CRAFTY THURSDAYS: Let’s Talk Balls - Knit Your Own Christmas Ornaments
Yep, you read that right—we’re knitting balls. Festive ones. Soft, colorful, totally legit holiday décor that you can hang proudly on your tree (or gift to friends, if you’re feeling generous).
In this workshop, I’ll walk you through making the A STRANDED pattern in the round—using either double-pointed needles or the magic loop. Never knit circularly before? Never tackled a colorwork chart? Don’t sweat it—I’ll break down those first few rounds step by step so you’ll be juggling your own balls in no time.
In this class you’ll:
• Cast on and knit in the round (DPNs or magic loop—your call, there will be a tutorial)
• Read and follow a stranded colorwork chart without panicking
• Shape, stuff, and finish your ornament so your balls look their best
• Walk away with one fuzzy new ball and the skills to knit plenty more
No experience with stranded knitting? Even better—you’ll get bragging rights when you show off your very first ball. Already a pro? Come for the laughs, stay for the stitches, and maybe drag a friend along who’s always wanted to play with yarn. By the end, you’ll have at least one fabulous ball, maybe two, and a tree that’s got way more personality than the neighbors’.
Skill Level: Beginner
Price: $30 plus supplies
Bring your favorite fabric scraps if you’ve got them—or just bring yourself and your festive spirit. Let’s make ornaments that look boutique, not “last-minute”.
Teacher: Tim Cardy
Tim Cardy: Lifelong fiber obsessive, unapologetic thread hoarder, and the mildly overqualified founder of a handmade empire built one stitch—and one questionable impulse buy—at a time
Tim has been tangled up in thread and fiber for over 50 years—and teaching for more than 30, from kitchen tables to institutions that should’ve known better. He has racked up ribbons in everything from felting to fashion design, built Victorian costumes that could legally qualify as architecture, and once made a doll so detailed it creeped people out (that was a win, by the way).
He has even earned two advanced degrees in Historical Fashion designs and late 19th- and early 20th-century decorative handcrafts—because when you go in - go all the way!
Tim’s résumé reads like a fiber arts fever dream: yarn mills, upholstery sourcing, fashion costing at Levi-Strauss, R&D at DuPont, and textile restoration work at the Met and the V&A. Basically, he’s done it all—except take up golf ( - who has the time to chase little balls around on a giant lawn? )
Tim take fiber seriously. But himself? Not even a little. Every yarn in the shop has been hand-picked, every vendor side-eyed for quality and ethics. Whether you’re nervously knitting your first garter stitch or hiding skeins in your laundry basket—he sees you. And he approves.