Classes 2026
Classes with Lisa Craig
Lisa Craig is the creative force behind Lisaf Designs and The Burnt Hill Yarn Company, where her love of fibre, colour,
and thoughtful craftsmanship comes together. Known for her warm, nature-inspired aesthetic, Lisa creates knitting
patterns and yarns that celebrate texture, detail, and the joy of making by hand.
Her formal journey into textiles began with design studies in Wellington, where her passion for yarn and pattern took
root. She has since worked with well-known industry names including Feltex Yarns, Crucci, and Thoroughbred. Lisa
began designing patterns for her three children, an experience that sparked the launch of her independent pattern
business.
Lisa is a regular sell-out tutor at Knit August Nights and is widely regarded as one of the country’s
leading designers of children’s knitwear. Through her work, she invites makers to slow down, explore their creativity,
and find as much pleasure in the process as in the finished piece. Her designs can be found at the LisaF Designs
website.
Knitting Masterclass – Finishing Skills Workshop for Professional Results
THURSDAY 27th August – $260.00 (Class cost excluding Base Registration – includes Dinner)
Take your knitting from almost finished to beautifully complete in this Finishing Skills Workshop Master Class.
Designed for knitters who want professional results.
This class focuses on the techniques that make all the difference — invisible seaming, neat and secure ends, perfect
edgings, picking up stitches with confidence, blocking, sewing on buttons, polished cast-off techniques, and adding
I-cords. Packed with practical tips, clever shortcuts, and expert tricks, you will learn how to choose the best finishing
method for each project and achieve a polished, long-lasting finish every time.
You will gain the confidence to turn even simple knits into beautifully finished, wearable works of art — finishing like
a pro and impressing with every stitch.
Must purchase event registration to attend Masterclass
DYO Aran – Design Your Own Aran Knitting
Whether you want to design your own Aran patterns or are simply curious about how these classic textured
patterns are created, this class is for you! Learn the art of Aran knitting—famous for its intricate cables, twists,
diamonds, and honeycomb—while creating your own design, whether simple or intricate.
Mix and match stitches, chart your ideas, and knit a swatch.
What you will do in class:
- Learn essential Aran stitches: cables, twists, diamonds, and honeycomb
- Mix and match stitch patterns to create your own design
- Chart your design and start knitting a swatch
- Learn tips for combining patterns and textures
- Experiment with swatching and calculating extra stitches for cable allowances
Class $79.00
Knitting Grading and Sizing – Fit Your Projects Perfectly
Take the guesswork out of sizing. Learn how to adjust patterns for any size, from small to large, using the same
foundational skills designers use to write and create their own patterns.
Master gauge, stitch counts, row adjustments, and shaping so your sweaters, cardigans, and other garments
always fit beautifully.
Perfect for knitters who want to customize patterns for themselves, family, or friends.
Class $79.00
The Art of Colourwork – From Stripes to Mosaic
Add colour and pattern to your knitting! Learn essential skills, formulas, and tips for working stripes, Fair Isle, Intarsia, slip-stitch, and mosaic techniques, and create stunning colour combinations for beautiful, eye-catching designs.
This class will act as a hands on colour primer, a great foundation for adding colour to plain patterns you already own or give you the skills to attempt a pattern you have been coveting but have been too scared to try.
Class $79.00
Discover the Magic of Mosaic Knitting
Dive into mosaic knitting, a striking technique that creates bold, geometric patterns using slipped stitches and just one colour per row. In this class, you’ll learn to read mosaic charts, manage colour changes, and knit swatches to practice the technique with confidence.
Perfect for knitters ready to explore eye-catching designs without complicated colour work!
Class $79.00
Classes with Libby Jonson
Libby grew up with a deep love of handmade and homemade and still gets a thrill from knitting and sewing her own
clothes. Libby has always loved playing with clothing, though it took her time to fully embrace that passion and
accept that it was “okay” to love it.
In her mid to late twenties, Libby became absorbed in a corporate career and travel, barely touching her knitting
needles or sewing machine for several years. She returned to knitting when she became pregnant with her first child
—and hasn’t put her needles down since.
In 2010, with a baby tucked into a sling, Libby travelled to London and spent a transformative day at the yarn festival Knit Nation. That experience changed everything. Soon after, her enthusiasm for writing about knitting grew, leading to the creation of her blog, Truly Myrtle. Today, Libby lives in rural New Zealand with her husband, children, dog, and a menagerie of farm animals. She knits every day, squeezes in sewing where she can, does plenty of cooking, and makes things as often as possible all whilst nurturing her Truly Myrtle business and growing Wardrobe Toolbox community.
Spectacular Shawls
Shawls are one of knitting’s great joys – endlessly portable, forgiving of gauge wobbles and lovers of riots of colour, and genuinely useful if you know how to wear them. This class covers the main shawl shapes (triangles, crescents, rectangles, and the slightly chaotic world of asymmetric shawls), how each construction works, and the techniques that make them sing. We’ll also tackle the part most tutorials skip entirely: how to actually wear the thing once it’s done. You’ll leave with a clear picture of which shapes suit your knitting style, your wardrobe, and your life.
