I am part of the brand new Sweater Weather festival in the UK (run by the same fantastic crew that have made the Unravel Festival in the UK such a big hit!). The festival is both in person and virtual- meaning, they have workshops and vendors available online, and they have some in person, too. I’ll be doing the online thing, of course- I’m still in Toronto!

Until now, I wasn’t any workshops online, because I’ve really loved the in-person experience so much (back when I would sometimes teach workshops in yarn stores or festivals in person, that is!), an also because I don’t have a lot of space to set up an in-house web studio. But a good friend convinced me to give it a try, and I bought some equipment, and I am giving it a go. If it is a big success, I’ll being offering more online workshops, too! All the workshops are offered in London time, so they are ahead of Canadian and US time. Please google to check your time zone for the correct time!

How to Embroider on Your Knits

So, the first workshop is How to Embroider on Your Knits, which is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to embroider on their knits. Suitable for beginners, or anyone feeling unsure about how to start! I’ll be going through all the steps for getting started, and in real time we’ll all embroider on a hat, sweater, whatever you decide to embroider on – it doesn’t have to be a handknit, you could easily use a store-bought knit as well. And if you know someone who would be interested, send them the link. The registration comes with a full list of materials needed, along with a printable template that you can trace onto your fabric stabilizer (which you can buy easily from any craft store, or online – find it in Canada here, the US here, or in the UK here.)

This is a custom design I made specifically for this workshop- and I think it would look brilliant on a hat brim, a sweater hem, or even done one on each shoulder of a sweater! Of course, you could put this design pretty much anywhere.

Once you start embroidering on your knitting, you’ll see how super easy it is to just keep going! If you admire embroidery on knitwear, this will really start you on a wonderful craft journey. Come join me on Friday, September 10th.

How to Photograph Your Knits for Social Media

The other workshop I’m offering is one that I have always loved teaching in person, and am busy retooling to work in a virtual setting is the How to Photograph Your Knits  workshop. Normally I love teaching this in person because I pair people up in the workshop and have them take photos of their knits in the class – so they leave the workshop with photos of their knits. That kind of solid immediate payoff feels like workshop gold to me. But in the virtual setting, I can’t quite do that! At first, I hesitated to offer this because I was so fixated on the in-person result of people leaving with knit photos, but some people who have attended past workshops said that it was so full of great information for photographing their knits that even without the paired up photos it was still really worthwhile. I thought about that a long time, and I realized that I actually have a LOT to say about photographing your knits, both on how to be a better photographer and how to be a more comfortable model, flatlays, wip photos, and I have a lot of tricks for taking my own photos! No Instagram husband required. If you would like to elevate your knit photography, for social media, patterns, or just to have lovely photos of yourself and your knitting, sign up for the Saturday, September 11th workshop here.

I think that if you get a ticket of any kind to the festival, you are also able to watch all the talks that are happening! I’m giving one too- a beginner’s guide to modifying your knits. There are a lot of great talks that are happening, they all look SO good!

Will I see you there? If so, let me know what you DEFINITELY want me to cover in whichever class you are in! And I can’t wait to see you.