Feature

Knitting has long forsaken its grandma-in-glasses rep, as everyone from glamazon Amber Valetta to A-list celebrities like Julia Roberts is toting homemade handiwork to photo shoots and movie sets. Further proof of its hipness quotient? The surging numbers of trendy urbanites who are making the trek uptown to the Yarn Company. The cozy shop's shelves are packed from floor to ceiling with cashmere, linen, and chenille yarns in every shade from icy blue to brilliant hot pink and orange. Owners Julie and Jordana offer private and group classes, which are booked by beginners and experts alike up to three months in advance. Aspiring designers bring in fashion-mag clippings and learn to create their own runway-ready turtlenecks, wraps, and cardigans. The lessons don't end there, either: One $60 class buys you the right to drop by for advice whenever your fetching sweater-to-be looks like it's about to run into a snarl.