Maker Savvy

Social Knitworking Knitting Group
2026-06-25 12:30 - 15:00 (America/Toronto) | Maker Savvy, 462 Hazeldean Road, Kanata, Ontario, K2L 1V3, Canada
You’re invited to join our knitting group in Kanata! If you’ve been looking for a community of friendly knitters to knit with, we’re here for you.
Social Knitworking is a free, welcoming knitting club that we’re happy to host in our Maker Savvy classroom space on Thursdays. Join us for the afternoon from 12:30 – 3 pm, or for the evening group from 6 – 8 pm.
If you’re looking for more specific instruction than a knitting club format allows, we have many knitting classes to choose from, including Knit Your Own Project on Tuesday mornings from 10 am – 12 pm with knitting teacher Amanda Schwabe. We also offer 30-minute private lessons with Amanda by request.

Learn Continental Knitting Workshop
2026-07-07 14:00 - 16:00
Learn Continental Knitting

Description
Do you ever wish you could knit faster, or more efficiently, or even with two hands at a time? Continental knitting can help you! Changing up your knitting motion gives your hands a break and reduces the risk of repetitive stress injuries. The tiny movements of the continental method are efficient and quick, and many knitters find it to be a faster way to knit. Making yarnovers and certain other stitches takes less movements, and holding the yarn to the left also opens up the stitches and makes it easier to see what’s going on, especially when tinking.
We’ll be making a stress-free swatch in this two-hour workshop, so you can practice the motions over many types of stitches without worrying about your gauge or even tension. By the end of the class, you’ll have a working knowledge of how to knit, purl, increase, decrease, yarnover, and tink using the Continental knitting method, and your brain will be busily growing new neural networks.

What You Will Learn

Multiple methods of holding and tensioning the yarn using your left hand so you can try them all and pick your favourite.
How to knit, increase, decrease, yarnover, and unknit (tink) using the Continental method.
Multiple ways to purl using the Continental method, including the Continental Combined method and the Norwegian purl.
How to read your knitting and recognize both open and twisted stitches.
How to combine the Continental method (flicking) with the English throwing method, so you can knit colourwork with a yarn in each hand.

Class Details

Date & Time:

July 7, 2026
2 time slots available

@2:00-4:00pm or
@6:00-8:00pm

Location:

Maker Savvy Classroom

Skill Level: Intermediate

If you’re already comfortable with the basic knitting stitches using a different knitting method and you’d like to expand your skills, this class is for you.

Instructor & Qualifications:

Amanda Schwabe originally learned to knit using the English throwing method, then switched to Continental knitting over twenty years ago, then learned the right-handed finger-flicking method, and has now been knitting with two hands for about fifteen years. She designs knitting patterns and has taught knitting classes steadily for over ten years.

Special Information & Preparation

Pre-Class Prep: Cast on your swatch and knit a few rows before you come to class.

Registration

Toe-Up Cast Ons Workshop
2026-07-14 14:00 - 16:00
Toe-Up Cast-Ons Workshop

Description
Do toe-up cast-on methods mystify you? Have you tried one and had trouble? In this workshop, Amanda will walk you through multiple toe-up cast-on methods so you can choose your favourite. By the end of the class, you’ll know three ways to start your sock toes and how to troubleshoot them.
What You Will Learn

Figure 8 Cast On: A simple method to get yarn on your needles and dive into knitting a toe. It’s easy to memorize so you can pick up your needles and go.
Turkish Cast On: Another extremely simple method of casting on that is both very easy and very loose. Amanda will show you how to make it pretty.
Judy’s Magic Cast On (JMCO): A little more complex to start, but then beautiful and needing no tweaking. Learn a few tricks to make it manageable.
How to read your knitting and recognize when a stitch needs to be worked through the back loop.

Class Details

Date & Time:

July 14, 2026 | 2 time slots available

@2:00-4:00pm
@6:00-8:00pm

Location:

Maker Savvy Classroom

Skill Level: Intermediate

If you’re already comfortable with the basic knitting stitches using a different knitting method and you’d like to expand your skills, this class is for you.

Instructor & Qualifications:

Amanda Schwabe is a sock pattern designer and has been teaching knitting classes for over a decade. She likes knitting socks from the toes up, from the top down, and sometimes even sideways.

Special Information & Preparation

Pre-Class Prep: Bring your sock yarn wound into a ball (if necessary) and ready to knit.

Registration

Stretchy Bind Offs Workshop
2026-07-21 14:00 - 16:00
Stretchy Bind Offs Workshop

Description
Master stretchy edges of all kinds so you’re ready to finish any knitting project! We’ll swatch a range of bind-off methods with varying levels of stretch as well as different looks. You’ll end the workshop with a range of bind-off edges in your knitter’s toolbox and new strategies to help you create the knitted edges you want.

What You Will Learn

Yarnover Bind Offs: Explore a range of bind-off techniques that use yarnovers in various ways to adjust stretch, including JSSBO (Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off) and others.
Icelandic Bind Off: Learn this interesting knitted bind off that give the fabric a nice edge that’s similar to invisible bind off but easier to do!
Sewn Bind Offs: From the simple EZ’s Stretchy Bind Off to the more complex tubular bind offs, you’ll learn about a variety of edges that you might like to add to your repertoire.

Class Details

Date & Time:

July 21, 2026
2 time slots available

@2:00-4:00pm or
@6:00-8:00pm

Location:

Maker Savvy Classroom

Skill Level: Intermediate
If you’re comfortable with the basic knitting stitches (knit, purl, yarnover, decrease), you can take this class.
Instructor & Qualifications:

Amanda Schwabe has been teaching knitting classes for over ten years, and she enjoys experimenting with new bind-off techniques to see what they do.

Special Information & Preparation

Pre-Class Prep: Bring a few small swatches ready to be bound off. (Instructions will be emailed to you.)

Registration
