3 and 6 Hour Classes
Friday Morning
Classes: 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
The Total Tote
Sharon Gunter
CC109 6 hour class
This tote is woven with flat reed, starting with a tabby weave, 2/1 twill woven up the sides and a rim of oval reed lashed with artificial sinew. Along the way the webbing for the handle is woven in from the bottom up, which actually holds the basket, making it usable for toting all sorts of supplies, shopping, or knitting. Approximate Size: 12″ x 5″ x 13″ (opening 6″ x 12″)
Levels: All levels.
Fees: $55 materials fee.
Class Materials: Tools and reed will be supplied. Students bring towels or rags for drips.
Wild Lantern
Rae Hunter
CC112 6 hour class
Make a one-of-a-kind unique wild lantern designed by you. Using willow spokes with a lush variety of materials for weavers, you will develop innovative ways to use weaving techniques to create a play of light through the materials. The lantern will evolve according to each person’s skill and experience. The work can also be adapted for a wall piece.
Fees: $30.00 materials fee includes willows, cattail, rush, Canadian sweetgrass, and an LED light.
Class Materials: Students bring pruning shears, scissors, and an old towel to keep materials damp.
Tapestry Cartoon Development
James Koehler
CC117 6 hour class
Participants will study the process involved in creating tapestry cartoons. This will be accomplished both by analyzing cartoons of historic tapestries and developing cartoons based on specific design concepts or photographs of interest to each participant.
Level: Open to all levels of weaving experience, including the beginner.
Fees: $10 materials fee includes handouts and mylar.
Class Materials: Students bring graph paper; tracing paper; straight edge; pencil/eraser; colored pencils or markers; indelible fine point black marker; photographs or specific design concepts to be used in developing cartoons.
Color Theory
Linda Kubik
CC120 6 hour class
Why do some colors “pop” and others do not? Color affects everything we do. We all have color preferences; learn why and how to tweak them. Explore different color combinations and learn the difference between hue, value, saturation and more.
Level: All levels.
Class Materials: Students bring scissors, glue sticks, tape, newsprint pad, colored or color aid paper, colored pencils, crayons, paint, and yarn and fabric scraps.
Photographing Your Work
Daryl Lancaster
C123 3 hour class
Often fiber artists are rejected from exhibits because of the poor quality of their images. Knowing what jurors are looking for will help improve the quality of your final presentation. Using PowerPoint, the basics of photography, both film and digital will be discussed, as well as composition and lighting, and basic digital image manipulation using Photoshop Elements®. Lots of images illustrating what NOT to do!
Level: All levels.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee covers a bound full-color 36 page monograph of the presentation.
Tartan: Designing, Weaving, Wearing
Kati Meek
CC127 6 hour class
Tartans range from simple 2-color checks to nearly impossible-to-weave complexities. Both can be tamed to complement a titan or a toddler, a table or sofa. Exercises explore adjusting a tartan to fit the project and yarns. The great fun of designing new tartans has participants playing with color, proportion and balance to create new designs. With illustration and discussion, the special skills and techniques for weaving and finishing a good tartan come to light. This will improve every cloth from a handweaver’s loom. We will practice donning the great kilt and making up a tartan rosette.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $5.00 materials fee.
Structure of Yarn
Judith MacKenzie McCuin
CC130 6 hour class
Single, two-ply, three-ply, four? What makes these yarn structures work and why do we use them? How are cables made and what do they do? What makes a bouclé structure work differently than other yarns? How does twist direction cause differences in cloth? Yarn is endlessly fascinating and an understanding of how yarn is made and what it can do is one of the best design tools anyone working in textiles can have. In this hands-on class we’ll look at how to make classic yarn structures and learn what they can do to make fascinating cloth.
Level: Should be able to make a continuous thread.
Fees: $10.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring their wheel with all its parts. A niddy noddy, a measuring tape, a ball winder and a lazy kate will be helpful. Bring at least 4 bobbins.
