If knitting or crochet is your thing why not go along to a knit club? These are drop-in groups held in a public place and are usually very friendly and good fun. The people there will probably be more than happy to remind you of how to knit and sort out your project if you hit difficulties!
I go to the Monday night one at the Yew Tree in Malin Bridge Bridge and we are always happy to give any basic knitting/crochet advice, teach beginners, and usually have a stash of wool and knitting needles in case anyone turns up empty handed!
N.b. it would be a good idea to check the groups listed below are running before turning up – I have found most of this info on the web and don’t know how current it is.
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MONDAY
S13 Community Crafts - Woodhouse Library. Mondays 10.30am-12.30pm. 0114 269 2607
S9 Darnall Craft Group - Darnall and District Community Centre, Darnall Road S9 5AF. Mondays 10am-2pm. Contact: grandyann@hotmail.com
S1 Benjamin Huntsman Wetherspoon's pub (next to John Lewis), Mondays 8-10 pm, weekly
S3 Harlequin pub, 108 Nursery Street, (upstairs) last Monday of the month (except December) from 6-10pm.
S6 Knit and Natter Yew Tree Inn, Malin Bridge Bridge (Upstairs bar) 1st and 3rd Monday of the month 8-10pm.
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TUESDAY
S10 Craft Angels, Crosspool, S10 5NH, S10 5NH. 1st Tuesday in the month. £5 for tea, cake and chat. Tel 0114 2667339
S10 Broomhill Library - Craft Group. Every Tuesday and Wednesday- unsure of time.
S36 Knitting Group at Stocksbridge Library Tuesday 1.30 – 3 pm (Tel: 0114 273 4205)
S17 Totley Library Craft Group - Totley Library, 205 Baslow Rd. S17 4DT. Tuesday 2-4pm. totley.library@sheffield.gov.uk
S11 Psalter tavern knit club, 7-10pm every Tuesday.S11 Porter Brook Ecclesall Road, 7-9pm ish, sometimes later, every Tuesday. Katie Weston 07745529597
S7 Robin Hood pub at Millhouses (Abbeydale Road) Tuesday (Fortnightly) 7.30pm
S11 Hulleys coffee shop at Banner Cross on Tuesday evenings
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WEDNESDAY
S3 Sheffield Knitters - Premier Inn Bar/Restaurant, 19 Angel Street, S3 8LN. Wednesday 11am - 1pm. Contact: sheffieldknitters@gmail.com
S10 Stitch in Time - Sheffield Jesus Centre, 93 Broomspring Lane, S10 2SB. Wednesday 11am -1pm. lois.herring.mja@googlemail.com
S10 Pins N Needles Commonside every Wednesday at 2pm. Admission is £1 and includes refreshments.
S20 Waterthorpe Craft Group - Thorpe Green Meeting Room, 1 Thorpe Green, S20 7HA. Wed 1-3pm. Contact: Jean Carter, 247 3916
S10 Broomhill Library - Craft Group. Every Tuesday and Wednesday- 10.30-12pm. Contact: 273 4276.
S12 Christ Church Craft Group - Sheffield Road S12 4LR, every Wednesday 1-3pm. Contact: June Fox: 248 9894, junefox@cchackenthorpe.wanadoo.co.uk
S1 John Lewis restaurant - evening, last Wednesday in the month
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THURSDAY
S1 Starbucks, Orchard Square from 10.00 am meeting in the upstairs seating area (not sure how frequent).
S20 Crystal Peaks Peaks Knit n natter - every Thursday 10.00am-12.00pm the Art Space Crystal Peaks Library.
S20 Beighton Knit n natter - every Thursday 10.00am-12.00pm at the Lifestyle Centre, High Street, Beighton.
S10 St.Mary's Church Hall, South Rd, Walkley Knit & Natter, Thursdays, 12.30 - 2.30 pm.
S13 Handsworth Craft Group - Handsworth Parish Centre, Handsworth Road, S13 9BZ . Thursdays 1-3pm. Contact: 269 2537
S10 Pins N Needles Commonside every Thursday at 2pm. Admission is £1 and includes refreshments.
