Workshop Focus: Would you like to learn lace knitting?

When you think of lace knitting, what goes through your mind? Shawls? Tricky? Making mistakes? Worrying about unpicking if you do make a mistake? Lace knitting is easier than it looks. I always feel slightly guilty when I say that, because if you're struggling to get to grips with lace knitting or you're knitting a lace pattern and you're finding it hard, hearing that it's easier than it looks may not make you very happy. But with the right help you to get you started, it really is easier than it looks.

The key to lace knitting for most knitters is to learn to read charts and to learn to read your knitting. Most knitters can learn to read charts if they're taught how and if they practice. But our brains work differently and some knitters just don't get on with charts no matter how hard they try and that's fine. Learning to read your knitting, however, takes more work and a lot of practice. Look at what happens when you work various stitches and you will gradually learn to read your knitting.

The best way to learn to knit lace is in a workshop. Next week I'm teaching my Easy Lace Knitting workshop at Spin a Yarn and there are still spaces available. In my class we start with the basics. Through practice I show you how to work the most common stitches used in lace knitting as well as how to read charts, fix simple mistakes and we talk about shawl shapes. In the afternoon, you actually get to cast on for a shawl. I bring a few patterns for small shawls for you to choose from and I help you get started and show you any other techniques needed in the pattern.

For a lot of knitters lace knitting means shawls and although shawls are incredibly popular, many knitters prefer to knit garments. In my lace knitting classes we do start a shawl during the afternoon but the skills you learn will also apply to knitting lace garments. 

My goal is to give you the confidence to tackle a lace pattern on your own and to gradually grow your confidence to tackle more complicated patterns. 

On 30th April, I'm teaching my first workshop, Beaded Lace Knitting, at Truro Wool in Truro, Cornwall. I'm so excited about this as I've wanted to teach more classes in Cornwall (which is where I live). Although in this class we will focus on beaded lace knitting, this class is suitable for knitters who're just interested in regular lace knitting too. I'll show you three ways of adding beads to your knitting which you can use in regular knitting or in lace knitting. I will also teach you how to read lace charts, fix simple mistakes and work the most common stitches used in lace knitting. 

Whether you're new to lace knitting or if you've already done some lace knitting, you will still learn a lot from this class. In the afternoon we'll cast on for a beaded lace shawl. I'll bring a selection of small shawl patterns for you to choose from. You can book your space at the Beaded Lace Knitting Workshop at Truro Wool by contacting the shop.

Carol said this after attending one of my lace classes: Thank you for your workshop yesterday. I had a very enjoyable day after a scary start when I realised that not only did everyone else know what they were doing but most of them were wearing their previous projects! Thank you for your patience and I can now work out what some of the other patterns are going on about now, (which had previously had me baffled by the second row!). 

Would you like weekly news from the YarnAddict Studio

as well as exclusive subscriber offers like 30% off new patterns? 

Subscribe to the YarnAddict News