Elvan Shawl: Virtual Workshop with Florence Spurling

Details

Date:  Friday, October 11, 2024

Time: Noon-2:00 p.m. Eastern time

Location: Zoom. This is a virtual event.

The Class

You’ll try out the technique with a small swatch in two colors, then learn how to read an intarsia chart and knit the first intarsia motif within the Elvan Shawl pattern. Yarn organization and finishing will be also be covered, including the best ways to add in new yarns for a clean and professional look, as well as tips on handling and organizing multiple yarns at a time. You may choose to work on the shawl itself or on a practice swatch.

The Project

We’ll be making a whimsical design by Florence Spurling, the Elvan Shawl.

Finished dimensions: Wingspan: 84.25″ x  Depth: 15.25″ (214 cm x 39 cm)

Inspired by the geometric emblems and hushed tones of vintage woven carpets, the Elvan Shawl is perfect to begin your intarsia journey. Staggered intarsia patterns travel the shawl like woven stories, mixed with pools of bobbles that lend a plush feel.

Workshop participants will leave confident and on their way to finish this super-wearable accessory that fits perfectly into a contemporary wardrobe. Prediction: your first will not be your last!

What’s in the Box?

When you choose the class + kit option, your kit will contain a delicious collection of Kokon 100% merino fingering weight yarn. This is the yarn and the colors that Florence used to make the stunning photography sample.

• 2 x 100-gram skeins (each 350 yards/320 meters) and 1 x 10-gram mini skein (35 yards/32 meters) in the main color, Fog
• 9 x 10-gram mini skeins (35 yards/32 meters) in contrast colors Sea, Daybreak, Dawn, Cacti, Steppe, Morning, Cloud, Clay, and Madder

Our Workshop Leader

Florence Spurling is a textile designer who specializes in knitted, crocheted, and embellished fabrications. Originally from Oxfordshire, England, she trained in London where she received a Masters in Textile Design from The Royal College of Art. Florence is passionate about creating unique, tactile, and desirable fabrics that display her love of detail and craftsmanship. She creates designs that mix color, texture, and pattern in distinctive ways. When not designing under her own name, Florence works on fashion knitwear development for clients such as Anthropologie, Chloe, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. Florence is the author of Designing Knitted Textiles: Machine Knitting for Fashion.

Workshop Q & A

Is the Elvan Shawl suitable for beginners? Yes! The project requires these basic skills: how to cast on, knit, purl, basic increases and decreases, and a willingness to follow a simple, intuitive chart. In this workshop, Florence will expand your intarsia skills by leaps and bounds. 

Do I have to order the kit in order to participate in the virtual workshop? No. You can participate in the workshop with or without a kit. Click on “Choose an option” and select the one you want.

How should I get ready for the workshop? If you want to purchase an Elvan Shawl kit, make sure to order while supplies last, and by no later than September 27. Please note that supplies are limited, and we will not be able to reorder these kits before the workshop.

Your order confirmation email will include a PDF with the Zoom link for the workshop, a Ravelry code for the Elvan Shawl pattern,  and a list of supplies.

We’ll send email reminders as the event gets closer, but do save the PDF so you’ll have all the information handy.

What’s the format? With Florence’s instruction and an overhead camera focused on her hands, we’ll learn her intarsia technique, plus yarn management and other tips to make the Elvan Shawl. You will have the option to practice and learn with a swatch, or cast on right away for your shawl. Participant mics will be muted most of the time, and the chat box will be monitored constantly for questions from participants. 

How far along in my shawl can I expect to get during the workshop? While we of course will not complete the full shawl during the two-hour session, each participant will leave with the confidence to tackle intarsia and well on their way to making the Elvan Shawl.

When will the kits ship out? Kits will ship from Nashville, Tennessee the week of September 30, 2024. Please note that shipments to addresses outside the U.S. may not arrive in time for the live workshop on October 11.

What if I want to work at my own pace? That’s perfectly fine. All participants will receive the pattern and we will keep the session recording available to participants indefinitely. 

I can’t make it to all of the live Zoom session. May I still participate? Yes! Everyone enrolled in the workshop will receive a link to the recording and all resources we share.