This hobby that most think is not as popular these days is still widely popular and moving into the modern age with the internet. Whether you are currently teaching or not you can start teaching knitting online and this article will show you how.
The best 10 tools you will need to teach knitting online are:
- Tools and Supplies
- Creating Content
- Audio-Video Hardware
- Video Editor
- Windows Movie Maker
- iMovie
- Shotcut
- Knitting Applications
- knitCompanion
- Ravit Ravelry
- Stash2Go
- Alpaca
- Chart Minder
- LoveKnitting
- Online Resources
- KnitOM
- Training Websites
- Learning Management Systems (LMS)
Now you know what tools you need to teach knitting online. Let’s take an in-depth look and understand their importance when teaching Knitting online.
Tools and Supplies
If you are planning on creating an online knitting course you need to gather the physical tools and supplies you will use during classes. The supplies you need are not very expensive. You should consider visiting a craft store or yarn shop to get high-quality tools.
You can do this online or in person but since this in an online course you may want to set up an eBay store for your students. This would mean you could make commissions off what you sell your students as well as the tutoring fees. Or maybe you create a starter kit they can order directly from you to save them time and make a little money for you as well.
To start teaching knitting online, you need the following tools and supplies
- Yarn or Wool
- Knitting Needles
- A pair of scissors
- A large sewing needle
- A pattern
- Stitch holding pin
These tools come in different varieties depending on what type of knitting you are aiming for. For example, there are five unique types of needles: straight, circular, interchangeable, double pointed, and cable. Every kind of needle has its own purpose and is used for certain knitting patterns.
You can find multiple guides on the Internet that explain what tools you need to start knitting. You should check out this article that points out the essential tools for beginning knitters.
Creating Content
Audio-Video Hardware
Knitting cannot be taught only using plain text. That’s why it is important to have audio-video capabilities. This way, you will be able to record training content for your online course.
There are a lot of different ways to create training content for your online knitting classes. You can learn more about creating eLearning content using this article.
There are many expensive ways to start recording your training videos but I would suggest just buying a cheap stand for your mobile phone and using that. Once you get comfortable recording with your mobile phone you can then move on to some more professional equipment and maybe setting up a room in your house to record in.
When you do that you can think about deadening the sound in the room, putting in proper lighting and having a permanent camera on a tripod set up to record. This is quite easy and cheap to set up but not really needed right at the start.
You can get a Bluetooth microphone for your phone too if you like so you can have the microphone closer to you. For any equipment check the recommended tools page for a list of ones I use.
Video Editor
After recording raw footage for your video training content you can make it look a little better for your students by jazzing it up a little with some video editing. This can be done using various applications that are either paid or free.
The most popular software solutions used for video editing are:
- Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
- iMovie (Mac)
- Shotcut
- Davinci Resolve
NOTE: If computer stuff is not your strong suit you can get contractors to set up your training website as a WordPress or Moodle website and help you with your video editing on Fiverr.com. You can find people to help you there quite cheaply and you can try a few until you find someone you like.
Windows Movie Maker
https://www.microsoft.com/movie-maker/
This application is only compatible with Windows operating systems. It can be successfully used for basic video editing tasks. Its commonly used functions help you to trim videos, synchronize sound, use picture-in-picture, and more.
iMovie
https://www.apple.com/au/imovie/
iMovie is a tool that is designed for iOS and MacOS. It allows its users to edit their raw footage using their iPhone, iPad, or Mac device. It provides ten different creative video filters as well as over 80 smart soundtracks that adjust to match the length of your recordings.
Shotcut
Shotcut is an open-source and cross-platform video editor. It supports hundreds of audio-video formats and codecs. No import is required to edit the footage. It features multiple dockable and undockable panels. It supports resolutions up to 4k and captures from a bunch of different sources.
Knitting Apps
There are plenty of helpful knitting apps that have been created that can help you. These apps can be successfully used by online teachers that conduct knitting courses to help their students to get a better understanding of certain knitting techniques.
The most popular apps among knitters are:
- knitCompanion
- Ravit Ravelry
- Stash2Go
- Alpaca
- Chart Minder
- LoveKnitting
Let’s see what every app is capable of and how you can use them when teaching knitting online.
knitCompanion
https://www.knitcompanion.com/
This is an app that is compatible with both Android and iOS. It allows its users to track their row and progress during the knitting process. It also connects knitters using Ravelry websitesocial network.
