# Mill ends



## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

what are mill ends?


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## Lovemygreys (Apr 4, 2011)

It was the end of bolts of fabric or yarn at the knitting mills or clothing mills. Sometimes they will sell them because there isn't enough for them to use.


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## Lovemygreys (Apr 4, 2011)

Sometimes you can get them at good prices.


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## gardenlady4012 (Oct 18, 2014)

IMHO, it's a catch-all phrase referring to the tail end of any kind of a manufacturer's lot. May be yarn, fabric, bricks, or anything in between. They always make a little extra in the event of breakage, and after they pack up their order, they may have some left over. Hope this fits whatever circumstance you're thinking of......
BTW, Kaitlyn, I always enjoy your posts


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## Moisey (Mar 17, 2013)

Sometimes when the kids were young I would buy some cloth
"mill ends" to make outfits for them at home, but you had to
be careful you had enough usable material because the very 
end was warped from the pull of the weaving apparatus and
usually could not be straightened out to be useable.

Also the men in the household refer to pieces of wood that are trimmed from left-over saw-milling operations as "mill ends" Some floor-boards are made up from what they call "shorts" which is more or less the same thing.

As long as your "mill ends" are pliable enough to craft with
you will be fine.
Good luck
Moisey


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


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## margoc (Jul 4, 2011)

Kaitlyn25 said:


> I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


I bought some as well in pink, green and white. So far it seems like pretty decent yarn. And a pound of yarn for $7.99 isn't too shabby!


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

margoc said:


> I bought some as well in pink, green and white. So far it seems like pretty decent yarn. And a pound of yarn for $7.99 isn't too shabby!


Agreed! I think it might be Deborah Norville serenity Chunky in Forest


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

I have hit seven knots but I still have several good sized balls cannot complain when I get a pound for what I would have paid for 8oz


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

all balled up


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## gardenlady4012 (Oct 18, 2014)

Kaitlyn25 said:


> I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


please let us know how they work out.


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

gardenlady4012 said:


> please let us know how they work out.


They are working great!


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## jersgran (Mar 19, 2012)

I also bought mill ends from Joanne's. Used some of it for a "prayer" shawl, some for a scarf and have some left over. It is amazingly soft. White, pale yellow and pale green. no knots at all. Wish they had them more often. Here it seems to be mostly the yarn for the ruffle scarves.


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## momannette (Nov 12, 2011)

I pick them up at acmoore all the time can usually find simply soft mill ends there, you can tell by the sheen in the yarn that its simply soft and if I have a coupon, Thats even better!


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## Kaitlyn25 (Dec 30, 2013)

There was some sock yarn at mine today... but I didn't like the feel


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## dearyou37 (Jul 6, 2014)

The mill ends bags that you find at Jo-Ann and AC Moore that say Fashion Plus Mill End Assortment are from the mill that makes Premier Yarns, Wisdom Yarns, and a few other brands. I know they also make some Loops and Threads v yarns as well. Sometimes the colors are a bit off, sometimes they can be an experimental colorway the company chose not to mass produce, but more often than not they're just balls where the yardage was wrong or there were too many knots to make it through quality control, or something small like that. 

Sometimes you can find LYS quality yarn in those bags. I've found Wisdom Poems, Poems Sock, and Poems Chunky. I've also seen Deborah Norville Serenity Garden, Premier Cotton Fair, and other nice yarns. It's very likely that yours is Deborah Norville. Nice find! 

There is a group on Ravelry called Mystery Yarn where they are excellent at identifying mill ends and other mystery yarns.


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## Moira Palmer (Mar 7, 2012)

A pretty yarn - hope you project turns out ok.


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## mmccamant (Jul 17, 2011)

One of my favorite days all year is the mill ends sale at the Lorna's Laces factory in Chicago. Dyeing "mistakes," odd lengths etc., all for a fraction of that lovely yarn's usual (high) prices. It's especially fun to shop with other knitters, often giddy about the great bargains and the heaps of gorgeous yarn. Plus it's fun to be in the place where the production takes place.


