Advanced Beginner

Nathan Taylor

Color, Tips & Techniques

This is a class for knitters who want to explore the wonderful world of double knitting. That’s the two-sided technique, not the yarn weight! DK is a versatile and wonderful way of creating stunning effects in reversible, two-sided knitting, so no more wrong sides, no unsightly floats, and best of all, two garments in one, as whatever beautiful pattern is displayed on the front shows on the back, too, but with the colous reversed. Magic! Because the results are often so impressive, a lot of people feel that DK is beyond their knitting capabilities. This class proves that belief to be entirely wrong! As with any other type of knitting, no matter how complex the finished project, it is only One Stitch at a Time (#OSAAT), and if you can knit and purl, then you too can become a DK wizard. In this class we will be exploring how the basic mechanics of DK work: looking at the structure of the fabric, and how the two sides interact with each other to create the interlocked, reversible beauty that only DK can give you. We’ll talk a little bit about what is possible in the technique, to give you a flavour of where this foundation can eventually lead you, but we’ll mostly be concerning ourselves with getting you familiar with what yarn goes where! We’ll be starting with a two-color cast on, learning about simple, no-pattern DK (one color on one side, and a different colour on the other), reading DK charts, changing colors, and while we are learning all of this information, we’ll be creating a cute little coaster, with a gorgeous heart design on it. When you’ve finished, you can turn it over, and look! There’s another heart, in a different color! Congratulations, you are now a double knitter! Technique Requirements: The ability to knit and purl. Please be familiar with the long-tail cast-on. If you have never done this before, please practice before attending the class. There are lots of videos on YouTube that will show you how. It would be good to have some experience of working with two yarns at the same time. If you have already done any stranded or Fair Isle knitting, and are already comfortable manipulating two strands of yarn together, you will be on to a winner! (If you normally use a yarn guide for holding two yarns in the same hand, it will be useful for you to bring it with you.)

$0

Saturday