Friday morning
Jared
A Taste of Lace
I have particular love for knitting lace garments in heavier weight wools than is traditionally the case. I find that, not only does this pairing of yarn and technique create beautiful and unique pieces of knitwear, but serves as a wonderful learning tool for beginning lace knitters. In this course we will be talking about the basics of lace and trying our hand at making some of our own with larger needles and heavier yarn. Topics covered include how to read a chart, yarn overs and directional decreasing, planning lace projects, getting 'gauge', reading your fabric, and the most important and magical part of lace knitting: blocking.

Elizabeth
Great beginnings make for happy endings
Still using the same cast on you learned when you started knitting? It's time to explore some of the many different ways to start your knitting. Learn tough cast ons for kids' garments, stretchy ones for cuffs, multicolor cast ons that can add decorative edges to a solid garment or complement complicated color work. Add to your repertoire - several easy "provisional" cast ons that can be removed in seconds.

Saturday morning
Jared
Koolhaas Crashcourse
We will be knitting my Koolhaas Hat pattern from Interweave Knits Holiday 2007 together. We will discuss the hat's construction/shaping, cabled motif and cover helpful techniques for working the pattern. We will cover a detailed explanation of cabling without a cable needle and working traveling stitches.

Elizabeth
Pick up lines
Picking up stitches can be an intimidating and frustrating activity. It can influence the type of sweaters we attempt to make as well as leave us dissatisfied with the final result. This class will take the frustration out of holey neck lines and sagging button bands.

Elise
Columns of Color
Would you like to learn a completely new stitch pattern? In this introduction to the new Knit-One-Below technique, you will knit two colors horizontally, and yet, you will create vertical stripes  on one side of the fabric and an interesting, completely different pattern on the reverse side.
Make swatches with various selvedges for different purposes as well as bind-offs that match your cast-ons.


Saturday afternoon
Plan Your Own Aran
This course is intended for intermediate to advanced knitters, prior sweater knitting experience is highly encouraged. We will be covering a seamless design model for planning a unique aran garment, and will discuss both pullovers and cardigans. The course will cover swatching, blocking, gauge and construction techniques as they uniquely apply to heavily cabled garments. Participants should be comfortable with simple cabling techniques. We will also discuss cabling without a cable needle and steeking - two of my favorite techniques for Aran Knitting. We will spend the last portion of the course working a crocheted steek together - the instructor will demonstrate and students will be able to try steeking (cutting) their own swatches.

Elizabeth
Buttonholes
5 different ways to make buttonholes. Large or small we will cover them all. Now you can place the holes where you want them and as many or few as you like. Learn how to evenly space your button holes on any type of knitting, garter stitch, ribbing, seed stitch and so much more.

Elise
Mitered Squares
Incorporate the Knit-One-Below technique into mitered squares for intriguing multi-directional knitting. Your stripes will be at right angles to each other in each square.
Note: must have experience with mitered squares.


Sunday morning
Knitting From the Top Down
This course will cover the foundations of top-down knitting technique. We will cover various types of increasing as well as the circular cast-on, as we begin working a simple top-down hat together. We explore a variety of top-down sweater yoke styles, focusing primarily on raglan and rounded yoke, as well as talking about working set-in sleeves from the top down. The course is intended to familiarize knitters with the benefits of this wonderful technique for knitting garments.

Elizabeth
Thrummed
Learn this easy technique for making thrummed mitts and socks. Once you have mastered this no one will ever be cold again.
Kit fee of $20.

Elise
Columns of Cables
Do you love cables and want to break new ground? Learn to incorporate the Knit-One-Below stitch pattern into two-color   cables that look like nothing you've ever seen before.
Note: must have experience working cables.

 

Elise Duvekot is a knitwear designer who has recently written the book Knit One Below - One Stitch, Many Fabrics, published by XRX Books in 2008.

Elise's enthusiasm for novel techniques led to the completely new approach presented in this book. Her inspiration comes from geometrical patterns and from the many beautiful colors and yarns that have become available in recent years. As far as the style of her work is concerned, it can best be described as traditional in workmanship, while modern in color and design. She divides her time between the Old World (The Netherlands) and the New World (Canada). In addition to knitting strands of various yarns together as a designer, she knits words of various languages together as a translator. Knitting and translating both provide ideal environments in which to be creative and productive, combining the best of both worlds.

The Needle Emporium
420 Wilson St E
Ancaster, Ontario L9G 2C3
905-648-1994
1-800-667-9167

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