How will it work?

BiOknitting is an 8 week course. So aside from the sample lesson (did you get a chance to look at it? I know a couple of people had trouble accessing it.) there will be one other preprep email then every week I will be sending a lesson. The lessons will contain a core lesson that will step you through making a sweater using a no pattern method I have been using when working with my handmade yarns. It is a “learning sweater” that I hope you will be able to use the method to create more garments. I will also be walking you through designing your sweater “fabric” by tapping into your creative style like an artist. I was formally trained as an artist and found approaching knitwear design like I approach art turns my knitting into something that feels more like fiber art. So each lesson will also contain art exercises in your art journal, an exercise to get more in touch with a design style and an exercise designed to challenge your creative thinking a little further than what you might  on your own( I personally have a women’s group to help me “build” on my ideas. Brainstorming can be powerful when you have someone to help. What you will come away with at the end of 8 weeks is a way to design sweaters that is not so muddled up in technical shaping math, an art journal habit that helps you stay fresh creatively and catalogs any inspirations from your day, knowing how to find your visual language that you can express through your designs, and knowledge for taking what you know into your next project and beyond so you can start building a body of work.

How far into fashion design does BiOKnitting take one?

As far as fashion design goes, I am not teaching you how to prepare runway designs or how to navigate the industry. When I say you will think like a fashion designer, I am referring to going for a look, thinking beyond one sweater. Most sweater patterns do not take the whole look into account, and are technique driven as opposed to outfit driven. I also am teaching you to think beyond one project, much like a fine artist.

In your bio it says you can be found taking you recourse into local cafés. Do you teach this live?

I am usually writing my e courses (I also have an art journal challenge) in coffee shops because I some how seem to focus better doing my computer work in busy coffee shops. 😉 So I am not teaching in coffee shops, just doing the creating. I am teaching some of these methods  from this course live at a workshop in Taos NM in October. But that is the only live teaching I have scheduled. All of the BiOknitting lessons as a whole is a bit too long to try to squeeze into a workshop.

Are the yarns you NEED FOR THE CLASS yours or purchased FROM URBANGYPZ?

You will be using yarn that you have (or would like to buy) I have 2 entire lessons that walk you through working with yarn you love with a focus on combining yarns to get the fabric that appeals to you.

Is BiOknitting a program, ie curriculum, timed or flex?

For the beta test, the classes are released every 7 days starting June 10th. There is no set time for completing the lessons, but I feel like most people will need at least a week between lessons to do the work. Once you sign up, you have lifetime access. It is a method worth going back through with new projects. Once the beta test is over and the class is released as a regular offering, it will be open enrollment and the lessons are dripped out in relationship to when the designer signs up.

The course runs over eight weeks, but at the same time is available for life. Does that mean that if I enrol now, I am committing to complete the course in the normal time frame? Will it be available for any length of time, or just this summer?

The course will be available to you forever. My hopes is that you will find the design methods useful as a way to build many sweaters and work through the steps with each project. I am including helpful worksheets and journal exercises to flesh out the ideas, help build other designs from small changes and ways to document the details to refer back to. There really is no deadline. I spaced the lessons out over 8 weeks to let the info sink in and to guide you through the work. When I say there is homework, I do not mean I will be checking it (unless you need feed back, which I am here for you if you need help). The lessons build on each other, so you will need info and prior work on the previous lessons before moving to the next. So do not feel pressured to finish by the next lesson, life happens, and the next lesson will be ready when you can get to it. Once the course is out of beta, and I make the tweeks based on student feedback, the enrollment will be open and the lessons will drip out weekly based on enrollment date.

I wondered about the art journal. Do you mean a physical journal, or a virtual one? And, in the latter case, is it necessary for the course that this journal be open for all? 

I am talking about a physical journal. In art school we called them our sketchbooks, but I take it a step further and show you how to integrate your journal into your everyday life (it is like a spin off from my 30 day art journal challenge). And I am not requiring you to slot out huge amounts of art time with your journal. Just little bits everyday and ways to integrate it into your everyday schedule. I found that physically making marks on paper unhinge ideas in ways that I can not duplicate digitally (although I have an unhealthy attachment to my iphone…i am okay with that). When I was a graphic designer, the most successful artists/designers/illustrators all carried their books everywhere and made a true connection with that book, and used it as a right brain sounding board. It is a great way to capture subconscious right brain ideas and catalog them for later. For the course I will be giving you exercises to help integrate your journal into the design process as well as day to day habits.

is this course mostly for knitters? The reason I ask is that I like to crochet as much as knit, and my grander dreams include making things for myself that I would love even if no one else would, and that these would include all the methods of expression that I’ve come across, be it tatting, crochet, weaving or knitting.

It is absolutely for all methods. The third picture in my newsletter today is a free form crochet piece I working on using BiOknitting. I am also exploring applying some of my saori style weaving from my rigid heddle loom in the same design methods. A combo would work great!! in fact now that you mention it…. I am thinking maybe the weaving + crochet would be the way to go for the weaving sample…OMG!

Is it required to work with larger size knitting needles? My hands don’t like them a bit, and I’m much quicker and a lot less grumpy if I don’t have to use anything bigger than a US size 7 (or 4,5 mm).

Nope. Smaller needles would be just fine. I am also working a microcrochet piece using lace weight…I will be working on it FOREVER!!  but I love love love the look. I personally have been moving away from super fat art yarns, because I too am not a huge fan of knitting with needles the size of my forearms. You will be using yarns in your stash (or that you enhance with…) that you love, so if it is fingering weight the great! Tatting would look so cool…

Got a question for me? I love answering questions about BiOknitting! Email me here.