S2 S2 Knitting Circle - Every Thursday at 4pm. Learn For Life Enterprise, 241 - 243 London Road, S2 4NF - 243 London Road, S2 4NF. Entry £1 tel: 01142559080 hayley@learnforlifeenterprise.com
S1 Sheffield Knitpickers, Bear and Bungalows, Division St in town 1st Thurs of the month 4.30- 8pm
S11 Cocoa Lounge 462 Ecclesall Road - Last Thursday of the Month 7.30 - 10pm
S2 Heely City Farm Starting on Thursday 16th Feb 2012 6pm - 9pm in The Farm Kitchen Cafe, will meet every two weeks thereafter.
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FRIDAY
S9 Crafty Crafters Darnall Library Darnall, Friday Mornings
S10 Craft Angels, Crosspool, S10 5NH, S10 5NH 10.30am till noon. Tel 0114 2667339 (not sure if there is a charge)
S13 Woodhouse Knitting group: Salvation Army Citadel, Tannery Street, Woodhouse. 9-11am every Friday. Contact details: 07789 110280
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SATURDAY
S36 Stocksbridge Knit & Chat, Downstairs room of Stocksbridge Library, Manchester Road. Every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month 10am till noon.
S1 Sheffield Knitting & Crochet Guild 1st Saturday every month 2pm URC, Chapel Walk (elizabeth.dimbleby@gmail.com)
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SUNDAY
S10 Pins N Needles - Commonside every second Sunday of the month at 2pm. £1 (includes refreshments).
S11 Wool Baa – Hunters Bar, 7pm - 9.30pm, last Wednesday in the month
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…….and there may be more that I am unaware of!
Check out the knitting group on the Sheffield forum (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=74) or the Sheffield Knitters group on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com) [which is where I got most of this info!] for more up to date notices. There are also some listings in http://www.sheffieldhelpyourself.org.uk/
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Wednesday 8 February 2012
CCS Create Course - Knitting Basics
I was recently involved in teaching my first ever knitting workshop as part of a course about different sorts of creativity offered by the church I am part of …….if you are interested, here are my handouts!
Knitting – the basics
If you, like many people look at hand knitted or crocheted items and think “wow…I could never do that” You are wrong! With a bit of practice anyone can do it! Hopefully this session will show you how!
Before beginning to knit you need to get your wool onto your needles. This is known as casting on. There are lots of different ways of doing this – to see a demonstration of the method we learned in the workshop go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uw-nUvGrBY
There are 2 basic stitches to learn, knit stitch and purl stitch, which are the opposite of each other.· To start your napkin ring cast on 7 stitches
There are 2 basic stitches to learn, knit stitch and purl stitch, which are the opposite of each other.
<---------- If you knit one row and purl the next you are producing your knitting in stocking stitch (lots of rows of Vs on one side, and lots of wavy shapes on the other side of your work).· We’ll make our first napkin ring in garter stitch and see how we go!
Knit stitch:
Start with your wool at the back of your work and with your right hand needle go through the front of the stitch on the left needle from left to right then take the wool around the back and between the needles , tilt the right needle down drawing the wool tail through the stitch on your left needle (you now have a new loop on your right needle), and pull the stitch off your left needle.
To see a demonstration of the method we learned in the workshop go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uw-nUvGrBY. For a good set of drawings go to: http://www.learn2knit.co.uk/ 
Casting off: when you have finished your item you need to take your work off the needles and create a finished top edge. This is known as casting off. To do this, you need to knit as normal for 2 stitches, then pass the first stitch over the top of the second, and off the needle. Knit the next stitch, and then pass the second stitch over it and off the needle and so on until all of your stitches but one are off thneedle. Cut your wool leaving a c.20cm tail and thread the end through the stitch still on the needle, pull the stitch off the needle and you are done!
Continuing with your napkin ring.......
