If you believed everything on the internet breaking into the knitting instructor scene is an easy money maker that uses knowledge a knitter already knows to make extra cash. In reality, however, this can take a while and be kind of tricky.
Here are some practical tips to make your dream of becoming a knitting instructor a reality.
Become a Grasshopper
Yes, become a grasshopper: a student yourself. Take a lesson from a local yarn shop, community college or even a paid online course to see how lessons are broken down. Not only will you improve your own skill, but you’ll see different teaching styles and class dynamics in person.
Doing this right off the bat will give you first hand experience of what it’s like for a student and having others around you while you learn. There are all sorts of advantages and pitfalls in knitting classes. Some can be very formal with huge amounts of students and others can be more like a knitting circle style with just a lot of “stitch n’ bitch”.
Use Local Resources
Your local yarn shop might already have an established knitting instructor but you will never know if you never ask. Bring in a finished project or projects and a resume of sorts. List all the skills you have mastered, number of people you might have already taught and classes you’d be willing to give. It might also help if you’ve established a relationship with the employees and owners, but it’s not a given.
Certifications
There are two main certifications you can complete to help you get started in a teaching career. One is from the Craft Yarn Council and the other is from the The Knitting Guild Association. Both offer rigorous online correspondence classes with two levels. The benefits of these are numerous. If you’re looking to teach at a big box craft store the Craft Yarn Council certification is what you’ll need to even be considered. But, more than that, once you have any of these certifications you are automatically put on registers that can be accessed by people from all over.
The drawback can be the price but if you’re used to purchasing upscale yarn the price of these classes won’t even make you blink. The other drawback is the time involved to complete the courses. If you are already running an Etsy shop, vending at craft fairs or just making gifts for others it might be hard to fit in these courses. It will depend on what your priorities are.
Lesson Plans
Make a master list of what you’d be comfortable teaching and break each lesson down. Some techniques, such as socks, will require more than one lesson as well as homework. Take the time to make your own teacher notes and student hand outs. The student hand outs can be as simple as adding an already published book to your class that they will receive or as complicated as making step by step directions yourself.
Remember that these are plans and the best laid plans don’t always work for ever occasion. They will help you stay on track and make sure you are covering what needs to be taught for each technique.
Personally, I like to plan out the year in month blocks of what I’ll be teaching. I don’t plan more than one technique per month because I know my burn out limit. However, you might feel comfortable doing more than that.
Be clear on your lesson plans what knitting experience your students will need if they sign up for the class your are offering. One time I offered a two at time toe up sock class and I thought I had made it clear that it wasn’t for beginners. Half way through the class one of the students said they didn’t know how to read knitting patterns. My approach had to completely change for that student.
Patience
Teaching adults is different that teaching kids. Teaching one on one is different than teaching a whole group. Teaching a beginning class is different than teaching an advanced or intermediate class. Each person that arrives for your class has different reasons for being there and a multitude of life experiences that brought them to that specific spot in your class. You don’t know what kind of day each of your students has had or what kind knitting instructors they’ve dealt with in the past. Each student is going to grasp the class concepts differently and have different levels of knitting skills and goals. Don’t try and put your students into a cookie cutter unless you want to end up with frustrated students.
Flexibility and Forgiveness
Be flexible in how you approach what ever it is you are teaching. I have taught the knit stitch to many people, but sometimes I have to change my wording when explaining the technique to different people. Sometimes I have to guide their hands sometimes they have to watch. It will depend, so be ready to change things up.
Teach your students the benefit of flexibility when it comes to knitting. Sometimes a pattern or stitch just isn’t working or their goal of making a hat as their first project is just a bit too ambitious. Flexibility is the ability to change your mind, rip it out, set it aside or approach the project from a different angle.
Forgive yourself if you end up making a teaching mistake. Teach your students to forgive themselves if they can’t get the technique right off the bat. Be willing to let things go in your knitting and the craft will work for you.
Remember Why
If you love knitting then remember why you wanted to start teaching it. Some days classes can be exhausting or remind you just how much you still don’t have mastered. It’s ok, because your main goal as a knitting instructor is to pass on the love of the craft. A craft that is older than you or any of your students.
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