Edinburgh wool and fabric firm Ginger Twist run by 'Usain Bolt of knitting' buttons up move to larger premises

Haberdashery specialist based in Scottish capital casts off old premises for larger shop with expanded product range.

Ginger Twist boss Jessica James-Thomson says that in the new, larger, site, 'there is plenty of space for browsing and soaking up inspiration and project plans'. Picture: contributed.

The entrepreneur behind wool business Ginger Twist has hailed her move into larger premises in Edinburgh’s Abbeyhill enabling her to expand her offering, and coming in the year of its tenth anniversary.

Jessica James-Thomson, who is originally from Portland, Oregon, in the United States, and has been described as “the Usain Bolt of knitting”, has relocated from a bijou spot on London Road to a much bigger yarn and fabric shop on Montrose Terrace.

She told The Scotsman: “Myself and the Ginger Twist Studio team are settling into our new home nicely. My teeny wee shop served me so well for over ten years, but I wanted to grow and further my business in ways that I just couldn't do in my adorable space. The new [site] has massive windows to let in beautiful natural light, a main shop floor, fabric room, dye studio (not open to the public), and loads of storage space for extra stock. There is plenty of space for browsing, and soaking up inspiration and project plans.

"Firstly, I wanted to be able to have my wool-dyeing studio space under the same roof as my shop. Now I can come into the shop a bit earlier to dye up a batch of wool and just leave it to set whilst I'm on the actual shop floor and clean up later. It is amazing.”

The business, which has attracted customers including actress Saoirse Ronan, also now has more room to showcase James-Thomson’s Ginger's Hand Dyed, her own hand-dyed range of yarns, and keep more in stock. The “waterfall rainbow” of hand-dyed yarns in store “has become even more impressive”, she said, with the shop additionally offering brands such as Merchant & Mills, West Yorkshire Spinners, Pigeonwishes, BC Garn, and Orkney Angora.

It has also started stocking dressmaking fabric, sewing patterns, and haberdashery items. “Dressmaking is something I'm also very passionate about. I actually learned to sew before I learned to knit – I was sewing hair scrunchies years before I picked up the knitting pins,” she says. “It’s so exciting to now expand into this area of business, and helps me to feel continued love and passion for my small [firm]. Always growing and changing.”