· Knit 16 rows
Making the button hole for your napkin ring:
· On the 17th row knit 3 stitches. Cast off 1 stitch (knit 1, then pass previous stitch over it and off the needles). Knit 3 stitches.
· On the 18th row knit 3 stitches. Cast on 1 stitch. Knit 3 stitches
· Row 19: knit all stitches
· Row 20: cast off all stitches
· Decorate your napkin ring with buttons, flowers, etc. The examples used herehhave been taken from : http://faeryfaysflowersknits.blogspot.com/p/pretty-crochet-flowers.html and http://s6girl.blogspot.com/2012/02/flower-brooch.html
· Sew in the loose ends of wool with a darning needle
Et voila! - C’est fini :c)
Purl stitch: a purl stitch is the exact opposite of a knit stitch, instead of starting with your wool at the back of your work and going through the front of the stitch on the left needle from left to right [1a] then taking the wool around the back and between the needles [2a] (knitting), with a purl stitch you start with your wool at the front, and put your right hand needle through the front of the stitch on the left needle from the right [1b] and bring the wool between the needles around the front [2b]. To see a demonstration of the method we learned in the workshop go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD5fxWP75yI. For a good set of drawings see: http://www.learn2knit.co.uk/
Now let’s have a go at doing a napkin ring in stocking stitch!
· Cast on 7 stitches
· Knit one row, purl one row for 16 rows (you should always be knitting on the side with the V shaped stitches [right side], and purling on the side with the wavy lines [wrong side])
Making the button hole for your napkin ring:
· On the 17th row knit 3 stitches. Cast off 1 stitch (knit 1, then pass previous stitch over it and off the needles). Knit 3 stitches.
· On the 18th row purl 3 stitches. Cast on 1 stitch. purl 3 stitches
· Row 19: knit all stitches
· Row 20: cast off all stitches in purl
· Decorate your napkin ring with buttons, flowers, etc.
Ribbing: Another common technique which uses both knitting and purling is ribbing. This is usually used for cuffs and collars and has a stretchier finish than stocking or garter stitch. To produce ribbing you knit and purl stitches on the same row alternately. As long as you stay in pattern in every row (i.e. knit the knit stitches [Vs] and purl the purl stitches [horizontal bars making up waves]) you should get linear rows of ribbing. Make sure you remember to flip the wool from front to back of your work each time you change stitch. This can be done with any combination of stitch counts - e.g.: (k1, p1) or (k2, p2), or (k3, p1).You could try making yet another napkin ring using this technique – you’ll soon have a set!
Flower Brooch
Flower Brooch
An easy decorative beginner crochet piece!
This pattern is written in British English
4mm crochet hook
Darning needle
Materials:
20g double knit wool
Safety pin
Decorative button
Abbreviations:
Ch = chain
Sl = slip stitch
Dc = double crochet
tr = treble crochet
dtr = double treble crochet
Pattern:
Small flower (front):
Row 1: Leaving a 3inch tail Ch3, join with Sl into first stitch, creating circle.
Row 2: ch3, Tr1 into middle of circle, ch3,* Tr2, ch3* repeat ** 4 times (5 in total), sl to join final chain to 3rd stitch of first chain to complete the round.
Row 3: C1, 6dc in each chain of 3 all the way around flower, sl to beginning of row to complete the round.
Draw thread through final sl and cut end leaving a tail.
Large flower (back):
Row 1: Leaving a 3inch tail Ch3, join with Sl into first stitch, creating circle.
Row 2: ch4, dtr1 into middle of circle, ch4,* dtr2, ch4* repeat ** 4 times (5 in total), sl to join final chain to 4th stitch of first chain to complete the round.
Row 3: C1, 8dc in each chain of 4 all the way around flower, sl to beginning of row to complete the round.
Draw thread through final sl and cut end leaving a tail.
Making up:
Sew your button, small flower, and large flower together using some of the tails left on your pieces.
Sew your safety pin securely to the back of your flower.
Et voila! - C’est fini :c)
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