Eyeing colorwork cardigan patterns? Tired of working purl rows on Stockinette cardigans? Afraid to cut your knitting? Overcome your fear with NO RISK!
In this workshop led by designer Ann Weaver, we’ll steek old or thrifted sweaters (bring your own or purchase a thrifted one). You don’t have to knit anything in preparation! You’ll work through all the steps of steeking a sweater, and you’ll be ready — and excited — to steek your own work.
We’ll be doing crocheted steeks on our sweaters, but Ann also will discuss hand- and machine-sewn steeks, and she’ll demonstrate hand sewing a steek.
What you’ll learn:
- How to crochet and hand sew a steek
- How to cut a steek
- How to pick up stitches for a buttonband
- How to knit a buttonband
- How to add ribbon facing to cover your steek (Ann will provide free ribbon for facing!)
- How to modify the neckline, cuffs, and hem of a sweater
- How to clean up and beautify your steek
- Other modifications for old or thrifted sweaters (collars, cuffs, shortening, and so on)
Skills required:
You must know how to knit and purl, have experience increasing and decreasing /or working in the round, as well as experience picking up stitches.
Materials needed:
This list might seem overwhelming — don’t stress out! You can get everything you need for this workshop at fibre space on the day of the workshop. Ann will have sweaters, and fibre space will have yarn, needles and crochet hooks for the steek and buttonband.
- One or more sweaters to steek OR $10 per sweater you’d like to purchase from from Ann. She’ll have good-quality thrifted wool sweaters in a variety of colors and sizes.
- If you bring a sweater to steek, be sure it meets these criteria:
- 100% wool
- Gauge no smaller than 8 stitches per inch
- No fancy texture patterns (simple cables and ribbing are fine, and colorwork is encouraged)
- A few more suggestions:
- Beware complex collars. The more complex the collar, the more complex the steek. If you’re up for a challenge, bring something complicated!
- The darker the sweater, the more difficult it will be to see your stitches.
Other materials:
- Yarn:
- A small amount (50 yds) “sticky” fingering weight, 100% wool yarn, NOT superwash, for crocheting steeks. Brooklyn Tweed Loft is great for this.
- Yarn to knit your buttonband. You can use your steeking yarn or a different yarn; your button bands do not need to be worked in a “sticky” wool yarn. If you’re purchasing a sweater from Ann, you can get a skein (or a few mini-skeins!) of yarn for your buttonband during the workshop.
- Needles:
- Size B or C crochet hook
- Knitting needles, size 4, 5, 6, 7 . . . we recommend bringing several sizes so you can experiment and determine which works best for your project. Circular needles of any length will work.
- Other:
- Sharp scissors! We are going to cut these sweaters!
- Safety pins or removable stitch markers
- Tape measure
(All photos courtesy Ann Weaver.)