Cranking Along into KAN

One of the Colour Classes offered at KAN:4

I am so excited about KAN this year!  Forward interest in the event has been HUGE,  I have an awesome array of classes & some excellent tutors to teach them.  I have added an extra class to each stream & have doubled the class space.  I'm sure you'll agree the quality of what is on offer this year is outstanding.

If you haven't attended KAN before, or haven't been back for a long time - this is the year!

Here is the class list for this year - I am publishing these now to help you in your planning.  Registrations will be opening in a couple of weeks.

Stream One - Friday 29th

Knitwear Design – 3 Hours

Wrangling yarn and needles in the pursuit of your own creations

Learn steps you can take to work through creating an original item. Identify key information you need to record when working on a design. Learn how to get inspired and how to focus your ideas to realise a finished product. Explore ways to record all your ideas so you don't "loose" them when working on other things. We'll look at ways to gain new inspiration and the benefits of revisiting old ideas with fresh eyes.

This class assumes you are a competent knitter who understands basic knitwear construction. It's aimed at a knitter who wants assistance with focus and process in order to realise your ideas into designs. It won't teach specific technical skills, rather it gives you the framework to be a productive designer.

Teacher: Morag McKenzie

Secret Codes and Clever Tricks – 3 Hours
 This is a class for new lace knitters who need a spell to help unravel those lace charts.  Common stitches used in lace; choosing patterns; keeping on track with stitch markers and lifelines and making it all look beautiful with blocking.
Suitable for beginner lace knitters, this class assumes you are confident with basic knitting skills.
Teacher: Sue Schreuder

Kaffe Fassett’s Persian Poppies – 3 Hours
 You will never look at colour in your knitting the same way again. This workshop will be for knitters who are interested in sharpening their colour observation in design. Participants should know how to knit and purl – only the basic stocking stitch will be used in the workshop. This course inspires knitters to sharpen their observation of colour by working with a range of light and dark colours in contrasting tones to create the ever popular Persian Poppies design by Kaffe Fassett. The experience gained should give knitters the confidence to use their own personal colour scheme in any of their own designs in the future.
Teacher: James Herbison

Introduction to Crochet – 3 Hours
 This class was so popular last year & I have had so many requests to repeat it again for this year, making it bigger & better! Learn the basics of Crochet, the base stitches & see how those few stitches can open up an entire new world. This is the perfect class for the absolute beginner or people who haven’t had a hook in their hands for many, many years. I promise you Sofia will have you truly hooked after 3 hours!
Teacher: Sofia Moers

Stream Two - Saturday 30th
Master Class Techniques – 3 Hours
 Refine your knitting with these top 10 techniques, including crochet cast-on (for standard and provisional purposes), 1-row buttonholes, picking up stitches neatly, increases and decreases and where to use them, grafting, crochet cast off, adding buttons as you knit, and integrated i-cord edges.  This class is like your ultimate knitting skills toolbox!
Suitable for intermediate knitters & Beyond
Teacher: Nanette Cormack

Drop Spindling for Beginners – 3 Hours
 In this class students will learn the basics of spinning yarn on a drop spindle. Learn to draft fibre and identify the direction of twist. We will be using prepared top in this class – but the possibilities are endless. Once you grasp the fundamental rules you can spin almost anything.
Suitable for beginners, this class assumes no prior knowledge.
Teacher: Frances Stachl

Web Knitting – Demystifying Knitting and the Internet – 90 minutes
This is a class is perfect for anyone who has wanted to tap into those unlimited resources on the internet, but just didn’t know where to start.  Sue will introduce you to Ravelry (trust me you’ll be hooked!), teach you how is access a myriad of patterns, online help & tutorial videos.  Much of this for free – by the end of the session you will have the knowledge to save hundreds of dollars on information so you can spend on more amazing yarn!
Suitable for anyone.  Must have basic knowledge of how to access the internet.  Feel free to BYO device
Teacher: Sue Schreuder

No Need to Get Short with it! Short Row Blast Class – 90 minutes
 Short Row techniques have revolutionised design in modern knitting.  Justine will help guide you through the short row basic’s to help create flawless shaping in your own designs or knit modern designs with ease & confidence.
Suitable for advanced beginners & beyond.  Needs to be confident in basic knitting stitches.
Teacher: Justine Turner

Knitting Limbo! Get into the Grasp of Arm Knitting – 90 minutes
 Catch onto to the biggest craze in knitting – Arm knitting.  In this class you will learn this amazingly simple technique & will have a completed project at the end.  Arm knitting is easy, quick and fun.  This is an excellent mother/daughter class.
Suitable for beginner knitters & beyond – you must have two arms!
Teacher: Nanette Cormack

Knit Photography with Stitch Seekers – 90 Minutes
 This class will give you the basic solid photographic foundations to make sure you can photograph your knitting for Ravelry, pattern publishing, blogs or your own enjoyment & feel proud of the results.  Regardless of whether you are using an expensive camera, compact or even smart phone, Deb & Rhiannon will provide you with tips & hints that will give you that professional look to your images.
Suitable for everyone onwards – you must have a working knowledge of your own photographic device.  BYO Device recommended.
Teacher: Deborah Moore & Rhiannon McCullouch

Stream Three - Saturday 30th

Publishing Patterns – 3 Hours

How to get your original notions onto paper, into saleable form and out into the world

So you're full of ideas, you've knit your own creations and now you are ready to take the next step and share your work with the world. This class examines how to go about becoming a published knitwear designer. You'll learn how to write your patterns in a helpful, clear and professional way. Examine steps you can take to assure the quality of what you are producing. You'll learn how to publish a pattern electronically and in print and how to find opportunities for submissions to magazines and books.

This class assumes you are a technically proficient knitter who has created your own designs. It aims to give the skills needed to share your work professionally. The class will discuss skills and techniques in computer software - it will be significantly advantageous to be comfortable with computing.

Teacher: Morag McKenzie

Knit With Beads - 3 Hours
This class will teach you two different techniques of bead knitting, how to easily string your beads on to the yarn, how to create patterns and you will walk away with a beautiful bead-knitted brooch.  This class was a hit at Unwind, it is great fun.
Suitable for intermediate level knitters, students need to be confident with basic knitting skills.
Teacher: Helene Dehmer

Colour work ON your Knitting – 3 hours
Roositud Inlay and Swiss Darning Embroidery Techniques
Add colour and interest to your knitting with knitted-in relief motifs, or work an embroidered pattern using techniques easier than stranded knitting.
Roositud is ‘”embroidering while knitting”. This Estonian inlay technique results in a geometric pattern that looks similar to embroidery. The roositud technique allows the knitter freedom to place a motif anywhere and to use as many colors as desired.

Swiss Darning or Duplicate stitch is embroidery on finished knitwear following charted designs. Many colourwork patterns use this in conjunction with other techniques to achieve stunning results.
Both techniques use charted designs – one is knitted in, the other is applied after.
Suitable for intermediate level knitters, students need to be confident with basic skills.
Teacher: Susan Hagedorn

Helical Knitting & Super Stripes – 3 Hours
Helical knitting- exploring continuous (truly jogless) stripes, and using it as a technique for blending hand painted yarn skeins.  This technique is great if you love working with hand painted or hand spun yarns. It will help improve your colour work for any projects worked in the round.
Suitable for intermediate level knitters, students need to be able to knit in the round.
Teacher: Jessicah Win