I am happy to talk to clubs, groups and guilds about any aspects of knitting for both hand and machine.
Fees: £75 per talk plus travel @ 40p per mile
Patchwork / Domino Knitting
Hand Knitting
This is a hand knitting technique which has developed in popularity over the last few years.
A variety of units can be knitted including squares, strips and shells. The technique is particularly suitable for using up small amounts of yarn, combining a variety of colours, textures and yarn thicknesses to create individual pieces of work.
The only limit is your imagination.
Knitting with Beads
Hand and Machine Knitting
There are several ways to include beads within your knitting. In this talk, I explain how to choose beads suitable to knit with and which beads will fit onto which weights of yarn.
I also show a number of samples and items knitted with beads and explain the different techniques involved.
Felted Knitting and Needle Felting
Hand and Machine Knitting
Felted knitting is a great way to make bags, slippers and soft furnishing among other items.
During the talk, I explain the process of felting and the types of yarn suitable for making felted items and also bring along a variety of items which have been knitted and felted including shibori felted pieces and needle felted pieces.
I also demonstrate needle felting, a method of dry felting and embellishing.
New Fibres and Eco-Friendly Yarns
Hand and Machine Knitting
In recent years, a number of new fibres have been developed from both plant and animal based sources such as bamboo, soya, corn, milk, seaweed and sugar cane. These fibres are produced in a similar way.
Although they appear to knit up in a similar way, they have different properties which they retain within the fibre. There is also a growing concern about the production of different fibres in a more sustainable way leading to the use of alternative yarns for knitting e.g. hemp.
In this talk, I bring along a variety of knitted samples of these different yarns to show how they knit.
Modular Knitting and Entralac
Hand Knitting
Entralac is a knitting technique where a number of stitches may be cast on but only small sections are worked at any one time with all the other stitches still being held on the needles.
When worked in 2 colours, it produces a basket weave effect but it can be worked in a variety of ways including textured stitches. Modular knitting is very similar to entrelac but avoids the need to keep picking up stitches. Again it can be worked in a number of ways.
Surface Decoration
Hand and Machine Knitting
Although the samples are mainly machine knitted, all these techniques can be applied to hand knitting as well.
Machine knitted fabrics can be produced relatively quickly allowing you plenty of time to develop the fabric with surface decoration be it painted, embroidered, beaded or felted.
I bring along a variety of pieces that have been decorated and embellished using various techniques.
Knitting with Handspun Yarn
Hand Knitting
As a spinner you can create your own yarn but what do you do with it then? In this talk I explain how to use the yarn you have spun to its best advantage in knitting. I bring along a number of samples and items made from handspun yarn.
Working as a ‘Continuous Loop Technician’
I learnt to knit as a youngster and have been working as a freelance designer and teacher of knitting, both by hand and machine, since 1990.
I have worked with the well known designer and textile artist John Allen since 1994 and write for a number of knitting magazines including ‘Knitting’ and ‘Let’s Knit’.
I bring examples of my work from when I studied the City and Guilds Creative Studies course in Machine Knitting through to the present day, and talk about working with the ‘continuous loop technique’.
Design for Knitting
Several years ago I was invited to submit a piece of work for an international knitting exhibition – ‘Slip Stitch, New Concepts in Knitting’.
In this talk, I bring along all the development and preparation work that went into the final hanging displayed in the exhibition.
I also talk about the different approaches to designing a craft item.
Aspects of Lace
Machine Knitting
This talk covers the wide variety of open fabrics that can be produced using a single bed knitting machine.
They include ladders, drop stitch, long stitch, wave stitch, tuck lace, transfer lace and punch/thread lace.
I bring samples and garments to show a variety of fabrics produced both manually and by using a ‘punch card’.
Open Fabric Manual Techniques
Machine Knitting
This talk or demonstration focuses on the open fabrics that can be produced using manual techniques on a single bed machine. It includes the samples from the ‘Aspects of Lace’ talk that are made using these techniques.
Ways with Weaving
Machine Knitting
Weaving is a frequently underused technique in machine knitting but a large variety of interesting fabrics can be produced using this technique.
I bring along a variety of samples and garments to show how weaving can be used as an all over pattern or to create a design feature within the piece of knitting.
This talk can also be a demonstration of the various knitweave techniques.
Slip Stitch
Machine Knitting
The slip stitch setting on a knitting machine can be used to produce a wide variety of fabrics, both textured and multi-coloured.
It can also be used to create 3D effects and shaping.
Please contact me for further information.