Basic Rigid Heddle
Syne Mitchell
CC134 6 hour class
Come learn to weave on the fun and easy-to-use rigid heddle loom! You can weave a scarf in a day! In this class we will wind and weave a scarf using a hand-painted warp. We will also discuss finishing techniques as well as ways to play with color pooling.
Level: All experience levels welcome.
Fees: $30.00 materials fee covers hand-painted warp yarn and weft.
Class Materials: Students bring a rigid heddle loom* with a 12-dent reed; note taking supplies; scissors; tapestry needle; a shuttle.
Note: Syne has three extra rigid-heddle looms that students could rent for the class. The fee is $10 for class use and additional materials — the looms will be pre-warped. Email Kathy Alexander if you are interested in using one of these looms.
Inkle Loom Weaving
Robyn Spady
CC139 6 hour class
The inkle loom is one of the simplest looms around; however, its amazing potential is often overlooked and undervalued. This seminar will present the inkle loom in a new light by showing new ideas to create elaborate trim, embellishments, and jewelry on a loom that may be at home collecting dust. A variety of different inkle loom setups will be available to weave on, or bring your own to set up.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $4.00 materials fee covers a spiralbound 12+ page color handout with cover. Includes summary of techniques, drafts, bibliography, and reference list.
Class Materials: Students bring paper and pen or pencil for note taking.
Optional Class Materials: inkle loom, shuttle, 5/2 cotton or size 10 crochet cotton, in at least two colors.
Patterned Scarves: Using the Silk Laminate Technique
Pat Spark
CC143 6 hour class
In this class you will use the properties of the wool itself to create various patterns on laminated felt scarves. Lattice, zig-zag, grids, spirals, etc., can be created on the scarves, combining areas of open silk with areas of silk/wool puckers.
Level: Some experience with laminated (nuno) or other fine weight felting is required.
Fees: $20 materials fee covers silk scarf, fine merino wool, handouts, dyes, use of felting equipment.
Class Materials: Students bring a waterproof ruler or tape measure; scissors; plastic bucket or container for draining off water; quart-sized container for holding soapy water; large cellulose sponge (O’Cello is one brand); 3 or more bath towels; waterproof marking pen; rolling bar (can be made of a piece of 1-inch diameter PVC pipe, approx. 20-24″ long); piece of bubble wrap (small bubbles) approx. 2 ft. x 9 ft. (Two narrower pieces can be taped together with duct tape to make this size. Tape on the smooth side.)
Spice it Up: From Bland to Beautiful
Cameron Taylor-Brown
CC146 6 hour class
For centuries we have known that the creative use of spices transforms ordinary food into the truly exceptional. The same is true with textiles. Discover how to “spice up” your weaving with accent yarns. Begin with simple yarn wrappings, experimenting with accent yarns to see the difference they make. Then play with adding yarns to your warp using a “tie-in” board, and experiment with weft mixtures as well.
Level: Advanced beginner.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee covers lots of beautiful yarns for wrappings, accent and weft, and use of tie-in boards.
Class Materials: Students bring a pre-warped loom, threaded on a four-harness straight draw. Warp to be any solid color, sett for balanced plain weave, 8″ wide, 2 yards long plus waste. Additional supplies: pencil; tape; scissors; notebook; two 4″ by 12″ pieces of cardboard. Digital camera suggested.
Tapestry 101: Intro Level Tapestry
Kathe Todd-Hooker
CC149 6 hour class
Students will be taught the basics of tapestry weaving: how to choose a loom, how to warp the loom, choosing fibers and tools, and some tapestry weave structures and techniques.
Level: For beginners.
Fees: $25.00 materials fee covers warps and wefts.
Class Materials: Students bring a small, unwarped tapestry loom. Directions for making a pipe loom that is easy to transport will be available online or you can rent a loom from the teacher for an additional $5.00. Email Kathy Alexander if you are interested in renting one of these looms.