Knit2Fit 2.0
If you’ve ever finished a sweater and thought, “The shoulders are fine, but everything below is not working”, this class is for you. Building on fit fundamentals, Knit2Fit 2.0 goes deeper into the techniques that make garments work on real bodies: bust darts, A-line shaping, and hi-low hems. These aren’t advanced concepts reserved for experts – they’re practical tools that belong in every knitter’s toolkit. You’ll understand not just how to do them, but why they work, so you can apply them to any pattern you pick up.
Top-Down Basics
Top-down knitting promises a lot – no seams! Try as you go! – and mostly delivers, once you understand what’s actually happening. This class walks you through the main top-down constructions (raglan, yoke, set-in sleeve), the tools and techniques that make each one work, and things patterns assume you already know but probably never told you. Whether you’ve attempted top-down before and felt slightly lost, or you’ve been meaning to try it for years, this is the calm, clear starting point you’ve been waiting for.
Class $79.00
Classes with Annette Montgomery & Cher Lyall
This dynamic duo have been bedrocks of the Creative Fibre movement for a great many years. Annette is the creative force at Twisted Zisters and is behind some of the most stunning art and textured yarns, hand spun, hand dyed yarns and fibre available today. Annette has been teaching at KAN for the past several years and this year pivots her attention from textured yarn classes to two hands on dyeing classes. Great for DIYers at home or those gathering skills to do more.
Cher Lyall is KAN’s Fairy Godmother and has bought her extensive skills to classes that have covered spinning, mending and crochet. Cher is a stoic component of slow craft and has worked hard to bring back the lost arts of hand sewing, mending and yarn crafts to thousands she has taught over the years. This year she has two brand new classes for KAN which she has been developing and we are delighted to launch them.
Dye Yarn in a Bag – Dyeing for fast instant results
Join Annette Montgomery for what is the easiest, fasted yarn dyeing technique that is accessible to everyone – dyeing yarn in a bag!To Dye For – Dyeing beyond the basics
Annette follows up her Yarn in the Bag class with a more detailed practical theory of yarn dyeing across multiple mediums.Create Colour Confidence – Color for colourwork, striping marling & more
A brand new class from Cher Lyall. Build colour confidence in choosing and combining colours across your favourite crafts, from colourwork and marled knitting to crochet blankets and weaving. This class explores how shades, tones, and colour blending can transform a project into something uniquely yours.
You’ll learn practical tips, tricks, and insider techniques for selecting colours that work beautifully together, along with an introduction to the emotional impact of colour and how it influences your creative decisions. The session also includes a brief, engaging overview of colour history to deepen your understanding.
Each participant will receive a take-home mini workbook featuring colour swatches and guided exercises to help you discover your personal response to colour and apply it to future projects. Suitable for all skill levels, from beginners to experienced crafters.
Class $79.00
It’s Hip to be Square – Granny Squares from fundamental to freaking fabulous
Cher Lyall loves making crochet squares and expanding them into something truly magical.
Classes with Kathryn Trippett
Kathryn Trippett is the creative force behind The Australian Wool Store. Kathryn is an Australian dyer, yarn designer, and small-batch fibre enthusiast based near Sydney, where she hand dyes beautiful yarns and offers a range of knitting and crochet patterns inspired by colour and texture.
She also shares her passion for fibre through workshops, tutorials, and community events— especially merging stitchcrafts such as embroidery with knitting and felting. Kathryn brings these techniques and projects to life for makers of all skill levels. She has taught sell out classes at Knit Australia Nights in Bendigo and takes frequent craft based tours to Japan.
Kathryn’s Embroidery on your knitting class sold out in mere minutes in 2025, so we have bought the class back this year along with her wildly popular Sock Blank dyeing class from Australia. Giving those who want to give yarn dyeing a go, three incredible classes on offer!
Embroidery ON your Knitting *BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND*
Your knitted fabric, especially if it is a swathe of stocking stitch is a blank canvas for so much more, so why not add extra stitches ON your knitting! In this class learn the basic embroidery stitches and how to apply them to a knitted fabric
You will receive a booklet with all the embroidery stitches that will be covered and many more, charts for duplicate stitch, there will be samples to look at and photograph for future reference, plus all the hand dyed yarn required for the class (plus each student is encouraged to take extra meterage home with them to practice with), embroidery needle and – for KAN students – a free embroidery pattern for one of Truly Myrtle’s designs.
Class $79.00
Dyeing Sock Yarn Blanks *NEW*
Let’s Dye Yarn In this fun class you will learn how to dye a single skein of yarn to create an identical pair of socks.
If socks aren’t your thing then you can use your yarn for a hat or scarf or shawl.
