Knitting - Into the Round and Upside Down: Converting Stitch Patterns
Stitch dictionaries are a bible for knitters. Unfortunately, the stitches presented are usually knit flat from the bottom up. This class explores how to convert stitch patterns to enable you to knit them both in the round and/or to top-down. Whether you’re a budding designer or someone who likes to modify patterns, this is the class for you.
Teacher: Georgie Hallam
Workshop Duration: Half Day
Description: In this class we will take existing stitch patterns, designed to be knit flat and from the bottom up, and explore their potential to be converted to circular and/or top-down knitting. We will look at how to read a chart and will together re-chart and adapt a number of stitch patterns for our own knitting needs.
We will explore a number of cable, lace and textured stitch patterns; re-charting, modifying and discussing the pitfalls and possible issues to be aware of. Knitters will gain an insight into the fundamentals of what makes different stitch patterns work and their essential aspects. This may even give you the confidence to attempt to create your own!
This class is a useful one for helping knitters develop a confidence and familiarity with charts. This class would be an excellent lead-in class to Design Your Own: Any Yarn, Any Size, Any Stitch Hat.
*Please note that more pictures will be added to this workshop description shortly. The baby jumper shown displays Barbara Walker's famous Frost Flowers pattern knitted in the round.
Materials: Knitters graph paper - bring plenty, be prepared to make mistakes! ( can be downloaded and printed from here: http://www.theknittingsite.com/knitting-graph-paper/). Yarn; just in case you wish to play around with your stitch patterns. Needles, size relevant to your yarn. Cable needles, stitch markers, tape measure; your usual collection of necessary notions. Notepaper and pens for taking notes. Pencil and eraser; absolutely essential!
Takeaway: Confidence in understanding charts and how to convert stitch patterns every which way.
Level: Intermediate. Participants must be confident knitters.
So I wrote last week a post asking “Is my making fast fashion?”. And then I did a video on Instagram discussing similar topics in a slightly different way. And as always, you lovely humans have helped me clarify some of my thinking with your thoughtful, clever commentary.
And while I think there is so much more to discuss, here are four key possibly-more-meta ideas that have come up for me out of those conversations.
In using the quote last week that suggested that there was no single answer, and suggesting that this was freeing, I really did mean that we should sit in the grey. Not that the lack of “an” answer to this question should mean we get to ignore the question but rather that the lack of “an” answer means that we need to keep asking bigger more beautiful questions. And keep asking them.
Is my making fast fashion?
Am I living my values or merely thinking them?
And how can I make those two things a little more aligned in this moment?
These are my big beautiful questions.
Yours might be different.
And importantly this leads to point 2.