Classic Crackle and More
Susan Wilson
CC152 6 hour class
Crackle is a surprisingly versatile weave/block weave that shares some characteristics with overshot and summer and winter, but has its own advantages and idiosyncrasies. This 6-hour “crackle intensive” starts with an exploration of four-shaft classic crackle and the many variations possible with alternate treadlings. Drafting exercises will ensure an understanding of how to read and design crackle drafts. We will then move on to the essentials of designing and drafting multi-shaft crackle. Although more complex patterns can be created, designing crackle with more than four blocks presents some unique challenges. Learn how to push the limits of this fascinating weave structure.
Level: Intermediate to advanced.
Class Materials: Students bring colored pencils and graph paper.
Fiber: The Inspiration for Planning a Warp
Heather Winslow
CC156 6 hour class
The weaver’s choice of fibers and their placement in the warp determines the characteristics of the woven fabric. Warp planning includes addressing properties of natural fibers, yarn count, multiple fibers in one warp, working within the width restrictions of the loom, multiple projects on one warp, and various weave structures on one threading. Using a yarn that “warms your heart,” you will wind potential warps on cardboard for future projects.
Level: Beginner to advanced.
Fees: $8.00 materials fee covers fibers and handouts.
Class Materials: Students bring paper scissors; cardboard (for winding yarn around to simulate a warp); double stick tape; masking tape; plain paper; pencil; yarn that “warms your heart” (to design a warp around); small amounts of yarns of all fibers, colors, textures and types which will be placed in a pool from which all participants will design “pretend” warps. (All yarns will be returned at the end of class except for small amounts – the more yarn variety we have, the more design potential, inspiration, and fun for all!)
Friday Afternoon
Classes: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Weaving with Handspun
Phyllis Karsten
C215 3 hour class
Phyllis will take you on her personal journey into spinning and weaving with a trunk show and lecture. Along the way there will be tips and interactive examples on spinning, sizing, weaving and sewing garments from your handspun yarns. Cutting into your precious yardage does not have to be traumatic – there are things that can be done to make sure all goes well. Phyllis will share her experiences so you will feel secure in weaving with your handspun. Bring an interest in spinning and weaving with handspun.
Level: No technical skill prerequisites.
Fees: $10.00 materials fee to cover handouts.
Class Materials: Students bring note paper and pen/pencils.
Warp Fast!
Daryl Lancaster
C224 3 hour class
Learn to warp with more than one thread at a time. Students will learn to use devices that allow warping multiple ends at once. Discover the inexpensive rigid heddle warping paddle, and the fast method of sectional warping. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of this production technique. The AVL warping wheel will also be discussed, as well as detailed information on calculating warps especially for multiple thread repeats.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $20.00 materials fee covers a 50 page full-color monograph of the presentation.
Saturday Morning
Classes: 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Antler Sea Grass Basket
Sharon Gunter
CC310 6 hour class
Enjoy creating a basket with a small antler handle that gives it a distinct character. Learn tips for shaping, filling uneven areas, and making a God’s eye. Construction and weaving materials are natural reed and sea grass. Approximate finished size: 10″ x 8″ x 5″.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $65 materials fee.
Class Materials: Tools and raw materials will be supplied. Students bring towels or rags for drips. If you want to add color, Lamb’s Pride Bulky Wool adds wonderful color and texture.
Zippy Lady
Rae Hunter
CC313 6 hour class
Give old zippers a new life. You will learn to coil them using waxed linen/wire mixed with your imagination to make a unique, one-of-a-kind figure. The figure starts with the head and coils its way down to become whatever your mind desires — or the material demands.
Fees: $22.00 materials fee includes zippers, waxed linen, and needles.
Class Materials: Students bring scissors, thimble, and small needle nose pliers.
Color and Design for Tapestry
James Koehler
CC318 6 hour class
Three lectures will be presented on the use of sacred geometry in the design process. Following each lecture, participants will work on design and color exercises that pertain to each lecture. Particular emphasis will be given to geometric principles and the color theories of Johannes Itten and Josef Albers.
Level: Open to all levels.
Fees: $10 materials fee covers handouts and mylar.
Class Materials: Students bring graph paper; construction paper; tracing paper; straight edge; pencil/ eraser; colored pencils or markers; scissors; good quality compass.
