The Knitted Plaid – a Day-long Color and Pattern Workshop with Franklin Habit

If the prospect of mixing colors gives you the fidgets, but you’ve dreamt of putting together your own complex color schemes for projects, this class is for you. We’ll begin by learning a simple but strikingly effective method for knitting plaid fabric–a method that can even be used to recreate family or school tartans. Then we’ll use the framework of the plaid as the point of departure for fun but practical, hands-on lessons and challenges in color selection. You can learn to design your own color schemes–all it takes is a little knowledge, a little practice, and a little playfulness.

six hours of workshop time with a one hour lunch break

Skills needed:

fluency in the basic techniques of knitting.

Materials:

• Five to ten balls of any smooth (non-fuzzy) yarn in sport, DK, or worsted weights in different solid or semi-solid colors. Please note that partial balls are absolutely welcome! This is a great class for using up leftovers from stash. You’ll be mixing and matching with yarns brought by other students, so be prepared to share what you bring. We suggest Berroco Pure Wool, Shepherd’s Wool, Ella Rae Baby Cashmerino, etc.
• One 16- or 24-inch circular needle, or one pair straight needles, in a size that will give you a firm gauge with your yarns.
• Tapestry needle.
• Notebook and pen or pencil for making notes.
• scissors, a selection of stitch markers, etc.

About Franklin Habit:

Designer, teacher, author, and illustrator Franklin Habit is the author of It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons (Interweave Press, 2008) and I Dream of Yarn: A Knit and Crochet Coloring Book (Soho Publishing, June 2016).

He travels constantly to teach knitters at shops and guilds across the country and internationally; and has been a popular member of the faculties of such festivals as Vogue Knitting Live!, XRX/Stitches events, the DFW Fiber Fest, the Squam Arts Workshops, and the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat.

Franklin’s varied experience in the fiber world includes contributions of writing and design to Vogue Knitting, Yarn Market News, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, PieceWork, Twist Collective; and regular columns and cartoons for Mason-Dixon Knitting, Knitty.com, PLY Magazine, Lion Brand Yarns, and Skacel Collection/Makers’ Mercantile. Many of his independently published designs are available via Ravelry.com.