Class sign up link (This will go live on May 27th and will close June 3rd for first choice selection). An email will be sent to all SSK participants when the signups go live.
If you have any questions, please contact Laura and she will be happy to help you!!!!
Class signups will begin May 27th and will continue until June 3rd. You will have the option to add additional classes (availability pending) until the minute before classes start at SSK. I will add a google form link to this page on May 27th for people to fill out. I would prefer that all current attendees of SSK try to get this filled out by June 3rd. We will do our best to let you know what class(es) you will have by June 15th. Class rosters are linked here via a google document. If you have any questions, email or pm Laura and she will help you.
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 5 years, almost 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 $60 per class 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 free 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.
And now to the good stuff, classes being offered!
Kira Dulaney
Hybrid Crochet (aka Tunisian Crochet): Delve into a hybrid crochet technique which is easy for beginners and interesting even for experienced crocheters! Hybrid crochet, also called Tunisian crochet, uses two passes to create a single row, building up stitches on your crochet hook, then working them off on the return pass. It creates a soft, squishy fabric in a process that feels like a mix between knitting and crochet, with endless possibilities for texture and lace.
Materials: 40 yards smooth worsted or aran weight yarn, G or H crochet hook -this can be a long-handled Tunisian hook, a hook with attached cable, or a smooth-handled hook (no rubber grips or thumb grooves) with a rubber band on the end.
Prerequisites: none
Short Rows: Working short rows creates curves or wedges in your knitting, which can be used for asymmetric hems, easy sock heels & toes, bust darts to accommodate curves, slanted stripes, or smoothly bound-off shoulders. We’ll talk about when to use short rows, how to alter patterns to include them, and practice different techniques so you can choose your favorite.
Materials: 30 yards of smooth worsted or aran weight yarn, knitting needles in a size appropriate for your yarn, removable stitch markers.
Prerequisites: comfortable casting on, knitting, and purling
Seaming & Finishing: Neat seaming and finishing make such a difference in a handmade project, but so many knitters and crocheters don’t feel confident in their finishing skills. We will cover weaving in ends, seaming in various directions, picking up stitches, and buttonholes.
Materials: Three stocking stitch or single crochet swatches made with similar weight yarns, additional yarn in a similar size, knitting needles or crochet hooks in an appropriate size for your yarn, darning needle. Optional: a project ready to seam and finish, swatches in other stitch patterns.
Prerequisites: able to make swatches for the class. Swatches need to be around 3 inch square or larger. Swatches made for previous projects are fine.
Francoise Danoy
Asymmetrical: Have you always wanted to learn how to knit gorgeous shawls but don’t know where to start? We have the beginner’s knitting series designed just for you! Learn your Shawl ABC’s by knitting asymmetrical shawls, basic (triangular) shawls, and crescent-shaped shawls! This class will cover the asymmetrical shawl shape.
By the end of this 3-hour class, you will be able to:
– understand the basics of shawl knitting
– substitute increases
– lean knitting in different directions
– make modifications
Supplies for Class:
Bring a skein of DK-weight yarn, US 7 needles, and stitch markers.
Crescent: Have you always wanted to learn how to knit gorgeous shawls but don’t know where to start? We have the beginner’s knitting series designed just for you! Learn your Shawl ABC’s by knitting asymmetrical shawls, basic (triangular) shawls, and crescent-shaped shawls! This class will cover the Crescent Shawl shape.
By the end of this 3-hour class, you will be able to:
– understand the basics of shawl knitting
– make guarded tab cast-on stitches -> Garter Tab Cast-On
– make KYOY increases
– even out yarn-overs
– make modifications
Supplies for Class:
Bring a skein of DK-weight yarn, US 7 needles, and stitch markers.
Painting with Yarn: Have you ever looked at your mountain-high stash of yarn and pondered all of the possibilities of creation that you could draw from it? Do you find yourself wanting to dive more deeply into expressing your colorful, eccentric and unique self through the magic of yarn?
We are going to dive deep into the psyche of the Dreamer Fibre Muse and manifest her magic of self-expression through exploring the interplay of color, fiber, and texture, to inspire and delight her sensibilities and open our yarn world up to new methods and ways of self-expression. We will knit up a simple stockinette swatch: think of it as your canvas, and you are the painter. On this canvas, we will experiment and play with different types of “paint brushes” to produce beautiful paintings and inspire your inner Dreamer Fibre Muse and give her new creative wings.
Skill Level: Advanced beginner; the student needs to be comfortable with knit and purl stitches.
