Kate Atherley

Kate is Knitty’s Technical Editor for Socks.  Her sock designs have appeared in Knitty and many books and magazines, including Amy Singer’s “No Sheep for You”, the recently published “Tops and Toes”, Creative Knitting Magazine, and in UK’s Knit magazine.  Knit is publishing her three-part series on designing your own socks this summer.  She’s also designed for several clubs, including the Three Irish Girls sock club and the 2010 Year of Lace.  When she’s not designing socks, she’s a well-known knitting teacher in Toronto.  Her first book is being published this summer by Cooperative Press, and it has a whole chapter on socks for new knitters.

Liberate yourself from pattern books and ensure your socks really fit properly!  Learn how to create a completely custom top-down or toe-up sock pattern – for any yarn, and any foot – or how to modify an existing one.  We’ll cover knee socks, and discuss special fit requirements like high arches, flat feet, skinny and not-so-skinny ankles.  Kate will show you how to deal with pattern stitches like lace, cables and colorwork, and how to manage differences in gauge and fabric stretch.  You’ll leave the class with a set of templates and guidelines for all your sock-fitting needs.

Challenge yourself!  Beat Second Sock Syndrome!  Amaze your friends!  This class teaches the legendary technique for simultaneously knitting two socks on the same needles – one inside the other, as mentioned by Tolstoy in War and Peace.  In the class, we’ll work a pair of mini socks to practice this fascinating technique, and we’ll get you ready to tackle your first full size pair.  The design we work is top-down, but the techniques I teach are easily applied to toe-up knitting.  You’ll leave with a pattern and full instructions.

You’ve designed a great sock, and now it’s time to write up the pattern to share with other knitters.  This class will show you how to write up a sock pattern that any knitter can follow.  We will discuss sizing and fit, addressing when and how to provide multiple sizes.  Kate will share secrets for handling pattern stitches, both written and charted, and provide tips for creating easy-to-read charts.  She will also discuss needle choice and configuration (4 or 5 DPNs, 2 circulars and magic loop), covering when it’s best to be specific, and how to convert from one needle setup to another.  Kate will share with you the three key tricks to make sure both knitters and technical editors love you!