Woven Together
- Nicole Tafe
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ross Township’s Dyed In The Wool has offered inspiration and education for more than two decades.
For more than 20 years, Dyed In The Wool on Babcock Boulevard in Ross Township has been a vibrant part of Pittsburgh’s fiber arts community—an inviting space filled with color, texture and connection. At the heart of it all is owner Carol Briggs Dragos, whose lifelong love of yarn has shaped not only a business, but a welcoming creative home for knitters, spinners, weavers and crocheters of all skill levels.
Dragos learned to knit at just 4 years old. She was taught by her great aunts in Scotland, and has never stopped. “It has been my support through many joys and sorrows in my life,” she says.
After moving to the United States at age 20, Dragos turned her passion into a small business, first creating knitted children’s items for boutiques before shifting to one-of-a-kind designs and teaching others the craft she loves. “I really enjoyed watching the joy as people realized they could make amazing garments,” she says.
In December 2003—with not much more than paint, drop cloths and determination—Dragos opened her shop Dyed In The Wool in a modest space next to a quilting shop in Ross Township.
The shop quickly grew from a few knitting classes into a thriving center for fiber education—and now offers instruction in knitting, spinning, weaving, crocheting and hand-dyeing.
Dragos teaches about 20 hours a week and hosts regular open fiber nights that bring together creatives from across the region.
Community has always been at the heart of the shop’s mission. Dyed In The Wool has partnered with local hospitals to create hats for newborns and families in need, raising funds through auctions and donating more than 800 handmade hats to West Penn Hospital’s Angel Heart Program.
In 2025, the shop launched “Friends of Becky S.” in memory of a beloved community member, supporting The Nest on Pittsburgh’s North Side and helping ensure that fiber arts remain accessible to all.
“Fiber people are the most generous and open-hearted people,” Dragos says, which is reflected in her carefully curated inventory of yarns—many from women-owned businesses and nonprofit organizations. Every product is tested before it reaches the shelves, and the shop’s warm, unhurried atmosphere encourages visitors to browse, touch and “squish” to their hearts’ content.
As Dyed In The Wool enters its 23rd year, Dragos looks ahead, excitedly planning new classes, hand-dye workshops and creative gatherings. “All I can promise is fiber, fun and friendship,” she says. And for the many who have found inspiration and solace within its walls, Dyed In The Wool continues to be exactly that.
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