Missoni Style Shawl
Linda Kubik
CC321 6 hour class
Simple, casual, elegant — turn your own handwoven fabric into high fashion. This easy-to-make shawl takes less than 2 yards of 36″ wide fabric. For beginners, this is a great way to familiarize yourself with your sewing machine and serger. Individualize with different trims and finishes.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring approximately 2 yards of fabric; sewing machine; serger (optional but strongly recommended); pins; hand sewing needles; scissors and shears; thread and other usual sewing notions; extra yarn used in fabric; rotary cutter and mat (if you have one).
Custom Fit and Fabulous
Daryl Lancaster
CC325 6 hour class
Create a simple, unstructured jacket pattern, custom fit for you. No more one-size-fits-all, or clothes from rectangles! Using a time-tested classic unstructured jacket pattern, students will learn to custom fit for their individual figures. Some simple flat pattern and drafting skills will be taught in this class. Expect to leave with a finished pattern and directions to make a fabulous, yet easy, jacket from your hand-woven fabric.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $12.00 materials fee covers handout and pattern paper.
Class Materials: Students bring tape measure; scissors; 2 or 3 good quality colored pencils (Sanford Prismacolor); notebook and pen (highlighter is helpful); pushpins; a cardboard cutting board with printed grid (if possible – it really helps); see-thru straight edge ruler; French curve (optional).
To Spin a Fine Thread
Judith MacKenzie McCuin
C331 3 hour class
Have you always wanted to create a gossamer thread? In this workshop, we’ll look at the choice of fibers and how to spin them to create the finest of all possible yarns. We’ll learn all the tips and tricks of the trade to allow you to spin just like the spider woman. You will learn how different drafts affect the type of lace yarn you spin. We’ll make fine yarns from a variety of fibers including silk, a variety of fine wools and bamboo.
Level: Should be able to spin a continuous thread.
Fees: $5.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring their wheel with all its parts. A niddy noddy, a measuring tape, a ball winder and a lazy kate would be helpful. Bring at least 4 bobbins.
Turning Straw into Gold
Kati Meek
CC328 6 hour class
Spinning flax is delightfully easy and extremely satisfying. Understanding the special character of flax is the beginning of skill and appreciation for this miracle fiber of the ancients. We begin with an overview of flax characteristics, husbandry and the retting process. Then comes hands-on practice breaking, scutching, hackling and spinning a bit of pre-retted flax to “find the gold.” The second part of the workshop includes spinning with commercially prepared flax line from stricks as well as rovings.
Fees: $8.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring wheel in good condition or supported spindle, 5 toilet paper tubes, a thin terry bath towel.
Rigid Heddle Weaving: Beyond Plain Weave
Syne Mitchell
CC335 6 hour class
Love your portable and easy-to-use rigid-heddle loom? Want to weave exciting and fun new structures on it? In this hands-on class we will explore innovative ways to use a rigid-heddle loom. Topics covered include: lace weaves, textures and patterns, and supplemental wefts.
Fees: $3.00 materials fee for hand-outs and supplemental and inlay yarns.
Class Materials: Students bring a rigid-heddle loom (prewarped at 12 ends per inch in a light color of 3/2 perle cotton); note-taking supplies; scissors; tapestry needle; pick-up stick; two shuttles; extra warp yarn to use as weft.
Note: Syne has three extra rigid-heddle looms that students could rent for the class. The fee is $10 for class use and additional materials — the looms will be pre-warped. Email Kathy Alexander if you are interested in using one of these looms.
A “Greener” Indigo
Barbara Shapiro
CC338 6 hour class
Discover the magic and delve into the mystery of indigo, one of the oldest and most influential dyes. We will set up an indigo dye bath using a simple historic ecological formula suitable for studio use, prepare cloth for dyeing, and experiment in resist dyeing and printing with thickened indigo. While the dye bath is reducing, Barbara will present a brief history of the uses of indigo throughout the world and its impact on fortune and trade. By the end of the day, you will have a set of dyed and printed indigo samples and the knowledge to go on using this magic dye with a safe, quick, non-toxic formula and some thickened indigo to take home for more printing.
