Make Design Decisions Like a Pro: Using Professional Techniques to Design or Modify Any Project

An in person class with Phyllis Bell Miller

Mar 6, 9:00am-12:00pm & 1:30-4:30pm

Whether you design an item from scratch or modify an existing one; whether you knit, crochet, quilt, sew, embroider, plan a wardrobe or home dec, this workshop gives you the tools to make more informed design decisions.

Rather than guessing and praying, the elements and principles of design help you to make thoughtful, informed decisions. Let Phyllis show you how. Using straightforward formulas, determine the most flattering proportions for your garment – length, size, and even placement of patterns and design elements. Alternation, Sequence, Gradation, Transition, and Concentricity will help you design more interesting color arrangements, stripes, details, and even edgings. Light, Texture, Contrast, and Line lead the way in making some elements prominent while others recede. Most importantly, see how Emphasis, Unity, Repetition, and Rhythm create a unified look.

Because color is so important to every design, this workshop shows you how to make it work for you. While creating your own color wheel out of pom-poms to use as a valuable tool, you will review essential color principles and learn how to create more than 50 color schemes using any color that you choose. You will also learn how to streamline your choices by using color groups, undertones, value keys, and Goethe’s color ratios.

In addition, you’ll learn how to identify and build historic and ethnic color schemes and how to capture and match colors as professionals do. The many handouts will be a valuable reference for every project. These skills apply to all areas of design including knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, embroidery, wardrobe planning, and decorating. These concepts become real design tools with the visuals, handouts, worksheets, and exercises you perform in class. The assignments let you apply the principles to your own projects and wardrobe, share the results, and get feedback.

A $17 kit fee will be collected by your instructor during class. Correct change is appreciated.
The kit will include Pre-cut yarn for making 17 pompoms; about 25 hook-and- loop, self-adhesive dots to attach pompoms to color wheel chart; 1 multi-page, sheet protector; 1 Clover Pom-Pom Maker (Small: 1 3/8” and 1 5/8”); a color card to identify the yarns included; and a large-capacity sheet protector to hold your completed color wheel.

Supply list:
• Sharp scissors, preferably embroidery scissors, for cutting yarn
• Yogurt or sour-cream container to catch and hold yarn clippings
• Pen and paper for taking notes
• About 25 sheet protectors in a 1-1/2″ or larger three-ring binder for handouts and resulting color wheels
• Project ideas or items for which you would like to match or select colors
• Pins
• Calculator
• Non-stretch tape measure
• Piece of 3/8” (1 cm) or ½” (1.3 cm) elastic, long enough to tie around your waist;
• A straight knitting needle or ruler (to fit under your armpit)