Allerton Park & Retreat Center

Experience Level: Knitting experience required; must be proficient at garter stitches

Put your knitting experience to use at Knitting 201: Mittens on Thursdays, April 17 and 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. in The Studio.

In this two-week course, instructor Billie Theide will help students further their knitting skills by expanding on the Knitting 101 course taught in the fall. This class is open to all who have knitting experience.

Those taking part will gauge, cast on in the round using those mysterious double-pointed knitting needles, with stitch markers, knit rib stitch, increase, decrease and slip stitches, create a gusset, read knitting patterns, repair mistakes and cast off.

$90/person*. Register here by April 14. All sales are final.

*Students should bring:

— 1 set of 7-inch long bamboo #5 (3.75mm) Clover brand double pointed knitting needles. There are five needles in a set.— 1 set of 7-inch long bamboo #7 (4.5mm) Clover brand double pointed knitting needles. There are five needs in a set.— 1 pair of sharp scissors

Along with one of the following yarn skeins:— 1 Lion Brand Wool Ease Worsted Yarn in solid or heather. This is classified as Worsted Weight 4 yarn made of 80 percent acrylic and 20 percent wool. There are 197 yards per skein. It is machine washable. Avoid purchasing a dark colorway; OR

— 3 Essential Wool Superwash Merina Wool Yarn by K+C. This is classified as Worsted Weight 4 yarn made of 100 percent Merino wool. There are 84 yards per skein; the three skeins must be the same dye lot. It is machine washable. Avoid purchasing a dark color.

If you will need disability-related accommodations in order to participate, please email owarren@illinois.edu.

By attending, you consent to your image being used in Allerton marketing, social media and publications. Please alert the photographer or videographer if you do not want your image taken.

About the instructor

Billie Theide is a former chair of the Crafts Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is Professor Emerita. Theide is a metalsmith, jeweler and ceramicist. Her work is in public art collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the Racine Art Museum, among others.

She is the recipient of a Visual Arts Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and five Artists Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Theide has been recognized for her excellence in teaching and is a Distinguished Member and Past-President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.