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## AdeleRM (May 20, 2012)

Many years ago, when I lived in Collingswood NJ, there was a shop called the "Ten Cents and Ounce Yarn Shop". There was some regular 'banded' yarn, but it was mostly yarn that the owner bought from a knitting factory and wound on a ball winder. It was what they had leftover from their production runs. She sold the acrylics for 10 cents and ounce, and other fibers for higher prices - I think the highest was 50 cents an ounce. She went out of business at the end of 1987 - had to honor her promise to her husband to retire when he did. In January 1988, she had an auction of what was left. I bid on several lots, but only won one bid. For $24.80, I got 496 balls of cotton and cotton-blend yarns. It filled 18 paper grocery bags. I didn't have a car at the time, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get it all home. While they were toting up what each person owed, I walked home to get some lunch. As I approached my house, I was delighted to see a little red truck belonging to one of my son's friends. I walked in and said, "Mark, I need your help."

Over the last 27 years, I have used most of that yarn, but there is still a bit of it here.


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## past (Apr 3, 2011)

I used to get mill ends direct from Caron Mills in Rochelle, IL back in the 70s and early 80s. They were the end of a dye lot and didn't have enough length to create a full skein to sell. I used to buy a 10 pound bag of mill ends for under $5. Caron used to try to package yarns that were of the same weight and color coordinated. I made many sweaters from each bag and when combining several bags got some beautiful afghans given for gifts. 
The gal who has a LSY near that area told me that she has a hard time with locals buying from her because they remember their weekly trips to the mill outlet and their $5 bags of yarn.


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## mobrien0144 (Sep 18, 2014)

AdeleRM said:


> Many years ago, when I lived in Collingswood NJ, there was a shop called the "Ten Cents and Ounce Yarn Shop". There was some regular 'banded' yarn, but it was mostly yarn that the owner bought from a knitting factory and wound on a ball winder. It was what they had leftover from their production runs. She sold the acrylics for 10 cents and ounce, and other fibers for higher prices - I think the highest was 50 cents an ounce. She went out of business at the end of 1987 - had to honor her promise to her husband to retire when he did. In January 1988, she had an auction of what was left. I bid on several lots, but only won one bid. For $24.80, I got 496 balls of cotton and cotton-blend yarns. It filled 18 paper grocery bags. I didn't have a car at the time, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get it all home. While they were toting up what each person owed, I walked home to get some lunch. As I approached my house, I was delighted to see a little red truck belonging to one of my son's friends. I walked in and said, "Mark, I need your help."
> 
> Over the last 27 years, I have used most of that yarn, but there is still a bit of it here.


This brought back so many memories. I lived in marlton, nj and shopped at Ten cents an ounce. The first sweater i made was with yarn from there. Do you remember the yarn outlet up near the Burlington Coat Factory on Rt 130. They also had the best yarn for great prices. Thanks for taking me down memory lane


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## riversong200 (Apr 20, 2014)

I've found some great bargains over the years with Mill Ends. I do have to deal with knots at times but I deal with them as I wind my yarn into cakes. I figure it's worth it since the price of the yarn is so good. I've purchased two bags of what I'm sure is Caron Simply Soft and a bunch of other interesting yarns from JoAnns over the past year. If you can find them when you have a 40% off coupon it's almost like they are giving the yarn away. Enjoy.


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

Great buy. I use it all the time. Sometimes the are changing the color lots, sometimes just the end of a run. But great yarn and using the coupon, the pound is about $4.


