From Start to Finish: Take the Mystery Out of Putting Handknits Together

A Virtual Class With Sarah Peasley

Feb 5, 10:00am-12:00pm
Feb 12, 10:00am-12:00pm and 2:00-4:00pm CT
Feb 13, 2:00-4:00pm CST

Let Sarah help you knit and assemble a small sample sweater, step-by-step. Learn a complete process and valuable tips that will help you turn all your future knits into beautiful finished pieces that you’ll be proud to show off!

Class sessions will be recorded and remain accessible online to registered students of the class for 14 days following the event.

FROM START TO FINISH is actually a finishing workshop, but we are going to start from absolute scratch because there are a lot of things you can do right from the get-go to make the finishing process a whole lot easier and to make your garment-making experience a whole lot more enjoyable. For example: which side of the cast-on is your favorite? How long should your cast-on tail be? How do you count your rows? This workshop is geared toward the advanced beginner, although intermediate and experienced knitters can benefit if they’re still unsure about their finishing techniques. It is designed to make you more comfortable with the most basic techniques necessary in order to make your knitted pieces come together into a beautiful finished product. You will learn a plethora of tips and tricks along the way, and you’ll end up with a whole heckuva lot of tools in your knitting toolbelt that probably weren’t there before, and – even better – you’ll have the confidence to use them. Sarah has had students tell her that after taking this workshop they wanted to take apart everything they had ever knitted and put it back together using the techniques they had just learned! Our sample will be a small drop-shoulder cardigan. Techniques covered as you knit it include: mirrored increases and decreases, picking-up stitches, sewing stitch-to-stitch, row-to-row, and stitch-to-row, 3-needle bind-off, counting rows, planning buttonhole spacing, sewing-on buttons, and weaving-in ends. We’ll wrap it all up with a brief discussion on the benefits of blocking. We are sticking to one sweater size so that everyone is working on the same number of stitches. The pattern is easily customizable should you wish to size it up or down later.

Special skills or knowledge needed to take this workshop:
Students should be comfortable knitting and purling.

Supply List
Note: A wool yarn is recommended for this class (Sarah recommends something similar to Plymouth Galway, Cascade 220, or Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool) so the stitches will be easier to see and to work with, and you will be able to block your finished knitting. If you don’t like to work with pure wool, try a superwash wool or a wool blend.
• 100 gms of smooth, worsted-weight, wool yarn (approx 5 sts/in), in a color that will allow you to clearly see your stitches.
• 50 gms EACH of 6 additional colors of smooth, worsted-weight, wool yarn (approx 5 sts/in), in colors that will allow you to clearly see your stitches.
• US 7 (4.5mm) needle, or whatever size needle you would normally use with the chosen yarn
• US 5 (3.75mm) or whatever is two sizes smaller than the other needle
• Measuring tape
• Stitch holders
• Blunt darning needle
• Sharp tapestry needle
• Coilless safety pins (you’ll need at least a few dozen)
• Scissors
• Five 1/2-inch buttons
• Sewing needle and thread (for buttons)
• Crochet hook size G (or something close to that)
• Notepaper and pen or pencil
• Whatever you need to be able to see your stitches clearly: reading glasses, good lighting, etc.