Strantarsia with Nathan Taylor

We all know that intarsia can’t be done in the round. (Well, you can do some sorts of things that involve working back and forth, and seaming up the side, but it’s not really possible to do it properly.)

You CAN, however, work a panel of stranded (think fair-isle) knitting in the round, where the colourwork does not go all the way round the piece, but is worked as one specific patch.

This is a technique that I have pioneered myself, and it’s really fun to do. Its applications are many and various. You can, for example, put a contrasting motif on the ankle of a sock, or a sports logo on the front of a hat. Fancy working a patch of colour work into the breast of a jumper knitted in the round? Thought you could only achieve it with duplicate stitch after the event? Not any more! Now you can add little patches of stranded colourwork anywhere you like in your in-the-round projects.

Skills covered: Knitting Back Backwards (the ability to work your knitting from the right needle to the left, so that you don’t need to turn the work), How to create the Strantarsia panel itself, and the mechanics of how it works.

Level of experience: Intermediate. This is a class that will be suitable for knitters with some experience of stranded/fair-isle knitting, who are comfortable with working with two colours at the same time, and who are looking to expand their horizons.

Skills needed: You will need to be competent in standard, two-colour colourwork knitting, and working in the round.

Materials Provided by Student: You will need about 20g and 10g respectively, of each of two colours of DK-weight yarn, worked into the swatch described below. Use two highly contrasting colours, and for best results, a fibre that is suitable for colourwork, such as shetland wool, or another fairly grippy, natural fibre, but not too fuzzy

Homework: A swatch worked as follows: Using DK-weight yarn, and appropriately sized needles, with your main colour, cast on 42 sts in the round. Work 8 rounds of 1×1 rib, followed by 4 rnds of stocking stitch/stockinette.

Do not work any colour changes.  DO NOT CAST OFF YOUR SWATCH!  We will continue knitting it in the class.

ABOUT SOCKMATICIAN:

Nathan Taylor (aka Sockmatician on Ravelry, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter) is a knitwear designer, knitting teacher, and popular podcaster on YouTube. Since starting his adult knitting life in 2011, he has had patterns published in the following magazines: Knit Now!; Vogue Knitting; Rib; and The Knitter, and in the book Vogue Knitting: Shawls and Wraps 2. The majority of his patterns, however, can be purchased individually on Ravelry (search Sockmatician’s Sock Shop). His first book, GUYS KNIT, from Haynes Publishing, is available now from Haynes.com

To book onto Nathan’s Strantarsia workshop please visit our website here. All workshops include entrance into the Yarningham marketplace on the day of the workshop.

Knit Nerdism with Nathan Taylor

It’s a funny thing about knitters: a disproportionate number of us just love to geek out about the technical aspects of what we do, but just how much of that stuff do we actually know, when it comes to the finer details of the whys and wherefores? And most people would argue, why does it matter anyway?

This class looks at the fundamental aspects of what makes knitting work, on a quantum level. Well, maybe not quite quantum, but very small.

We’ll be looking at the importance of stitch mount, what it means, and why it matters: front longs, back legs, left ones, right one, leading, trailing, any kinds of leg you can think of, what they do, and how we can use simple mnemonics to bend them to our will; twisting a stitch? You’ll be surprised to learn it doesn’t happen as often as people think, and it certainly doesn’t happen WHEN people say it does; symmetry is a word that has several ways of being interpreted. It’s always good to know the RIGHT way in any given situation

True perfection in your knitting can only come as a result of truly understanding the simple building blocks of our favourite fibre craft

Intrigued? Come and explore Knit Nerdism with me, and all will be revealed.

ABOUT SOCKMATICIAN:

Nathan Taylor (aka Sockmatician on Ravelry, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter) is a knitwear designer, knitting teacher, and popular podcaster on YouTube. Since starting his adult knitting life in 2011, he has had patterns published in the following magazines: Knit Now!; Vogue Knitting; Rib; and The Knitter, and in the book Vogue Knitting: Shawls and Wraps 2. The majority of his patterns, however, can be purchased individually on Ravelry (search Sockmatician’s Sock Shop). His first book, GUYS KNIT, from Haynes Publishing, is available now from Haynes.com

To book onto Nathan’s Knit Nerdism workshop please visit our website here. All workshops include entrance into the Yarningham marketplace on the day of the workshop.

Nathan Taylor Book Signing

We’re delighted to announce that Nathan Taylor aka Sockmatician will be available to sign copies of his first book Guys Knit: The Instruction Manual published by Haynes.

The aim of this manual is not only to be able to provide a beginners’ guide to anyone who thinks they’d like to give knitting a go, but also to challenge the perceptions of who knitters are – to break apart those dusty stereotypes, and show, once and for all, that knitting is in no way a gendered pastime, but is instead, a universal hobby for anyone interested in working with their hands, and creating warm and practical things to wear, share or even sell.

Nathan will also have a range of Sockmatician pins and badges available and possibly some yarn too.

Nathan will be available to sign copies of his book on Sunday 14 July between 1 and 2pm in the Yarningham marketplace.

To book advanced tickets for Yarningham marketplace please visit our website here.

2018 Workshop Tutors : Nathan Taylor

We are so pleased to welcome back Nathan Taylor, (aka Sockmatician) to this year’s Yarningham.  We are big fans of his podcast and he made such an impression on us, we had to invite him back.

Nathan Taylor is obsessed with double- knitting.  He has been knitting and designing seriously since 2011. His passion is for sharing his knowledge of DK with as many people as possible.  Pushing the boundaries, and furthering what is possible within the realms of this addictive and beautiful technique.

His first published design was in Knit Now! Magazine, and in 2015, he was approached by Vogue Knitting Magazine in the USA to design a DK Shawl for their Fall 2015 issue.

Nathan hosts a very popular knitting podcast on YouTube, and particularly champions male knitters.  His YouTube channel also has tutorials for the many and varied techniques involved in knitting his patterns, and Nathan is dedicated to making these tutorials as friendly and as easy to understand as possible.

Nathan has been teaching double knitting classes since 2014, and enjoys nothing more than seeing that lightbulb moment, when someone’s brain clicks, and he knows that a new DK’er has been born.

Taking a class with Nathan is not the same as sitting at home watching one of his tutorials. He has a boundless enthusiasm for the subject and limitless patience with the process.  Nathan gives the kind of teaching that just can’t be found anywhere else.  He makes each knitter feel like that are being taught in a one-to-one session, regardless of the size of the class.

Nathan will be leading two workshops at Yarningham 2018.  Demystifying Double Knitting and Shaping: The Future of Double Knitting.  For more information on Nathan’s workshops and to book a place, please visit our website.

Yarningham Workshops

We are very pleased to announce our programme of workshops at this year’s Yarningham festival.

First we have STITCH HACKING WORKSHOP with Amy Twigger Holroyd.

BRIOCHE BASICS WORKSHOP with Renée Callahan.

And finally DOUBLE KNITTING WORKSHOP with Nathan Taylor (a.k.a Sockmatician)

All workshops are £30 (+ booking fee) and are on sale now.  Your workshop ticket will also give you entry to the Yarningham Marketplace on the day of your workshop.

For more information about all the workshops and to book tickets please visit our website here.