Why Kerrville, Texas, Belongs on Every Fiber Lover’s Map

If you feel a little sad that you missed the heyday of Kerrville, Texas, as the world center of wool and fiber, I have good news. A trio of Texas fiber folks have gone rogue, doing things their own way, opening an exciting yarn shop and fiber community center in this Texas Hill Country.

Kerrville is a charming historic rural city on the Edwards Plateau in West Central Texas. In the 1860s, the wool industry boomed here, thanks to Carl Schreiner innovating the wool warehouse. Kerrville became a major hub as a global wool and mohair source, with ranches of enormous flocks—10,000 head and larger. The Edwards Plateau remains the largest mohair-producing area in the US, although the world lead has shifted to South Africa.

Get a closer look! Click any image in the gallery below to open it in full-screen mode.

A colored Angora goat at South Texas Colored Angoras Ranch, owned by Tracy and Pat Ross. The couple are nationally recognized breeders and show judges, and are continuing the Kerrville area tradtion of mohair production. While they are known for their colored Angoras, they must keep white Angoras in order to breed the colored combinations. Mohair fleece from an Angora goat. The Edwards Plateau, which includes Kerrville, was once the world leader in mohair producers—and is still the largest producer in the US. Don Thorp holds a handful of wool pellets made by The Rogue Skein from waste wool; the pellets are used to enhance soil for plants. Mary and Don Thorp with a Harliot sheep at their Orchid Hill Farm. They are crossbreeding Harlequin and Cheviot, both miniature breeds, to create Harliot sheep with excellent fleeces, which they will turn into yarn to sell at The Rogue Skein.

Based in separate regions of the state, the three owners of The Rogue Skein had been crossing paths in the Texas fiber community for years. Between these three individuals, they owned two fiber mills and three ranches, and all were raising animals. Their fiber animals ranged from alpaca to Rambouillet sheep to Angora goats to a[PAYWALL] growing herd of miniature sheep. All produced and sold yarn. They shared a commitment to promoting Texas wool and innovative approaches to work. They became the kind of friends who have each other’s backs.

In October 2024, it became clear that community over competition was the way to move forward when personal changes, shifting business plans, and the availability of retail space in a beautiful Victorian house on Main Street in Kerrville all came together. Dawn Brown, Sarah Winterstrom, and Don Thorp jumped into a new adventure as partners, choosing to do things their own way together.

Yarn for sale at The Rogue Skein. All of the partners produced Made in Texas yarns from their own fiber animals, both natural and hand-dyed. Hand-felted soap at The Rogue Skein. Vistors who come into the shop can felt their own bars with alpaca fleece. Part of the creative fiber space at The Rogue Skein includes a weaving room, where supplies line the walls. According to the Harlequin Sheep Society, Harlequin is a breed with a unique, varied fleece, with wool that can be separated into off-white, brown, gray, and tan.

Two weeks after signing a lease, the doors to The Rogue Skein opened. I was lucky enough to be an early visitor to the spacious light-filled shop, with enough nooks and crannies for displays, and plenty of rooms for gathering and hosting creative activity. It’s now a well-stocked yarn shop specializing in Texas fiber, in addition to being a center for weaving, spinning, felting, crochet, and painting. Most importantly, it’s a gathering place for the whole fiber community.

As the partners say, “Our group goes rogue—we may do anything at any time!” Examples of their undertakings include providing outlets for Texas yarnies to sell to tourists or online, supporting those who are raising fiber animals, offering milling for custom yarns, minting new knitters and handspinners, production weaving, offering textile classes on fiber and other crafts, and hosting lively fiber social gatherings.

Dawn Brown sits with her knitting in the large sitting room/gathering space at The Rogue Skein. The building’s history as a Victorian home makes for a charming spacious layout, with lots of creative-use space. Wool pellets, processed from waste fiber for garden amendment by Texas Natural Pellets, are displayed at The Rogue Skein. Sarah Winterstrom using the felting loom at The Rogue Skein. Visitors can experiment with roving to make felt art.

The Rogue Skein, and Kerrville in general, are worthy fiber field-trip destinations. Check the event listings on their website, or ask how they can help you host a fiber activity for a group and steer you to lovely accommodations and meals nearby.

— Gale

Editor's Note: We recently caught up with Don and Sarah to ask for an update on how they have fared since the devastating floods hit their area in July of this year.

Fortunately, their properties were not directly impacted by the floods. However, two months later their community is still in major clean-up mode, with most of it being handled by government agencies.

About a week after the floods, The Rogue Skein held a gathering so people could come in and take a break—a respite from dealing with the aftermath. Since then, they have been seeing more community involvement and community support.

A ray of sunshine: Owners of The Rogue Skein opened their doors as a place of respite—and a listening ear—following the devastating floods that hit the community in July. This colorful barn quilt painting by Mary Thorp hangs at The Rogue Skein.

According to Don and Sarah, following the floods, much of the hands-on work was being done by a lot of the local churches—so The Rogue Skein turned to just letting people know that they were available. “We’ve focused on just being there for people. Being available and being open. When they come in, they share what they’ve experienced, like having their entire house flooded on the inside, or knowing people who were impacted in other ways.”

In addition, Mary and Don’s farm donated hundreds of duck eggs to the rescue efforts; for example, the Grape Juice restaurant was cooking breakfast for first responders every morning for weeks. The Rogue Skein was providing food for that. According to Don and his partners, “Community is being there for people.”

Learn more at TheRogueSkein.com. Or find them on Instagram and Facebook @therogueskein.

Further resources

• Orchid Hill Farms, owned by Mary and Don Thorp
• South Texas Colored Angoras, owned by Tracy and Patt Ross
• Find out more about Kerrville, Texas