History of The knitting school
The Knitting School was founded in 2008 in Seattle. Classes were designed to cater for all levels of machine knitters from complete beginners, to experienced knitters.
Students came from all backgrounds, from all over the United States, Canada, Europe and Africa to learn more about this fascinating topic. As well as makers and crafters, many professional designers passed through the studio. Companies such as Nordstrom, Tommy Hilfiger, REI and North Face came for more technically structured classes. Professors from the University of Washington, Baltimore School of Art, Savannah College of Art and Design and FIT came to hone their skills to pass on to their students.
The physical school closed at the end of 2019.
Helen Sharp
Owner of The Knitting School, has over 40 years’ experience working in the sweater industry as a designer, teacher and trend forecaster in England, Scotland, Italy and the States.
Her design work has sold to companies such as Ralph Lauren, J Crew, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and many more.
She is a leading resource for machine knitting education and has taught Knitwear Design at Lincoln University, Derby University and Leicester University in the '80's in England and more recently Knitwear Design and Construction at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Her work has appeared in British Vogue, British Elle, Vogue Knitting and Rowan Knitting Books. She has published a book on Linking Knitwear for Machine Knitters.
TKSO is the joint effort of Helen and Angie, a past student who came to The Knitting School in the summer of 2019.
During class, Angie recorded every demo Helen made, and still kept going back to the videos every now and then when she was working on her knitting machine.
We believe there are students just like her, who want to learn at their own pace, or revisit a technique whenever they need to. Having the classes online, we are now able to cover more topics in greater detail without worrying that the class would overrun. It’s a more affordable and accessible way of learning machine knitting. No more searching on YouTube, watching low-res videos, and following along creating sweater that you won’t wear, for the sake of learning a technique.
ANGIE LEE
Angie is a multi-disciplinary artist/designer with background in software engineering and visual art. She graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley, but her interest in design led her from being an engineer to an artist/designer.
She is the person behind AN IDLER STUDIO, and the mother of two relentlessly energetic and happy toddlers.