Yes I do private knit lessons!

Domestic Machine Lessons on the Silver Reed.

If you have a machine and would like to know how to use it, or how make certain techniques, maintain the machine, make garments or just to play around on it come and have a private lesson and I will show you everything you need to know!

I have over 11 years experience on the hand machine and over 5 years of higher educational teaching experience (BA students, Master students, PhD researchers and everything inbetween), so there is no daunting technique or lesson I am not comfortable teaching.

These lessons can either be online or in person at my studio space in Manchester. If you book in person in Manchester I will provide the biscuits.

All lessons are £30 an hour (students with valid ID will get 15% off). We will discuss how many hours I think you will need depending on your current experience and knowledge, and what you would like to learn from the lesson. Whether the general techniques or something much more specific.

If you want a whole day in the container with me to go through a lot more in depth, I charge £200 a day. Either on my machine, or your own, depending if you want to bring it with you to get to know it. 

I also accept group bookings or 2-3 people either in person, or more online. If this is something you are interested you are responsible for getting the group together. I charge £20 per person per hour with group bookings. So yes, you save some money!

Take a look at the structures below for more information on the lesson formats. If none of the suggestions below are to your liking for a lesson, just get in contact and we will discuss what you need!

These Private lessons are currently booked through email whilst a booking service is developed.

  • A lesson on the very basics of the machine and it's capabilities! We learn how to cast on, cast off, transfer stitches and the basics of needle placement. Some troubleshooting will be involved also so you can become self sufficient with your own machine in your own time.

  • Delving deeper into the workings of the machine, we will work with the punch card function of the machine to work with Fair Isle (Jacquard) patterning, Tuck, Slip and Weave techniques to give your textiles pattern, colour and some structure.

  • One of my absolute favourites, this beauty is the start of never ending possibilities! We will start with the very basics of partial knit and how it is used to then go on to develop more creative ways of thinking about the knit and it's potential. We can start to look into three dimensional knitting techniques also. Like I say.. never ending possibilities.

  • One for you all who would like to learn how to make garments with your chosen techniques. With this lesson we will go through calculating tensions and drawing up a patter for those tensions for your desired shape. It's quite some maths, but it's very logical when you put your mind to it!

    (Recommended 3 hours to go through the basics and talk about your own samples and designs)

  • The gateway to programming knit at home. This little program will give you options to create all types of surface pattern from Fair Isle, Tuck, Slip, Jacquard (if you have a double bed) and shaping for garments and other shaped knitted pieces.

    There's a huge amount to it!

  • If you've ventured out into the world of double bed (whether with the domestic machine or semi-industrial V bed; Dubied, Universal or old school Stoll) then here is where we can go through all those techniques for double bed knitting. It's quite a different thought to the single bed knitting, and many many techniques to explore.

Private 1-1 Shima Lessons.

Yes I now also offer Private 1-1 lessons working on the Shima Seiki machine and Apex programming software. These lessons are beginner friendly and run over a whole day within my studio space. I am able to currently offer 3 different lesson types, from basic programming through the automatics of the software, to manual programming including an introduction to PAK files through to garment development and knitting out using the automatics.

Basic Programming

Starting with the basic layout of the software we will explore together the basics of the programming working through and knitting out some basic structures including Jacquards, ribs, link processes, cables, lace and tuck structures. These are worked with the automatics.

Basic Manual Programming

Here we will begin to develop some manual programming skills looking into (but not limited to) partial knit and the basics of PAK files to develop structures and Jacquards.

Garment Development

Within this 1-1 day we will program and knit out a whole garment for you to then take home. Starting with a swatch, we go through the process of calculating the garment notations before programming and knitting. Garments are knitted from block patterns I have provided therefore are currently more limited. If the garment is not finished by the end of the day, it will be finished by myself and posted to you.

All yarns will be included in the day’s 1-1 session along with all tea, coffee and biscuits.

You can see available dates for the Shima 1-1 programming here along with pricings and Terms and Conditions.

Just some boring Terms and Conditions about the lessons. Give it a read... just so you know.

  • Payment methods will be given at time of booking. An email is needed to send a confirmation email that the lesson has been booked. A second confirmation email will be sent once the full payment has been received with more information on the lesson you have booked.

  • Lessons need to be paid in full at least 24 hours before the lesson begins. If the lesson has not been paid for before the start, the lesson will not go ahead.

  • Cancellations of domestic machine lessons needs to be made at least 24 hours in advance. If less that 24 hour in advance, a 50% cancellation fee will be taken from the refund of the lesson. 

  • Deposits will be taken for full day domestic machine lessons with myself at 20% of the total value. Deposits will be taken at the time of booking and the lesson will only be confirmed once the deposit has been paid.

  • Students can receive 15% off any booking with a valid student ID or confirmation of studies letter. Student discount is only valid for domestic machine knit lessons.

  • All times are in GMT, UK time and will be confirmed with UK times. You are responsible for working to UK time if you are based in another time zone.

  • An additional £5 an hour will be included for working outside of the standard UK working hours (Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm). I will not accept bookings before 7am and after 7pm. Weekend bookings (Saturday and Sunday) are possible, however very limited times. They will include the extra £5 an hour. 

  • Yes I provide the biscuits with in person lessons. If I do not, you get £5 off your next lesson. All other expenses (travel, stays, etc) are not covered by myself.