What we can
make right.
The short version
This is the return and refund policy for Arachne Fiberworks. Hand-dyed yarn, kits, and digital files are not returnable for change of mind. Anything that arrives damaged, wrong, or materially different from its description is our problem to fix, and we will fix it.
Contact us within seven days of delivery. If we need the item back, we send you a prepaid return label — you never pay postage on a return we asked for. Approved refunds are processed within two business days and go back to your original payment method. There is no restocking fee, ever.
Hand-dyed yarn
Hand-dyed yarn is not returnable under normal circumstances. Color in hand-dyed fiber is variable by design. Variation between skeins and from the photos is expected and stated on every yarn product page. That is not a defect; that's the thing.
Exceptions: if your order arrives damaged, is the wrong colorway or weight, or is significantly and materially different from the description, contact us within seven days of delivery. Send a photograph. We'll figure it out.
Notions and physical goods
If a notion or physical item arrives broken or defective, contact us within seven days with a photo. We'll replace it or issue a refund. Your choice. Items that have been used cannot be returned.
Digital downloads
PDF patterns and digital zines are final sale. There is no meaningful way to return a file. If something is wrong with the file itself (corrupted, incomplete, not what was described), contact us and we'll make it right.
Kits
Kits are treated as hand-dyed yarn for return purposes. The fiber content is dyed specifically for the kit and cannot be restocked. The same exceptions apply: damaged, wrong, or significantly misrepresented items within seven days.
How to start a return
One, write to tess@arachnefiberworks.com within seven days of delivery. Include your order number and a photograph of the problem. Two, we reply within two business days, either resolving it on the spot or telling you what we need next.
Three, if the item has to come back to us, we email you a prepaid USPS return label. Return postage is on us. Pack the item as it arrived and drop it off within fourteen days of receiving the label. Four, once we have it — or once we've agreed a photo is enough — we process the replacement or refund.
For small or damaged items we often don't need the item back at all. A clear photo is usually enough. We would rather spend the postage on fixing your order than on shipping a broken skein across the country.
Refunds, replacements, and timing
Approved refunds are processed within two business days and go back to the original payment method. Your bank or card issuer then takes its own time — typically five to ten business days — before the money shows up on your statement. That part is out of our hands. Refunds include what you paid for shipping when the whole order was wrong.
If you'd rather have the item than the money, we'll send a replacement instead whenever one exists. Hand-dyed colorways are made in batches, so a replacement is a new skein from the current batch and will not match the original exactly. We don't offer open-ended exchanges — swapping a colorway you've decided against for a different one isn't something a one-person dye studio can absorb.
There is no restocking fee on anything, at any time.
Packages lost or damaged in transit
Damaged on arrival is covered above: photograph it before touching it and write to us within seven days. If USPS marks a package delivered and it hasn't arrived, wait twenty-four hours — it usually turns up — then file a claim with USPS and write to us. Full details are on the shipping page.
How to reach us
Write to tess@arachnefiberworks.com. Describe what happened, include photos if there's a physical issue, and include your order number if you have it. We respond within two business days. We're a small operation, and we would rather fix a problem than argue about it.