Join knitwear designer and illustrator Aleks Byrd on this 8-day knitting holiday. Our journey begins in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital. Staying near Tallinn’s Old Town, which was almost untouched by war and remains perfectly preserved, we’ll see the highlights of the city with our local guide and learn about Estonian handicrafts. The city is a firm favourite with our guests, and there will be time to explore independently before we travel to Pärnu. Located in southwestern Estonia, this resort town is known for its sandy beaches. We will also visit the small town of Haapsalu, the coastal parish of Tõstamaa and the Island of Kihnu, where we will learn about the distinctive knitting traditions and spend time with local master knitters. Aleks will accompany the tour throughout and has designed a project using four Estonian knitting techniques, originating from the areas we will be visiting during this unique tour.
TOUR SNAPSHOT
3 days in Tallinn exploring some of my favorite local yarn shops, a walking tour of Tallinn's old town and a visut the open air museum which is a snapshot of Estonia
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1 day in Haapsalu exploring this seaside town and meeting master lace knitters
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1 day in Tõstamaa exploring the Tõstamaa Handicraft centre and a half day traditional roosimine workshop with re-owned master knitter Anu Randmaa - she is responsible for bringing back roosimine after it was forgotten for 100 years
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1 day on Kihnu island meeting master troi sweater knitter Elly Karjam, an open air tour of the island, a visit to the museum full of traditional knits and textiles and plenty of time to meet other traditional craftswomen and shop
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a special tour exclusive pattern by me and workshops with me covering the unique techniques from the areas we will be visiting on the trip
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a special handcrafted project bag and local Estonian yarn for your trip exclusive pattern
The price of the trip includes accommodation, travel between locations and some meals. There will also be time for shopping because there will be plenty of yarn and handcrafted items (knitwear by master knitters) that will no doubt need to come home with you- trust me I know from personal experience!
Got some questions about the tour?
For specific individual travel advice - chat with Stitchtopia, the craft travel agency I’ve partnered with.
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There are two options when it comes to the pricing of the trip depending on the travel options included:
1 – Travel from London with the group and tour manager to Estonia, the airfare from London to Estonia is included. At the end of the tour, travel back to London is also included. Depending upon the room and number of people in the room, prices are from £2795.00 per person.
2 – Travel from your home to Estonia and meet the whole group and myself in Tallinn, Estonia. This option does not include any of the travel costs such as flights to and from Estonia or the return transfers between Tallinn Airport and the hotel, prices are from £2245.00 per person.
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Come join the tour from anywhere in the world. So far, we have people from the USA, Germany and the UK coming on the tour.
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Yes – the trip has a double for single/ sole occupancy rooms available. The single supplement is £575, so this amount would be added to the tour price (£2795 + £575 or £2245 + £575) depending upon which joining option you choose.
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An intermediate knitter; someone who is comfortable knitting and purling in the round and reading from charts
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We will be a maximum total of 18 people - 16 knitters plus me and our craft loving tour manager
