Teaching Information
Hire Tonia to teach at your next online or in-person event.
Tonia’s designs and articles have been published in a variety of knitting magazines and online publications including Interweave Knits, Cast On, and Knit Now. She’s also designed for both large and small yarn manufacturers like Knit Picks, Biscotte Yarns, and the Brown Sheep Company.
About Tonia
Tonia Lyons is a Master Hand Knitter, Certified Knitting Instructor, and knitwear designer based in Quebec, Canada. She loves discussing a variety of knitting topics on her YouTube channel, Nerdy Knitting, with the goal of helping knitters find their confidence and knit garments that fit their body shape.
She is an enthusiastic teacher, teaching at local events throughout Canada and the United States – for guilds, shops, and knitting festivals. She also teaches at online events and offers online classes and a variety of video tutorials through her YouTube channel. She’s taught at the Next Level Knitting Conference, Virtual Vogue Knitting Live, Knit Social, and other online and in-person events.
TESTIMONIALS
“Great class and inspiring teacher! Tonia was very organized and did lots of preparation with sample swatches. She packed a lot of information in this class. Thank you!”
“My head is so full of ideas from this class! The swatches really showed the possibilities available to us with a little imagination. As an advanced beginner, Tonia opened up how I can start ‘thinking outside the pattern.’ So glad I took this course!”
“Tonia was fantastic. So engaging and appreciated her hard work on all those swatches!”
“Excellent samples! I especially liked the alternative stitches and your project suggestions.
Loved the live class. Thank you!”
“This might be my favorite class this year. I’ve figured out some of the things that were mentioned, but most were new to me. And I tend to love variegated yarn when I see it in a skein, but less so when I knit it up…”
“Tonia was so organized and well-spoken. The swatches she made were so helpful, and I know it takes quite some time to knit all of them. Her class really inspired me to try new techniques with variegated yarn and I can’t wait to start a project using things I learned. Would 100% take a class with Tonia again on ANY subject, knowing it would be just as thoughtful as this class was.”
“Amazing ways to incorporate variable yarns into projects! Great presentation – highly recommend :)”
“Great presenter, very knowledgeable. Loved that she was so prepared with so many examples/swatches. I watched the recording.”
“Tonia invested a lot of time for this class by supplying great handouts and showing numerous knitted swatches showing how different variegated yarns knit up. She has great positive energy, welcomed questions, explained things well and allowed some “show and tell” from students. I’ve taken a class from her in the past and will definitely take another one in the future!”
“This class was sooo good. So well prepared with fantastic samples and so many. I venture to say this is my all time favorite class with 1 other in the past … in the history of vkl classes I have attended. Tonia was so good at helping us see beyond just a multi color hank… what to do with this stuff… a total game changer…thanks.”
Past Events
Next Level Knitting Conference (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)
Virtual Vogue Knitting Live (2024, 2025)
Knit Social Montreal (2025)
Festival Twist (2025)
PEI Fibre Festival (2025)
Knitting by the Sea Retreat (2026)
TESTIMONIALS
“If you are new to charting; lots of good information to absorb. As a knitter who preters charts, I enjoyed the examples of more complex charting and symbols! Good Class.”
“Tonia is a very organized and clear speaker, uses visual support quite well. I appreciated her great help in understanding charts. Thanks!”
“Keep this class. It was excellent. Every serious knitter needs this course.”
“This has been the best course! The large examples and clear instructions were absolutely wonderful!”
“This was a great class. Needs to be a standard offer each year. Going back to basics of the construction of a stitch is essential. Glad that Tonia didn’t assume that everyone already knew this. We might but a reminder helps see our knitting is a new light.”
“Tonia was great! I really liked the super-large stockinette piece she used as the basis for her teaching. It made everything viewable and understandable. A great class. I’ve been knitting for decades and have had lots of tinking experience, but Tonia’s presentation pulled everything together. Extremely helpful. Thank you!”
“Tonia was very thorough and increased my desire to do lace knitting. The handout is well written and a great reference.”
“Great class. A super teacher, with a lot of wonderful ideas and samples.”
“I’ve never taken a class with an instructor so prepared, with information, and especially with
SAMPLES! GREAT class, many atta girls to Tonia!”
“Such a well prepared class. Great teacher. Gave me lots of new ideas.”
“Tonia was so well prepared and engaging! Great class and great instructor.”
Contact Tonia
For teaching inquiries, send an email to hello@toniaknits.com
Get in touch to explore your specific class needs and book a class or presentation.
Class Types Offered
01
Technique Focused
These classes use small swatches and hands-on demonstrations to learn new techniques.
02
Project Focused
Students apply new skills to knitting projects and patterns with these classes.
03
Lectures & Presentations
One-hour presentations on popular knitting topics.