Jim and Susan Bateman own the Yarn Barn in downtown Lawrence. Susan started the Yarn Barn in 1971, because, as a student in the weaving program at KU, she had trouble finding any supplies, even yarn.  In the early years,  she found textile mill sources, mostly along or near the east coast.  Hobby users for weaving, and then knitting, were primary customers.  The demand for how-to classes grew steadily.

In 1987, already in a different retail business in downtown Lawrence, Jim married Susan and quickly learned that he had also married the Yarn Barn with its inventory of knitting, weaving, and spinning supplies.  Jim’s background as a farm boy made him a natural for a business needing long-term planning skills.

Through more than 50 years of supplying materials to knitters, weavers, crocheters, and spinners, Yarn Barn has seen the need people feel to make something with their hands and the joy they get from the process.  This became even more apparent during Covid.  Customers from around the country might have called for technical help or to place an order, but each contact revealed the caller’s need for purpose, a sense of productivity, and above all, the reassurance that they were part of a community.