Just so you know, I’m not being paid to post this.
I happened upon Craftsy about a week ago when I was looking for some cheap online courses for crafting. I know that YouTube is a great resource for free tutorials, but I find it’s most useful when you’re looking for instruction on something very specific — not really something to use if you need a good foundation in something unless you have the time to wade through all the crap (in which case, you should probably start a blog about the good stuff you do find).
Anyway, Craftsy is a great resource for online courses on knitting, crocheting, quilting, and jewelry-making, and they even have some stuff for gardening and food crafts. There’s also a ton of workshops if you want to make something specific. On my wish list are the Classic Cabled Cowl, Roosevelt the Monster, and the Retro Chic Apron workshops. Finally, they also offer daily deals on yarns and fabric rolls, so it’s worth it to join the site for just that reason, even if you don’t plan on taking any courses or participating in any workshops.
I’d been mulling over grabbing a class or two for the past week, until I realized last night that they actually send you a link in their welcome email so that you can buy any class for $25 for your first week of membership. I should also mention that signing up for the site is completely free, so you get this link for nothing. I thought it would only last until last night, so I jumped on the very basic Knit Lab right away. I got through the first four lessons after putting Hugga to bed and have already found it invaluable (I realized I was increasing stitches on each row which is why everything I knitted looked triangular). But all classes were still $25 this morning, so I also copped Crochet Lab to save for later in the year. So maybe I don’t have to give up the ghost, after all! If I had the money, I’d sign up for all of them right now.
I’m mentioning this to you because the class I’m taking right now is great and I wanted to share this discovery that I’m so proud of — it’s been really helpful and loaded with information. All of the classes are shot in high quality, are accessible from pretty much any device (I watched the first four lessons from my iPad), and if you access it from a regular computer, the site comes with all sorts of bells and whistles to help you take notes and ask questions at certain parts. I am signed up for some very basic classes, but I think it’s worth it to join and take advantage of the $25 specials even if you’re more intermediate or if you see a class you think you’d like to take in the future but can’t take right now. Many of the more advanced classes (like sock knitting, knit toys, and quilting) are in the $50-$60 range, so to get them for $25 is a steal. You also have access to the classes for life, so even if you can’t take the classes right away, you can still take advantage of the discount.
Hope you guys can make use of the share! Happy crafting!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay, thanks for this! I just signed up for the Sewing Studio!
I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. I tried stuff on iTunes but never got into anything…and I like the tutorials on Colette Patterns but I needed someone in my face in an affordable, professional way. Yay, super excited!
yay brooke! i knew you’d find something you liked.