Introduction to Nihon Vogue

For the past 9 months I have been taking the first year of Nihon Vogue's Certificate Course in Knitting the Japanese Way. This rigorous course of study uses exact methods established through standards as defined by NAC, the Nihon Amimono Culture Association. Nihon Vogue established their school decades ago and was accredited in 1961 by the Japanese Ministry of Education. The school building is 13 stories high and each floor is devoted to a separate discipline. To date, Nihon Vogue has trained over 50,000 instructors in fiber skills. To be accredited, they must study 7-9 years in all disciplines of handcrafts and are renown for "stunning....groundbreaking designs in their approach to texture, motif and composition." Year One teaches techniques and methodology for measurement, drafting and drawing of patterns in metric, adjustment for proper fit that is customized for wearer, various garment features such as collars, necklines and sleeves. At the end of Year One (100 hours of instruction), a certificate is applied for and awarded if the requirements of 8 projects and near perfect attendance has been met. There are 6 levels of certification. Jean Wong who taught for Nihon Vogue 9 years in Taiwan, now resides in Vancouver, BC Canada and is certified to teach in North America. Jean has taught Year One and Year Two at Wool & Wicker in Canada for the past few years. For the first time, this course is now offered in the United States through Suzanne of Madrona Fiber Arts. Suzanne welcomes Jean and 15 ardent students to her beautiful home in at the base of the magnificent Cascade mountains for an entire weekend approximately every 4-6 weeks. I must say, the women who have signed up for this first year of Nihon Vogue with me are accomplished knitters and amazing women. In the class are dedicated knitters who have careers in the high tech industry or related to technology, medical field, teach knitting and spinning classes, airplane pilot, small business owners, or blissfully retired. My knitting tenure of 6 years is dwarfed by them and their skill set. I rated myself a 'pretty good' knitter before the course, but Nihon Vogue has humbled me! The class is a serious undertaking as it requires dedication and commitment of time and resources. It can also be a bit stressful as there can be A LOT of homework between sessions since we work on multiple sweaters simultaneously as concepts are mastered in sequence. I believe the class is held every 1-2 weeks in Canada so they don't have such wide slices of time between instruction. With so much time between our classes, one has to discard trepidation, jump in and begin the experiential learning journey. Despite my initial misgivings of whether or not I had gotten in over my head - I am quite pleased with the progress I have made thus far and realize I have learned so much. The program has been more rewarding than I had ever imagined!
The first year projects are:
1. Top Down Raglan
2. Pullover vest with no shaping (completed garment shown)
3. Pullover round Neck, Set in Sleeve Sweater
4. V neck, Set in Sleeve Sweater
5. Cardigan, round neck
6. Cardigan, V neck
7. Crochet vest
8. Design 'my own' creation