Overview: Participants will learn the basic technique of intarsia colorwork while creating a mug rug. The first part of the workshop will be a brief overview of what intarsia colorwork is, with some examples of the types of projects that can be done with the technique they will be learning. Then, participants will choose their mug rug design from a few pre-made designs I will have ready. Or they can come up with their own design from scratch (if they are more advanced knitters). The bulk of the workshop will be spent teaching the intarsia colorwork technique. Participants will learn how to read intarsia colorwork patterns, how to switch colors in the middle of a row, and how to manage multiple yarns in a project. By the end of the workshop, participants will have made significant progress on their mug rug or have finished their project (depending on knitting skill level coming into the class).

Project details: participants will work on a knitted mug rug, knit using 2 colors of yarn. The edges of the mug rug will be worked in seed stitch so it will lay flat, but the majority of the cup sleeve will be worked in intarsia colorwork. The mug rug will be approximately 5” x 5” when finished.

Materials provided: knitting needles (circular or straight), worsted weight yarn – at least 2 colors per person, wool/wool blend or acrylic not cotton, graph paper – if including design your own mug rug option, copies of patterns for participants to choose from, pens or pencils, stitch markers, scissors. Participants will not need to provide any materials unless they would like to bring their own needles and yarn that they would like to use for the project.

Skill level: advanced beginner/intermediate. Participants should know how to cast on (any method), knit stitch, purl stitch, cast off (any method).

Additional info: it would be VERY helpful to have one of those fancy document cameras. The skills for this class are not difficult, but we are working on a fairly small scale, so having a doc cam would make everything much easier.