Kaitlyn25 said:


> I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


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## laceluvr (Feb 16, 2012)

Kaitlyn25 said:


> I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


Hi Kaitlyn! I have bought the Joann's mill end yarn bags since they first started carrying them. You get one pound of yarn for a good price, but I always use my 40% coupon; so it's cheaper. Although you take your chances, I have had good luck with the ones I've bought so far. The yarn can be a mixture of one or more fibers listed on the bag, but I look for the "made in Turkey" on the bag. Usually, yarns from Turkey are good quality. Because they are mill ends, you will find some knots or flaws; but most of mine have not had many. One bag I bought was easy to wind into cakes because they easily pulled from the center of the skein & had no knots at all...which was a fluke & not usually the case with mill end yarns.


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## annielaur (Feb 18, 2013)

I've seen those recently at JoAnn's but was concerned about whether I'd have lots of short pieces. Sounds like that is not the case, so I may have to visit again.


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## Spicemonkey (Nov 7, 2014)

I also picked up a bag o of green/white mill ends (4 skeins)from Joannes. I just finished making a hooded scarf and plenty left over for another small project...socks/fingerless mitts?? With some research it turned out to b a Deborah norville item


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## ramram0003 (Nov 7, 2011)

Kaitlyn25 said:


> I got a bag of Mill ends from JoAnns. I am balling it up right now


I got some too. It wasn't to bad. I thought it would be a mess but not. I was amazed. I use to get mill ends when I was a poor starving young knitter and they were always a mess trying to untangle. But these were in skeins.


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## LEE1313 (Jan 25, 2011)

I have made some great buys on mills ends,
Tons of Simply Soft for my baby sweater sets/blankets.

Some Pip Squeak also.
And some great sock yarns also.

Oh yeah tons of cotton for dish cloths.
I think I only have had 1 lemon in all the years of buying it.


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## AdeleRM (May 20, 2012)

mobrien0144 said:


> This brought back so many memories. I lived in marlton, nj and shopped at Ten cents an ounce. The first sweater i made was with yarn from there. Do you remember the yarn outlet up near the Burlington Coat Factory on Rt 130. They also had the best yarn for great prices. Thanks for taking me down memory lane


Yes, I remember the one by the Burlington Coat Factory. And when I was working in Phila in the late 60's/early 70's, there was an outlet I went to in center city - about 10th & Chestnut, I think, but then moved above Market on 6th(?). Oh, my, those places were great. I wish there were something like that in western KY, northwest TN, southern IL or southeast MO.


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## RoxyCatlady (Mar 22, 2011)

Mill ends, in yarn, can also be leftovers of a discontinued colour or type of yarn, or as others have said the last several yards on the mill, that aren't enough for a "full" ball, or they can be "factory seconds" (knots, damaged, dyelot issues, etc.)


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## tvarnas (Apr 18, 2013)

mmccamant said:


> One of my favorite days all year is the mill ends sale at the Lorna's Laces factory in Chicago. Dyeing "mistakes," odd lengths etc., all for a fraction of that lovely yarn's usual (high) prices. It's especially fun to shop with other knitters, often giddy about the great bargains and the heaps of gorgeous yarn. Plus it's fun to be in the place where the production takes place.


When does this take place? When I discovered they were in Chicago, I called to find out if there was a store. I was told no, they only opened for guild tours.


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## mmccamant (Jul 17, 2011)

tvarnas said:


> When does this take place? When I discovered they were in Chicago, I called to find out if there was a store. I was told no, they only opened for guild tours.


I've only found it open once a year, on the Saturday during the Ravenswood Art Walk, in October. You could look at the Ravenswood Art Walk website to see next fall's dates. The factory is on the north side, just a block or so from the Montrose stop on the CTA brown line, a couple blocks west of Ashland.

I've been disappointed that in recent years my favorite yarn store here in Chicago, Loopy Yarns, seems to not be carrying Lorna's Laces anymore. I most recently bought some, at retail, at Simply Sock Yarns in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They're a mostly online business, but I happened to be driving through town on one of their open days (something like every other Saturday and Tuesday).


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## tvarnas (Apr 18, 2013)

Thank you for the information. I'll do what you suggest and hopefully put it on my calendar for this October. Maybe we'll run into each other!


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