British Yarn

Susan Crawford lives in the northern seaside town of Southport, England, where she has spent 16 years working as a knitwear designer, knitting teacher and also a a lecturer in fashion and textiles. Susan is the Editor of the successful UK online magazine www.knitonthenet.com and in November last year, she published her first book, A Stitch in Time. Susan also designs as Just Call me Ruby, and has been featured in Knitonthenet, Knitty, Yarn Forward, Selvedge and the Knitter. Susan is currently working on two new books.

Classes with Susan will be taking place in the Cottrell Building

All images © Arbour House Publishing

Couture Finishing Techniques

This class introduces couture finishing techniques which will allow you to create knitwear that is perfectly finished - looking handmade not homemade - with a garment that will look as good on the inside as the outside!

Includes the perfect buttonhole, attaching collars, finishing touches, short row shaping.

When: Tuesday, 9.30 - 12.30

Level: Intermediate plus

Class Skills:

Cost: £39

Class Length: 3 hours

Homework: None

Bring with you:

Sewing up needles, scissors, sewing up needles, variety of straight needles and dpns, stitch holders, tape measure, pins.

Minimum number of students for class to run: 10 Maximum number of students: 20

Make do and mend

Do you want to learn how to re-use, recycle, re-model and repair old knits giving them a new lease of life?  Then this class is for you!  I’ll re-introduce forgotten skills of darning and repairs and we’ll also explore some clever ways of using oddments of yarn and ‘dressing’ finished projects without the need to buy additional notions.  A perfect way to give your favourite old sweater a new lease of life!

When: Tuesday, 2.00 - 5.00

Level: Intermediate plus

Class Skills: Confident knitter who has basic sewing skills

Cost: £39

Class Length: 3 hours

Bring with you: sewing up needles, scissors, tape measure, selection of straight needles, pins, stitch holders, 3.25mm DPNs, 3mm crochet hook

Homework: none

Minimum number of students for class to run: 10 Maximum number of students: 20

The perfect fit

To spend many, many hours knitting - then sewing up - to find that a garment hangs off the shoulders, is too tight around the bust, too short for comfort or the sleeves are too long, is frustrating, annoying, disheartening and expensive. This class will provide you with the skills to stop this happening.

Taking a little time before you start knitting, to make sure that the pattern is going to work for you, could save much heartache and disappointment!

When: Wednesday, 9.30 - 12.30

Level: Advanced beginner plus

Class Skills:

Skills you’ll learn: Understanding personal measurements and body shape and how its compares to a pattern, how pattern sizing works, how to alter a pattern to suit your body measurements.

Cost: £39

Class Length: 3 hours

Bring with you: 3.25mm and 4mm straight needles (2 pairs), tape measure, pen or pencil, stitch holders.

Homework: None

Minimum number of students for class to run: 10 Maximum number of students: 20

Stitches in time: vintage knitting from 1920s onwards

This class looks in depth at what we can learn from vintage patterns in terms of fit and shaping, forgotten techniques to make a garment look beautiful on the body. We will also look at terminology of vintage patterns, how to use a vintage pattern successfully and includes an overview of the silhouettes and styles of the late 19th/early 20th century.

There will also be some time spent on some special vintage tips for unique and beautiful knitwear. There will also be an opportunity to try on some of the vintage garments knitted from A Stitch in Time to aid understanding of the fit and styling of these unique garments.

When:Thursday, 9.30 - 5.00

Level: Intermediate plus

Class Skills:

Skills you’ll learn: interpretation of vintage knitting patterns, shaping techniques, knitted buttons and other hints and tips from the vintage archive. Also includes vintage knitting history overview.

Cost: £80

Class Length: 6 hours

Bring with you: 3/3.25/4/5 mm straight needles, scissors, stitch holders, pen or pencil, tape measure. You may also bring a camera.