Fees: $20 materials fee covers Indigo and other chemicals, Tyvek for labeling samples, a small glass lab jar of printing indigo for each student to keep, heavy nylon thread for stitch resist, several different types of fabric to dye, linen or other fabric to print on, and handouts. Electric dye pots, spoons, funnels, buckets to soak materials, samples of indigo from around the world, etc., will be provided for students to use.
Class Materials: Students bring simple sewing kit including two large safety pins; note taking materials; rubber gloves and apron or clothes that don’t matter; ziplock bags for wet materials; a wine cork or small stamp for printing.
Optional Class Materials: jar with lid to take some dye bath home.
Jewelry: from Thrums & Weftovers
Robyn Spady
C340 3 hour class
Are your thrums taking over? Do you have bobbins full of yarns that you don’t want to throw away? Do you have a small amount of a wonderful novelty yarn and want to turn it into something fun? In this class, participants will be introduced to ideas and simple techniques for transforming thrums, “weftovers,” and novelty yarns into jewelry. There will also be hands-on time for transforming yarns into fiber beads and even making an item or two.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $8.00 materials fee covers the handout and the cost of jewelry findings for a pair of earrings or pendant, use of equipment, etc., used during the workshop. The handout is a spiral-bound 10+ page color booklet with cover. It includes summary of techniques, bibliography, and reference list.
Class Materials: Students bring jewelry-sized round nose pliers; chain nose pliers; wire cutters and scissors. (There will be some extra tools if you do not have them and want to defer purchasing them.)
Felted Gnome (Nisse or Tomte)
Pat Spark
CC344 6 hour class
In this class you will use both wet and dry felting techniques to sculpt these wonderful creatures. Based on a cone shape, the gnomes have terrific faces, guaranteed to make you laugh!
Level: All levels.
Fees: $25.00 materials fee covers felting needles, foam pad, fiber.
Class materials: Students bring scissors.
Garden Palettes: Creative Design from Glorious Gardens
Cameron Taylor-Brown
CC347 6 hour class
Color, pattern, texture, balance, proportion… the elements of a well-designed garden are similar to those of a well-designed weaving. Get excited by color reproductions of glorious gardens and create the design ideas they inspire, beginning with the Robert Irwin garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles — “a stunning variety of colors and textures … a sculpture in the form of a garden aspiring to be art.” Rummage through huge piles of luscious fibers to interpret your own gardener’s palette of yarns and weave samples of your ideas. By the end of the day, you will have “planted the seeds” for many future projects!
Level: Advanced Beginner.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee covers lots of beautiful yarns for wrappings and weft. Instructor will provide garden images and/or students may bring their own.
Class Materials: Students bring a prewarped loom, threaded on a four-harness straight draw. Warp to be your favorite garden color, sett for balanced plain weave, 8 inches wide, 2 yards long plus waste. Additional supplies: pencil; tape; scissors; notebook; two 4″ by 12″ pieces of cardboard. Digital camera suggested.
Optional Class Materials: pictures of your favorite gardens.
Soumak: Something Old, Something New
Kathe Todd-Hooker
CC350 6 hour class
Soumak — no matter how you spell it and there are dozens of ways to spell it — is a technique that can be used to create whole cloth or mixed with tapestry to create lines that go horizontally or vertically. The technique can be used to outline, lock shapes into place, smooth edges or produce a unique looking surface. Traditionally it was used throughout the middle east to produce containers and household items. Mixed with tapestry it becomes an all-purpose technique for creating lines, texture and problem solving.
Level: Advanced or intermediate level.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring a small warped tapestry loom or frame. Directions for making a pipe loom that is easy to transport will be available online.
Designing Multi-Shaft Crackle
Susan Wilson
C353 3 hour class
Crackle threadings extend readily onto more than four shafts, resulting in more blocks. Although more complex patterns can be created, designing crackle with more than four blocks presents some unique challenges. In this seminar you will learn the essentials of designing and drafting multi-shaft crackle, as well as a variety of treadlings to push the limits of traditional crackle weave. Numerous samples and projects will be available for examination.
