Class signups will begin Monday, May 2nd until the minute before classes start at SSK. We will do our best to let you know what class(es) you will have by June 1st. Class rosters are posted in the SSK group on Ravelry by time slot.If you have questions about anything to do with classes, please email or pm Laura and she will help you.
Hint: If you use the thread text search feature for your ravelry name, it makes it easy to find your classes.
Class Rosters can also be found here.
How signups work:
Your SSK fee includes one class at no additional cost from one of our amazing teachers. We will ask that you choose your top three classes, and we will do our best to accommodate your request based on demand/class size. I try to have everyone’s selections in before I assign classes. In the past 3 years, every single person who was attending SSK at the time of class signups was able to get their first choice class. That’s something I am hopeful will happen again this year.
Additional classes may be available for an extra cost. If you decide that you would like to add a class at anytime, just let Laura know via email and she will do our best to make that happen.
A special note about spinning classes: If you would like to take a spinning class and are unable to bring a wheel with you, we will have 4-5 wheels available for rental. We ask that you let us know on the class form because that may affect which session of class you will be able to take. If you can only use or prefer a specific wheel, please let Laura know.
Maggie Casey (spinning)
Please note: For all classes students should bring a wheel and all the parts, especially whorls (unless you are borrowing one, please see info above) and Lazy kate and 4 bobbins
SPINNING BIG AND LOFTY YARNS
Soft yarns, full of air, are a joy to knit and wear, but not so easy to spin. By choosing the right fiber, tweaking our wheels and choosing the right fiber, we can create those light and lofty yarns.
Beginning spinning skills required.
Material fee $ 8
PLAYING WITH ROVING
How many different colored yarns can you get from one variegated roving? It depends!
How you spin the yarn makes all the difference. Do you strip it, or spin across the web? Do you use a singles, 2 ply, Navajo or cable ply? Yes! Come spin and ply and see how many different looks you can get from one roving.
Beginning spinning skills required.
Material fee $10
SPINNING LACE YARNS
We will start by tweaking our wheels to make them behave and then spin a little Polwarth, Merino locks and some silk/wool top. We will practice spinning a consistent yarn, try a couple of different spinning techniques and then ply it and discuss finishing tips. Can a lace shawl be far behind?
Beginning spinning skills required.
Number of students: 15
Material fee $10
Thea Coleman (knitting)
Design Workshop:
In this hands-on workshop, I’ll take the students through my design process, walking them through each step, from yarn choice to finished idea. Using yarn that the students bring, we will first cover the aspects of fiber that affect choices, we will cover what to think about when choosing motifs, and then how to work up a basic design plan. By the time class is over, everyone will have a new perspective on pairing yarn with ideas and what to think about when creating a fabric!
Skill level: basic to advanced. All students should know how to knit basic motifs/stitch patterns and how to read a chart, but a cowl can be designed in simple stitches just as easily as it can be worked in complex lace. I encourage everyone to work within their skill set.
Materials: Each student should bring 400-600 yards of a yarn they’d like to make a cowl out of. It’s a good time to go into stash and pull something they’ve been dying to use. Any weight or fiber is fine. Students should bring needles and a blocked stockinette swatch of their yarn choice(s) to class.
Optional: they can also bring any stitch dictionary or stitch motif they would like to work with. Bringing more than one yarn option or multiple needle sizes is also fine.
Cable Workshop
Cables are one of my favorite things to work with. Especially since they are simpler than people often realize. In this class I cover a number of ways to understand and play with cables. From using an existing motif in a new way, to changing cables to do what you need them to, to creating your own cable, we will touch on a number of tricks and techniques that will give the students a new sense of empowerment over creating and changing cables on their own knits.
Skill Level – advanced beginner and up. You should know how to work basic lace and cables and be comfortable reading and working from a cable chart.
Materials – Each student should bring about 200 yards of a basic worsted weight yarn and a set of needles. Nothing too variegated or textured, as we will play with a few cables and want them to show up.
Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark (knitting)
Introduction to Brioche Knitting
Skill Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Knowledge of basic knitting skills, including increasing, decreasing, and yarnovers.
Description: Learn the brioche stitch, which creates rich reversible textures and lofty, insulating fabrics. You’ll discover how to use flexible cast ons, choose yarns, work basic shaping, and make neat bind offs to use on your brioche projects, as well as knitting brioche in the round. Caution: this stitch is addictive!
Materials Fee: $3, printing costs
Students Should Bring: Smooth worsted weight yarn in a light solid color, double pointed and/or 32” (or longer) circular needle in size US 5 or 6, stitch markers, locking stitch markers.
Homework: N/A
U-Turns: Short Rows for Shaping & Pattern
Skill Level: Beginner
Prerequisites: Students should be comfortable with Stockinette stitch and have a good idea of basic knitting terminology.
Description: Short rows are an invaluable skill to learn to not only shape garments, but to create color and texture patterns in your knitting. Learn four short row methods, including classic wrap and turn method, japanese method, shadow wrap method, and yarnover method, and how to use these techniques to create shaping and pattern in your knitted projects.
Materials Fee: $3, printing costs
Students Should Bring: 2-3 skeins of smooth, DK or worsted weight yarn, preferably wool. Knitting needles in size needed to get gauge with selected yarns. Basic knitting notions (markers, tapestry needle, etc.), including locking stitch markers or coil-less safety pins.
Homework: N/A
Brioche Colorwork
Skill Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Working knowledge of brioche knitting.
Description: Learn how to create stunning color patterns using brioche stitch in 2 or more colors. Make your brioche pieces fully reversible by learning advanced shaping methods, and explore different combinations of yarn weights and textures.
Materials Fee: $3, printing costs
Students Should Bring: Smooth solid-colored worsted weight yarn in two or more contrasting colors, small amount of contrasting lace or fingering weight yarn, double pointed or 32” needle in size US 5 or 6, cable needle, stitch markers, locking stitch markers. Optional: scrap yarns in varying textures and colors for stitch exploration.
Homework: N/A
Romi Hill (Knitting)
Shapely Shawls
Learn about different shapes that shawls can come in! We’ll go through several ways to shape shawls and how you can expect to increase or decrease to arrive at a particular shape. Then we will cast on for a small shawl made with sock yarn.
Materials: knitting needles in size depending on pattern, shawl pattern (more information will be given shortly), sock or other yarn for shawl. Note that class fee does not include pattern, it will need to be purchased ahead of time.
Homework: The pattern that will need to be purchases is Maia. Please purchase the pattern and print ahead of time. SB does offer printing for $.25 a page.
Lace Surgery
In this workshop, not only will we discuss techniques to avoid lace mishaps, participants will learn how to rip a section of lace back and knit it up row by row without having to rip the entire project out. Students will be given charted knitting homework to be prepared prior to the class: a lace swatch with a mistake in it, to be operated upon during class! Materials: swatch, double pointed knitting needles at least 2 sizes smaller than used to knit swatch, small foam core sheet (or something else to which the swatch can be pinned), t pins, point protectors, patience.