Supplies: An assortment of fingering weight or DK yarns. Appropriate size needles for knitting a swatch – circulars recommended. Size US 4 – US 6 depending on yarn weight. Pen or pencil for taking notes.
Jillian Moreno
Default Yarn: The Key to Your Spinning
Your everyday spin is the yarn you make without thinking about it, your preferred prep and draft, resulting in your favorite yarn.
It’s the yarn equivalent of your favorite jammies. Some people call this spin a rut, but it’s actually the key to spinning any yarn you want to spin.
In this class we’re going to examine your go-to yarn in detail from fiber, wheel set-up, prep, draft, ply, size, to finish. Once you know all of the details that go into building your favorite yarn, you’ll be ready to tackle almost any yarn for any project.
Through detailed examination we’ll see how each aspect of spinning affects yarn, and in the end your project. We’ll learn how to make choices and shift techniques to consistently create the yarns that pair perfectly with the projects you have in mind.
Any yarn is within your reach, once you know all about your default yarn.
Homework: Have some of your latest default yarn to measure.
Materials Fee: $20 payable ahead of time
Draft O Rama: Woolen and Worsted Prep and Draft
Do you know how to make yarn, but not sure about the difference between woolen and worsted drafting, or even what it means?
In this class we’ll explore the mysterious and sometimes daunting world of woolen and worsted. You will learn woolen and worsted drafting techniques, how they are different, how they can be similar and what is the key factor for each one. Hint: It’s not the direction you draft.
You’ll learn how to set up your wheel and the right rhythm between hands and feet to make spinning woolen or worsted easy.
As you practice your drafting, we’ll talk about how woolen and worsted drafts change a yarn’s characteristics and what that means to your knitting and other fiber crafts.
Working with both combed top and carded roving you’ll learn how to make each a draft work in sync with different fiber preparations, wools and blends and what type of yarn you can expect.
Is a short forward draft always worsted? Is long draw the only woolen draft? What about spinning from the fold? Can I spin top woolen? Which draft is good for sweaters? For socks?
You will leave this class knowing the answers to those questions and with the satisfaction and confidence of knowing several ways to draft woolen and draft worsted.
Materials Fee: $20 payable ahead of time
Mix It Up: The Basics of Combining Color with Braids
This class focuses on the fun of mixing and blending painted braids with other colors and other braids.
We’ll explore how to choose colors that go together, what affects color in spinning, and how to avoid mud in your yarn. You’ll learn how to mix and blend colors in the ply and draft, and how to choose the easiest fibers that work well together.
While you practice your mixing and blending, I’ll show you how to choose colors to turn up or turn down the brightness of a braid, the best way to stretch braids for projects.
Finally, I’ll show you how to sample to learn the most about spinning braids for color, and how to use those samples as shortcuts for your future braid spinning.
Materials fee $30
Jill Duarte
Beyond Merino: An Exploration of Breed Specific Yarns
There’s such a broad range of possibilities when it comes to yarn these days, but how is one supposed to choose the “best” yarn for their projects. In this workshop, we will discuss a variety of commercially milled wool yarns that go beyond the Merino and Superwash Merino wool yarns people are typically familiar with. We will talk about specifically about Targhee, Superwash Targhee, Superwash Blue Faced Leicester, Polwarth, and finish with talking about what happens when you blend multiple breed-specific wools together.
Materials, equipment and supplies the student must bring to class: Paper and writing utensil.
Materials Fee: $25 to cover the cost of the mini skeins.
Knitting with Handspun Yarn
Turning hands-on yarn into a finished knitted object can be intimidating. How do pick a pattern when your yarn is one of a kind? In this workshop, I’ll go over how to classify your handspun yarn in terms of yarn weight, yarn structure and grist and then how to pick a pattern that will make your handspun yarn shine. We will go over how to measure wraps per inch, angle of twist, yarn structure and grist.
Materials, equipment and supplies the student must bring to class: A handspun yarn they want to turn into a knitted object.
Materials, equipment and supplies you will provide: Wraps per inch tool, Angle of Twist Gauge, Digital Scale
An Exploration of Fiber Blends
Explore a dozen different fiber blends while discussing approaches to spinning different fibers – which drafting methods pair well with particular fiber preps or blends? We will discuss worsted and woolen drafting methods and how they relate to the fiber you spin.
Proficiency: Open to all levels of spinners. This is a spinning based class.
Materials, equipment and supplies the student must bring to class: A spinning wheel (with 3 bobbins) or 4 spindles in good working order,
Materials fee: $30 to cover the cost of the fiber sampler.