Level: Intermediate to advanced.
Class Materials: Students bring colored pencils and graph paper.
Shimmering Silk: An Inspiring Fiber to Spin
Heather Winslow
CC357 6 hour class
The beauty, mystery, soft shimmer, and elegance of silk! Enjoy the tactile pleasure as this exquisite fiber passes through fingers to become a beautiful, luxurious, versatile yarn. Its incredible strength allows its use for weaving, kumihimo, needle laces, and other needle arts, as well as for knitting. Learn the properties and characteristics of silk, and spin several samples of bombyx and tussah silks, and blends of silk and luxury fibers.
Level: Advanced beginner to intermediate spinner.
Fees: $25.00 materials fee covers silk fiber and handouts.
Class Materials: Students bring a spinning wheel in good working order; lazy kate; extra bobbins; carders; small niddy noddy; labels to tag samples; yarn to tie samples; 10 sandwich bags; pen and paper.
Saturday Afternoon
Classes: 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Spinning for Color
Judith MacKenzie McCuin
C432 3 hour class
Spinners have a dazzling array of colored fiber available to them in the market place. In this class we’ll look at ways to use these fibers to produce beautiful yarns. We’ll make heathered yarns, marled yarns and tweeds. We’ll use dyed fiber to make stunning bouclés and novelty yarns. We’ll use tricks to get the most out of space dyed roving.
Level: Should be able to spin a continuous thread.
Fees: $10.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring their wheel with all its parts. A niddy noddy, a measuring tape, a ball winder and a lazy kate would be helpful. Bring at least 4 bobbins. Bring a dog brush, flicker or combs, handcards if you have them.
Overcoming Weaver’s Block With Blocks
Robyn Spady
C441 3 hour class
Do the terms “block design” and “profile draft” bewilder you? Are you interested in developing new patterns and pushing your loom to new limits? Then this class is for you. Through presentation, discussion, and hands-on exercises, you will develop a practical understanding of blocks, profile drafts, and how to use them to create new and exciting drafts. You will also examine the fundamental building blocks of many weave structures and how they can be manipulated into new designs.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $4.00 materials fee covers a spiralbound handout printed in color with cover. Includes summary of concepts reviewed, worksheets, bibliography, and reference list.
Class Materials: Students bring paper and pen or pencil for note taking.
Surprising Color-and-Weave
Susan Wilson
C454 3 hour class
Color-and-weave effects are charming repeating patterns created by the interaction of dark and light colors in both warp and weft. In this slide-lecture we’ll examine traditional color-and-weave effects such as gingham, houndstooth, district checks, pinwheel motifs, log cabin, as well as color-and-weave effects in block weaves such as shadow weave and diversified plain weave. Through paper-andpencil exercises you’ll learn the magic of color-and-weave drafting.
Level: Advanced beginner to intermediate.
Class Materials: Students bring colored pencils and graph paper.
Sunday Morning
Classes: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch or Knitting Tote
Sharon Gunter
C511 3 hour class
Similar to the Total Tote, but smaller, this basket is made using tabby, 2/1 twill, and a lashed rim. The webbing for the handle is woven in from the bottom up, which makes this basket usable for carrying all sorts of supplies — your lunch or your knitting or whatever needs toting. Approximate finished size: 8″ x 5″ x 7″ (opening 6″ x 9″).
Level: All levels.
Fees: $40 materials fee.
Class Materials: Tools will be supplied. Students bring towels or rags for drips.
Needles and Beads
Rae Hunter
C514 4 hour class
These acupuncture needles will cure any boredom. With your input, colored craft wire and beads, this project will allow you lots of latitude for creative innovations. The design and the shape and style will evolve as you work with the materials. Several pieces will be presented to stimulate your imagination. This class will run an hour longer than the other Sunday morning classes.
Fees: A $20.00 material fee includes waxed linen/wire, acupuncture needles, and glue.
Class Materials: Students bring small wire cutters and needle nose pliers.
