Beginning Knitting with Lorilee Beltman Part 1

Welcome, beginning knitters! What a good time to pick up a new craft, or get a refresher on the meditative, comforting art of knitting.

Lorilee has designed a beginning project called “Brick and Mortar”. With this project, you’ll be building your skills and joining the community of knitters at Bazaar Girls, a brick and mortar shop.

During this Zoom class recording, Lorilee will start you at the beginning: casting on, and at the end, you’ll have the choice of seaming your fancy little squares into mitts to keep your hands warm or shrinking your square into a felted coaster. Either way, you win.

You will learn:

• A bit about yarn weights and types;
• A bit about needle sizes and types;
• An explanation about gauge;
• Knitting abbreviations;
• Casting on using the long tail method;
• How to make a knit stitch with two styles to choose from—English method or Continental method;
• Garter stitch fabric;
• Incorporated I-cord edge;
• Slip stitch;
• Changing colors and making stripes;
• Keeping track of where you are by reading your knitting;
• Following a pattern;
• A bit of knitting etiquette;
• The importance of the knitting community;
• A mini-introduction to reading knitting charts;
• Seaming;
• Weaving in yarn ends;
• Felting, or shrinking something on purpose;
• How to care for and wash your knitting without felting it.

What you will need:

• Yarn: Two 50-gram balls of worsted weight yarn, one each of two different colors. The knitter may choose which is the main color, and which is the contrast color. There is enough yarn to make the class project (two mitts or two felted coasters) in class; then after class, you’ll have enough yarn to make them again reversing the color scheme;
• Needle: One 24-inch long circular needle size US 6 (4.0 mm);
• Blunt-tip tapestry needle for sewing up the edge;
• Locking stitch markers. Two are needed, one each of two different colors;
• Pattern and class handout, which is included in your fee. After you purchase this class. Dana will email you the pattern and handout. Please make sure your email address is included in your purchase information.