Using Dropbox, your projects’ information is kept safely in cloud-based storage. It can be used for free along with the ‘Basic’ plan. However, for more advanced features, you have to pay an annual auto-renewing subscription.
Ravit Ravelry
http://www.enhancient.com/ravit/
Ravit app is directly connected to the Ravelry API. This way, your knitting social account created on Ravelry allows you to browse or search to find different knitting patterns, keep track of your yarn. Moreover, you can use it whenever you go to the yarn shop to make a supply list.
This app allows you to snap photos of your projects. You can upload the photos to Ravelry for future reference to potential customers. Unfortunately, it is only available for iOS users.
Stash2Go
Stash2Go is an app that can run on both Android and iOS devices. It allows users to find previous projects as well as favorite knitting patterns. This app features a yarn store database that lets you find your preferred fiber and supplies for a project.
It is also synchronized with your Ravelry account. This app can be used in five different languages: English, German, Finnish, Swedish, and Norwegian.
Alpaca
Alpaca is an iOS-based app that represents an alternative to the Ravelry dashboard. Any task that can be performed using the Ravelry app can be also done in Alpaca.
Its users can upload project photos, edit notes, and change their projects’ status directly from the mobile app. You can search for patterns, yarn shops, and projects using the integrated database that is continually updated.
It is a very helpful app that allows you to find your projects, queue, favorite patterns, and friends all in one place.
Chart Minder
Chart Minder is a browser-based knitting assistant. Using this platform you can take photos of your current projects to create customized knitting charts within a few seconds. One important advantage is that you can draw patterns by hand using your laptop’s touchpad.
It also features an integrated scanner that allows you to create charts from images and photos. You can immediately see the effect that your yarn and gauge will have on your measurements and design, without having to struggle with complicated maths.
You can save your finished chart to an image. You can export it and use it anywhere.
LoveKnitting
https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/lovecrafts-knitting-app
LoveKnitting is an app currently available only for iOS. It allows its users to allow their LoveCrafts and Ravelry library regardless of their location. There are heaps of handy tools that are integrated into the app. The most commonly used tools are the row counter and the marker.
It was originally designed to allow users to keep their PDF knitting patterns intact by storing them in their device’s storage instead of their knitting workstation. This app is very helpful for all types of knitters, regardless of their experience.
Online Resources
There are multiple websites that provide online resources for knitters. You can successfully integrate those resources into your online course about knitting. The most popular knitting-related website which also includes resources is called KnitOM.
KnitOM
The platform provides a set of online resources for knitting that prove very helpful for all enthusiastic knitters. Some of the links mentioned are affiliated, yet some are free of any charge.
The ‘Resources’ section contains several different categories:
- Knitting patterns
- Essential knitting tools
- Needle cases
- Tapestry needles
- Scissors
- And more.
- Non-essential knitting tools
- Yarn swift
- Blocking mats
- Sock ruler
- And more.
- Learn to Knit Resources
- Productivity tools
The KnitOM website also contains a page that is dedicated to knitting courses. All the courses uploaded on this page contain highly valuable resources and tips that you can use to develop your knitting skills.
You will be able to improve your training content by understanding how knitting is taught by other online teachers and analyzing two important aspects: what is good and what is not in their courses.
Understanding what courses are out there and the quality of what they provide with you attending as a student is always part of a good business plan. Knowing your competition will mean you can find out where they are strong and weak and where the opportunities are in the market.
Training Websites
You should choose the hosting platform depending on what works for you. Using one of these popular websites is how you can get a market to sell too if you don’t already have students.
Skillshare is one of the most well-known websites for online courses. There are thousands of students taking various courses. It offers you a great opportunity to share your course and get maximum exposure with minimum costs.
Udemy is the world’s most well-known video tutorial website so it can provide you with the same thing as Skillshare. The difference is how they do commissions for enrollments. This is worth checking into to see which one works well for you.
Learning Management Systems
If you are already teaching students and just wish to take your classes online then you will need a Learning Management System (LMS) to host your content. There are many LMS you can choose from and you can do from the free open source to the paid ones.
From the LMS above you can choose an open source for free or a paid one for technical setup and maintenance support. The paid ones generally have a few more features built-in but you will pay for each feature.
If you don’t know the difference between the LMS then here are some articles to help:
ARTICLE: Moodle vs. Blackboard
ARTICLE: Canvas vs. Moodle