Studio as Business
James Koehler
C519 3 hour class
A Power Point presentation on the process of setting up and managing a weaving studio. Topics will include organizing studio space, setting up a business, marketing, advertising, and apprenticeships.
Level: Open to all levels.
Special Fabrics, Special Techniques
Linda Kubik
C522 3 hour class
How to avoid that “loving hands, made at home” look. Do you have a wonderful piece of fabric that you either don’t know what to do with, or don’t feel confident about cutting? Here’s a quick overview for handling handwoven fabrics. Topics covered include the latest in equipment and supplies, what to look for in patterns, appropriate construction techniques, linings, interfacings and finishing details. Please bring any project you’re working on that needs help.
Level: All levels.
A Sewer’s Perspective: Instructional Tour of Juried Fashion Show
Daryl Lancaster
C526 3 hour class
An interactive exploration “behind the seams” of the garments from the Fashion Show. Experience a technical critique of the inside finishing techniques, as well as the outside appearance and fit. This kind of experience provides the participants with many ideas for finishing, what works and what doesn’t. A terrific opportunity for participants to view first hand, some of the choices used by experienced fiber artists.
Fun, Fat, and Fulled
Judith MacKenzie McCuin
C533 3 hour class
Unable to make a yarn bigger than a lace weight and not sure how this happened? Come and learn how to create a yarn the diameter you want, not just the yarn your wheel will let you have. We’ll also look at what makes a bigger yarn both stable and usable. Students will learn what fibers make the best fat yarns and how to use finishing methods and wet spun techniques to create unusual and beautiful yarns for knitting and weaving. We’ll use a variety of different wool types and blends such as silk and wool and cashmere and wool.
Level: Should be able to spin a continuous thread.
Fees: $15.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring their wheel with all its parts; a niddy noddy; a measuring tape; a ball winder and a lazy kate would be helpful; at least 4 bobbins; a dog brush, flicker or combs; handcards if you have them.
Linen Weavings: Techniques for Success
Kati Meek
C529 3 hour class
Working with linen is often intimidating, especially for new weavers. Many wonder why such a beautiful natural fiber has such a terrible reputation. A few tips, starting on the right foot, and a little experience, can bring even the novice to enthusiastic success with this miracle fiber of the ancients. Learn to warp with a trapeze and other techniques that are great for all yarns, but especially good for fine linen singles.
Websites, Podcasts, and Social Networks, Oh My!
Syne Mitchell
C536 3 hour class
Learn how to use online media to get the word out, whether you’re promoting a guild, an individual artist, or handweaving itself. Online media is a cost-effective and surprisingly easy way to connect with an international audience. If you can write email and browse the web, you have the skills to get started with promoting yourself online. Topics covered will include: Blogs, Domain Names, Web Hosting, File-Transfer Protocol (FTP), Websites, Search-Engine Privatization (SEO), Podcasts, Content-Management Systems (CMS), and Social Networking. Online selling will also be discussed. Your instructor is a weaver and web-geek who will cut through the acronyms and show you how fun and easy creating internet content can be.
Fees: $3.00 materials fee for hand-outs.
Dyeing Machine Knitted Silk for Weaving
Nancy Roberts
C537 3 hour class
Students will dye pre-knitted silk blanks to use as warp or weft yarn. By dyeing knit fabric blanks rather than 2 and 3-yard skeins, weavers can produce color repeats of any length. It is surprising how easy it is to create one continuous strand of yarn that transitions subtlety from one color or shade to the next. A knitted blank in 20/2 silk will be provided. Each blank will have enough yardage to use as either the warp or weft for a scarf. Students who want to use the blank as weft can bring an optional pre-measured warp for dyeing a coordinating painted warp in class.
Level: No prior dyeing experience necessary.
Fees: $40.00 materials fee covers machine knitted silk blank with 720 yards of 20/2 silk for use as warp or weft; foam boards for dyeing; color handouts; dye and dye additives; use of dye equipment, including stencil brushes, syringes, plastic containers, sharpie pens, push-pins, masking tape.
