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HELENA - Montanans seem to be making more of their own Christmas presents this year.

Craft stores and knitting and quilting suppliers from around the state say they're doing brisk business - or at least holding their own - at a time when many of the nation's biggest retailers are struggling.

Tammy Campbell, owner of The Yarn Center in Missoula, said learn-to-knit and other classes are full and people seem to be buying more yarn for holiday gifts. Usually, she said, knitters come out when the weather gets bad.

“People are just doing it anyway this year,” Campbell said. “They are just busy making things.”

Socks - or the yarn to make socks - seem to be a hot item.

Campbell said she's selling more sock yarn at her shop; so too is Gail Green, manager of Michael's Crafts in Billings.

“People are making crafts to sell at fundraisers. They also seem to be doing a lot of their own gift packaging,” Green said, along with knitting hats, scarves and making their own Christmas cards and wreaths.

Terry Peterson, manager of Joseph's Coat, a Missoula yarn and fiber store, said the knitting market has “never been better,” and she's seeing an interesting trend: People aren't necessarily scrimping.

“They're buying higher-cost yarn,” she said. “I'm selling a lot of organic yarn, yarn from Montana, as well as bison wool yarn.”

Peterson said she suspected the higher-end sales may be driven by a desire to make a great gift and also because people are staying at home more, and knitting for gifts is also a form of entertainment.

What goes for knitting holds true for other crafts.

“We have seen more traffic pretty much generally,” said Betty Flatt, manager of the Ben Franklin Craft Store in Helena. “I think people are definitely going back to making their own.”

Flatt said she's moving a lot of raw materials for homemade Christmas decorations, along with supplies to make candles, soap and scrapbooks.

Delynn Johnson, manager of the Silver Thimble, a quilting and fabric shop in Butte, said that while she's not seeing a major influx of business, her store is holding its own and that's saying something in this economy.

“Sometimes, it does surprise me,” she said. “Now that gas (prices) have gone down, we're seeing more business. Before, people had to decide between getting gas or getting fabric.”

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