sass.

Who We Are

Sassy Black Yarns is an independent, hand-dyed yarn company based in Manchester, Connecticut, serving knitters and crocheters who love bold, saturated color with personality.

We’re a Black, woman, and veteran-owned yarn business, dyeing small-batch skeins that are ready to ship, road-tested at fiber festivals, and designed to make your projects feel as joyful and unique as you are.

What We Dye

Sassy Black Yarns specializes in:

  • Fingering / Sock yarn – our most popular base, perfect for socks, shawls, and lightweight garments
  • DK, sport, and worsted – for sweaters, wraps, hats, cowls, and comfort projects
  • Small-batch, ready-to-ship colorways – dyed in batches of six or fewer
  • A mix of repeatable favorites (like our bestseller Blueberry Blue) and one-of-a-kind experiments that appear as festival leftovers or special drops

Every skein is hand-dyed in our Manchester, CT studio, with both knitters and crocheters in mind.

Our Color Philosophy

Color at Sassy Black Yarns isn’t random—it’s story-driven.

You’ll see:

  • Bold, bright, saturated colorways
  • Names inspired by real life: memories, moods, jokes, seasons, and the everyday chaos and joy that make up a life well-lived
  • Colorways that can stand alone as the star of the project or play well with others in fades, stripes, and colorwork

We want you to look at a skein and feel something—delight, nostalgia, mischief, a deep sigh of “ohhh, that’s the one.”

What Makes SBY Different

There are a lot of gorgeous yarns in the world. Here’s what sets Sassy Black Yarns apart:

  • 🧶 Small-batch, ready-to-ship
    We dye in batches of six or fewer and keep the shop stocked with ready-to-ship skeins, so you don’t have to wait months for dye-to-order.
  • 🎨 Story-driven colorways
    Our colorway names and palettes are inspired by lived experience, not just color charts. Each one has a vibe and a voice.
  • ✊🏾 Black, woman, veteran-owned
    SBY is proudly owned and operated by Lakisher Hurst, whose background in manufacturing and supply chain helps keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.
  • 🧵 Made for knitters and crocheters
    We don’t treat crochet as an afterthought. We choose bases and colors that look amazing in both knitted and crocheted fabric.
  • 🎪 Festival energy, online
    SBY travels to fiber festivals and yarn events up and down the East Coast, and we try to bring that same “come squish this” energy to our online shop, product descriptions, and emails.

Where You’ll Find Sassy Black Yarns

You can find our yarn:

  • In person at fiber festivals and yarn events across the East Coast, where our booth is packed with color and conversation.
  • Online in our Shopify shop, where you can browse by:
    • Weight (Fingering/Sock, DK, Worsted)
    • Festival Leftovers & OOAK
    • Subscription boxes and curated sets

We also love partnering with designers and yarn shops for collaborations, kits, and special colorways.

Our Mission

Sassy Black Yarns exists to:

  • Bring more bold, joyful color into your projects
  • Create more representation and visibility for Black makers and business owners in the fiber community
  • Build a sustainable, thriving business that supports family, community, and future generations
  • Encourage makers to play, experiment, and make things that feel like them

How to Start Your SBY Journey

If you’re new to Sassy Black Yarns, here are a few easy places to start:

Whether you met us at a festival or discovered us online, we’re glad you’re here.
There’s room for you (and your stash) at Sassy Black Yarns.