Teaching Others to Knit & Crochet

A reader wrote me this week with a question:

"...could you share how you teach others? What kind of workshop or "curriculum" do you use?"

What a great question! I have been thinking about an answer all week. Let me start by saying right up front that I am not a certified teacher, and I really don't teach others on anything like a regular basis. If you want information from a certified crochet instructor, check out Dee's website and blog. She has all sorts of great information and tips to share.

However, belonging to both a knitting and a crochet guild over the last few years has taught me a few things about sharing my skills with others. So here is what I can tell you from my own experiences:

• Start with the basics - how to hold the hook or needles, how to hold the yarn. With crochet, my sense is that just about everyone holds the yarn in their left hand, but there are two different ways to hold the hook, like a knife or like a pencil. Have your students try both positions to see which one feels most comfortable for them. With knitting, you have the opposite problem. Everyone pretty much holds the needles the same way, but your students will need to decide if they want the yarn in their left or right hand.
  
  
• You might think that the next logical step is to teach your students to cast on or chain, since that is how you start all of your projects, but I strongly advise against it. Casting on is really very difficult if you have never knit, and while chaining is fairly easy and fundamental, that first row in crochet can be a bear to get through.
  
  
• Start a swatch yourself for your students. When we taught the knitting class for children at the library, we had everyone bring in their yarn and needles ahead of time. Then we started a swatch for each child, and the first night of class, we just had the kids knit so that they could get the feel of holding the yarn and needles. We sent everything home with them so they could practice, and then the second night of class we taught them how to bind off. Then we taught them how to cast on. We worked a little on the purl stitch also, but not all of the students were up for that, and we probably could have used a third night. But at that point we had to say that we are a library, not a craft store, and if a child was that serious about pursuing the skill, they would need to take a class at a local craft store. All in all, though, this progression worked very well for everyone. And I might add that the Knit Out and Crochet Too teaches crochet the same way. Swatches are made ahead of time and then students just practice single crochet the day of the event.

And that is just about the sum total of what I can tell you about teaching. My final suggestion is that if you are really serious about learning how to teach one or both fiber arts to others, consider working through the Craft Yarn Council's Certified Instructor Program. You will learn your craft thoroughly, and you will be required to complete a certain number of hours instructing others at each level of the program. As I have said before in this space, if I ever finish the Master Knitter Program through TKGA, I might contemplate working through the CIP as well.

As usual, have a great weekend and try to stay cool!