Creative Course 2 - Dún Cuff design from the Queen of the Waves collection by Alice Starmore

Creative Course 2

Alice Starmore’s Creative Course 2 subscription covers innovative ways of manipulating knitted fabric during the making of a costume piece in miniature. For this project I have developed methods of working within knitting to produce pronounced and elaborate 3 dimensional shapes which I have turned into a highly creative decorative accessory. The Dùn cuff directions are provided in three sizes, please scroll down for final measurements, materials and purchase information.

This course will show you how to –

  • Make knots with a second colour on background colour.
  • Work stranded and textured colour knitting.
  • Make a neat and attractive knitted hemline.
  • Increase stitches within a purl facing pattern.
  • Knit perfect facings within a structure.
  • Create padded bands
  • Use your knitting as a guide when following a textured pattern.
  • Pick up buttonbands along padded edges.
  • Make buttonholes within a stranded and textured pattern.
  • Work short row shaping
  • Weaving-in colour ends as you work.
  • Felt and shape a ruffle.
  • Knit and felt buttons.

I also designed the cuff as an ideal template to use for your own colour experimentation. The small size of the project makes means that very small amounts of yarn can be used to create colour palettes. The cuffs can be made quickly and so you can easily go on to create an endlessly varied collection of cuffs which will extend your colourwork skills in a painless and joyful manner.  A variety of example cuffs are shown to give you an idea of the huge scope for creating your own colour schemes.

The Creative Course 2 subscription is £48 and is open to you for a full year from purchase date so that you can learn at your own pace. To give an idea of timescale needed for the course you can make a single cuff in approx. 2-3 days. A year will give you ample time to make all the example cuffs and many more. The course contains 2 hours of comprehensive video tutorials. You do not have to watch them all at once – they are presented in small sections, allowing you to easily find and watch the videos relevant to whichever aspect you are working on. This means that you can focus your attention before moving on to the next stage.

This course is designed for all abilities, but assumes that you can cast on, knit, purl and cast off. If you are a complete beginner you can learn all the basics in our free Video Tutorials section on the Virtual Yarns website. You will need to study the Cast-on Methods tutorial; the Knit & Purl tutorial; the Casting Off tutorial and the Tension tutorial for how to make and measure a Stocking Stitch swatch. Once you are comfortable and confident making a swatch and achieving an even tension you are ready to begin.

This course is entirely digital and contains no physical content. All course content is accessed online via our steek dot scot website so a computer and internet connection are essential to access the course. The workbook and worksheets can be viewed online, but are also provided in a form that is suitable for printing on a home printer.

 

Measurements

To fit Small-medium [large, X large].
Width of lower edge of cuff (open flat) including buttoning bands – 24.5 [25.5,27.5]cm.
Width of upper edge of cuff (open flat) including buttoning bands – 26.5[27.5,29]cm.
Lower Edge Circumference buttoned – 20[21,23]cm.
Upper Edge Circumference buttoned – 22[23,25.25]cm.
Height (ex hemline knots and ruffles) – 8.5cm.
Felted Long Ruffle width at top edge – 19[19.5,20.5]cm.
Felted Short Ruffle width at top edge – 17[17.5,18.5]cm.
Felted length Long ruffle – 6.5cm.
Felted length Short ruffle – 4.5cm.

The Creative Course 2 Yarn Pack contains no instructions and is yarn only. It is designed to work alongside Creative Course 2. It contains the following –

6 x 25g skeins of Alice Starmore™ Hebridean 2 Ply pure new wool yarn, which allows you to experiment and make cuffs.

The Creative Course 2 Yarn Pack is £23.40 and can be found by clicking below.

Creative Course 2 - Dún Cuff design from the Queen of the Waves collection by Alice Starmore

What do I need to complete this course?

Do I need a computer and internet access to use this course?

Yes, you will need a computer and internet connection, and also a printer, or access to a printer, if you wish to print out your workbook and colour template (which is recommended).

What materials will I need to have ready at home to complete this online course?

To knit the cuff:
3 X 2.75mm needles.
1 Tapestry needle.
4 Buttons for each cuff. (This course shows how to knit and felt buttons)

To knit the ruffles and optional buttons:
1 Pair 3mm needles.

To felt ruffles and buttons:
1 Pair of household gloves.
Olive soap.
A basin or bowl for felting.
A towel.
Pins for blocking the ruffle.

To Colour the Template (optional):
A set of colour pencils.

What yarn will I need for this course?

Alice Starmore™ Hebridean 2 Ply pure new wool yarn has been used for all the cuffs in this course. It is a unique artisan yarn which has been designed and made to ensure it can be felted to perfection using the processes demonstrated for the ruffle and button in the video class. No other yarns have been used for this course and no responsibilty can be taken if other yarns are used unsuccessfuly. Please note that highly processed yarns, superwash yarns, worsted yarns and any yarns containing fibre other than pure new wool will not felt successfully. Some woollen spun yarns may felt but the results can be coarse and unpleasant to the touch and there is no guarantee that the correct sizes, shapes and effects can be achieved.

Purchase Information

Creative Course 2 is a digital online course containing video tutorials, imagery, a workbook and online learning support. If you buy Creative Course 2 an account will be created for you on our steek dot scot website and you will be able to access Creative Course 2 for one year. You can only use this course if you have a computer and internet access.

Customers have a statutory right to cancel an order up to 14 calendar days after ordering, provided the online content has not been accessed via account login. Once the course content is accessed the return period is automatically waived. You can find our Terms & Conditions here.

 

Creative Course 2 - Dún Cuff design from the Queen of the Waves collection by Alice Starmore