I’ve been teaching knitting, spinning, and introductory weaving in small class settings since 2016. I have many years of experience teaching adults and have always emphasized the “why” along with the “how.”
I love sharing my fibre experience with beginner and intermediate makers alike.
I teach through the Black Creek Community Association and Courtenay Recreation, and at the Creative Threads Conspiracy workshop weekend on Denman Island. See my workshops page for details. I’m also happy to teach private or group lessons in person and via Zoom. See below for some class options.
Contact me to book any class.
Private Knitting or Spinning Lessons
Do you need some help getting to the next level in your knitting or spinning? I teach adventurous beginners how to master many different knitting techniques or how to make their own yarn on a drop spindle. Private or semi-private – sign up with a friend! $40/hour for an online meet up. Limited in-person classes available, $50/hour, Courtenay / Comox Valley, BC.
Beginner Knitter Package
Join me to learn the basics of knitting – you’ll learn how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off while working on a simple project like fingerless mittens, dishcloths, a scarf, or a cowl. The beginner package includes two sessions (about 2 hours total), scheduled about a week apart. Before the classes, you’ll need to get some basic supplies. Once we decide on your project, I’ll send an equipment list.
Mosaic Colourwork Cowl
In this two session class, you’ll get an introduction to mosaic colourwork – a simple technique where you only work with one colour at a time but create a complex looking pattern. We will make a cowl using two colours of worsted weight yarn. You’ll gain skills in pattern and chart reading. I’ll also show you the I-cord bind-off with button holes. We will work with my Branching Out Cowl pattern. Materials required: about 85m each of two colours of worsted weight yarn and a 4.5 mm (US 7) needle (9″ straight or circular). Three hour workshop over two sessions.
Stranded Colourwork Hat or Cowl
Hats and cowls knit in the round are great small projects to gain experience with the wonders of stranded colourwork – you’ll love watching the patterns develop! Over two 90-minute sessions, you will explore introducing colour to your knitting! Materials required: about 300m of worsted weight yarn in a variety of colours and a 5mm 16″/40cm circular needle (for the hat, you’ll also need double pointed needles). (Some advance homework required before first class.) Three hour workshop over two sessions.
Socks! Toe-up or Cuff-down
Hand-knit socks are the best! Over three sessions, we will cover all the skills you need to make a pair of custom-fit socks. Cuff down or toe up, DPN’s or magic loop, the choice is yours. We will look at various heel and toe shapes. This class is suitable for intermediate to adventurous beginners comfortable with knitting and purling, circular knitting, ribbing, as well as basic increases and decreases.
Next Steps Workshop: Cables and Charts
In the Cables Workshop, you will knit a cozy headband while mastering knitted cables. You will be working from a printed pattern to make the headband and will therefore learn how to read charts and understand cable symbols on knitting charts. Two hour workshop.
Next Steps Workshop: My First Hat (Knitting in the Round)
Join me to knit a simple hat and learn skills with circular and double pointed needles. We’ll also cover how to fix mistakes, discuss hat fit, and look at how to adapt a basic hat pattern to add your own flair with stripes or different stitch patterns. Three hour workshop over two sessions.
Sarah Thornton 