Class Materials: Students bring bib style apron (plastic, if possible); old clothes to wear for dyeing; calculator; rubber gloves.
Optional Class Materials: If you would like to dye a coordinating painted warp, bring a pre-made warp in undyed 20/2 silk with 330 ends that is 3 feet long. For more interest, you can bring two separate warps with a combined total of 330 ends, e.g. one warp with 100 ends and one warp with 230 ends. Pre-wet and soak the warps in Synthrapol or Blue Dawn™ before class to remove any mill oils and sericin that might resist dye penetration. Rinse and dry them before the class.
Weaving TNT: Dynamite Tips ‘n Tricks
Robyn Spady
C542 3 hour class
Would you like to learn a great method for repairing a broken warp end, tracking your treadling while you weave, making your own repair heddles, or just make weaving easier and more pleasurable? This “prop-riddled” seminar looks and feels like an interactive show-and-tell and will introduce over 40 offbeat tools, techniques, or tricks to assist weavers in all phases of weaving.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $2.00 materials fee covers a spiralbound 6+ page color handout with cover. Includes summary of tips and techniques, bibliography, and reference list.
Class Materials: Students bring paper and pen or pencil for note taking.
Felt Greeting Cards
Pat Spark
C545 3 hour class
Handmade felt is a wonderfully textured and colored textile. You will “draw” with wool threads or colored fleece to create very interesting images. These images can be glued to card stock to make unique greeting cards.
Level: All levels.
Fees: $5.00 materials fee covers the fiber.
Class Materials: The teacher will bring all equipment needed. Students bring bits of softly spun yarn, hairy yarns (like mohair), and colored fleece, etc., (if you have them) for design motifs.
Community in the Classroom: How to Inspire Creative Learning
Cameron Taylor-Brown
C548 3 hour class
Explore how any community artist/weaver/spinner/ knitter/crafter can introduce the fiber arts in a classroom, after-school or summer camp setting. Learn easy classroom-tested strategies developed as part of a five-year California State Charter School accessARTS model program. In a participatory session, we will “deconstruct” a typical introductory weaving project and see how simple it is to adapt what we already know to inspire creativity across the curriculum and address the needs of children and teachers. This is a fun and effective way to introduce the fiber arts to the next generation!
Level: Basic knowledge of your fiber craft is required.
Fees: $8.00 materials fee covers lots of beautiful yarns and colored papers.
Class Materials: Students bring scissors; notebook; pencil; masking tape; glue stick; 12″ ruler; 9″ by 12″ piece of stiff cardboard. Digital camera suggested.
Russian Old Believer Tassels
Kathe Todd-Hooker
C551 3 hour class
Russian Old Believers always have tassels on their belts signifying the unwoven ends that were proscribed Mosaic Law in the Old Testament. There are many ways to end a belt. This class is an exploration into endings and beginnings.
Level: Any level.
Fees: $10.00 materials fee.
Class Materials: Students bring basic weaving tools plus a liter pop bottle shaped like the old 7-up bottles or a wine bottle.
Polychrome Crackle
Susan Wilson
C555 3 hour class
Polychrome is a technique that dramatically expands the design potential of crackle weave. Polychrome can produce a variety of fabrics from crisp table linens to drapable clothing to weft-faced rugs. In this seminar you will learn the basics of drafting crackle on four to eight shafts, and how to add complexity and excitement to your designs by weaving them polychrome. Drafting exercises will illustrate how to design color and block layout. Numerous projects and samples will be available for examination.
Level: Intermediate to advanced.
Class Materials: Students bring colored pencils and graph paper.
Theo Moorman Inlay Technique
Heather Winslow
C558 3 hour class
Elevate your handwoven garments into the arena of wearable art. Theo Moorman’s inlay technique allows you to create an isolated, tapestry-like image of any shape or size anywhere on the surface of handwoven fabric. You will learn how to adapt the technique for use on clothing through fiber selection, appropriate garment styles, placement of design elements, weaving with a cartoon, and incorporating threading variations to suit special needs.
Level: Advanced beginner to advanced.
Fees: $2.00 materials fee covers handouts.