Kathryn will show you how to create a yarn with lots of skinny stripes or crazy spots or a gorgeous gradient. The
class includes one skein of 4 ply, 400m 75% Merino/25% Nylon or 100% Merino. If you have been dying (pun
intended) to try dyeing yarn, this is the perfect class for you! You will be able to purchase more yarn on the day.
A material fee could apply
Class with Kathy Vasic
Kathy Vasic is an experienced Australian crochet designer and teacher with years of dedication to the
craft. Based in NSW, she creates original crochet patterns—ranging from shawls and cowls to colourwork
accessories—that reflect her love of texture, colour, and thoughtful design.
Kathy also shares her expertise through in-person workshops and classes, where she teaches techniques
like waistcoat stitch and colourwork to crocheters of various skill levels. Her patterns are featured by yarn
retailers and maker platforms, and she’s known for her engaging teaching style and creative approach to
wearable crochet. You can find her designs on her Ravelry designer profile Driftwood Cottage Designs and
her finished work for sale at her website Nulla & Nell
Knit Looks with Crochet Hooks
Hello and welcome to the world of waistcoat stitch.
Unlock the versatility of the waistcoat stitch in this 3 hour workshop with Kathy Vasic, the designer behind Driftwood Cottage Designs. Perfect for intermediate crocheters, this session will introduce you to the waistcoat stitch—a technique that works beautifully in the round and with colourwork.
This fabulous and often neglected stitch will give you a beautiful fabric with the ability to create some amazing crochet colourwork. Mimicking the look of knit but using your hook waistcoat stitch is a fun and
interesting stitch to add to your repertoire.
In this class you will learn how to do the waistcoat stitch working both in the round and back and forth, how to introduce colours and create some wonderful new pieces for your home and wardrobe.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your crochet skills or try something new, this workshop promises an
evening of creativity and inspiration. Join us and discover the endless possibilities of the waistcoat stitch!
Class with Sue Mulrennan
Sue describes herself as a curious hobby knitter, but she is much more than that. An experienced trades teacher and now working in educational publishing, Sue has been attending KAN for many years and has never shied away from challenging classes, always keen to sharpen her skills and push the boundaries.
After taking the Double Knitting Masterclass with Nathan Taylor in 2019, Sue has mastered the technique and taught this class at KAN for the first time at KAN last year and it sold out in just 10 minutes. Sues methodical patient teaching style has made her an instant KAN favorite and it is wonderful to have her back again in 2026.
Twice as nice – the Art of Double Knitting *BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND*
An introduction to the technique of knitting reversible, two-coloured fabric. One side is the mirror image negative of the other nothing to do with the double-knit yarn with which we are all so familiar.
You will learn how to make a two contrasting strand pattern with no floats, as there is no “wrong” side. Double knitting gives you a double thickness garment that is toasty warm and completely reversible. Excellent for scarfs, cowls and hats. It adapts well to knitting in the round. Double knitting is ideal for making pot-holders and coasters which make great gifts.
In this class you will learn:
- How to cast-on using a two -stand, long-tail technique
- How to knit rows of the stitch “pairs”
- How to read and work from a graph
- How to ensure you have “closed” neat row ends
- How to correct errors without frogging
Ideally you should leave the class with a completed pot-holder sized square of double knitting and armed with the knowledge and courage to have fun with this fun technique.
This is suitable for intermediate and confident beginners as it is based on knit/purl stitches. It would be extremely helpful if you are already familiar with the mechanics of the long-tail cast on, as we build on this knowledge with a second contrasting strand.
Class $79.00
Secrets of Smocking – An Introduction *New*
with Jenny Johnston – New KAN Tutor
Discover the timeless art of smocking in this hands-on class designed for all skill levels. Learn the foundational stitches and techniques used to create beautifully textured, decorative fabric—perfect for everything from baby clothes and children’s dresses to elegant adult garments.
Guided by Jenny, whose work has been featured in WOW, participants can choose to create a small pillowcase, baby bonnet, or a stitch sampler to build core skills. More experienced students are welcome to bring along a garment to work on and refine their technique.
Whether you’re a beginner or looking to expand your sewing repertoire, this class offers a creative and rewarding introduction to smocking.
Class $79.00
Classes for KAN 2026
Classes do sell out EXTREMELY quickly. It’s like trying to book tickets for a concert, so please don’t be disappointed if you miss out. I have kept all classes to Ahuriri Village with the bulk of the classes at East Pier, but due to demand I have also have a room running at The Crown Hotel, less than a block away from East Pier (pretty much across the road), in the heart of Ahuriri village.
All classes are 3 hours long and are $79 each with some classes attracting additional material fees for items provided by the tutors.
You will need to bring your basic knit/crochet capsule of needles & notions to classes – with class requirements sent out within two weeks of the event.
KAN base registration must be purchased in order to unlock and book classes