Many of us have a beloved clothing item with a hole or a stain that we can’t bear to throw away and don’t know how to mend. Many of us also don’t want to create more waste and add to overflowing landfills. In the past, wearing mended clothing was not acceptable but with the right skills mended clothes can be beautiful. This class is for anyone who wants to learn the basics so they can mend their own clothing like jeans or shirts using stitching or patching. Learn to cover a hole or a stain using simple stitch techniques that can be used as the basis to learn Sashiko or Kantha or your own creative stitching.

Learn how to inspect and assess a fabric item that needs repair.

Learn how to select patch fabric, select thread, and tie a knot.Learn and practice stitches used for fabric mending: running stitch, backstitch (sesame seed). (If there is time and interest, chain stitch, stem stitch, split stitch, blanket stitch).

Learn different approaches to patch placement (under, over, quilt).Practice patching a fabric square or own item.

Materials:

Students can bring an item they would like to learn how to mend by stitching or patching.

All other materials included.

Go anywhere in the world and you will find some relationship between people and masks. What they represent depends on place, culture, intention, and the purpose behind its making. The weaver will determine for themselves what their mask is articulating in that moment. 

This is part 4 of a 4-part series that include projects from Susan Barrett Merrill’s The Art of Weaving a Life. Bradie is a Weaving a Life leader having studied with Susan back in 2017.

Weaving experience is not necessary to enjoy this workshop.

This will be a peaceful, powerful, and highly creative weekend workshop. 

Materials:

Looms, yarns, and other materials will be available for use in this class. If you have sticks, driftwood, yarns or other fibers you like, as well as other materials that speak to you and that you might want to consider as an adornment for your mask, please bring them along!

Saturday will be spent weaving your mask. 

Sunday will be spent shaping, adorning, and finishing your mask. 

This class will work with 3 natural indigo vats of varying strengths. Attention to mixing vats with a focus on the final color value will be stressed. Thus we will have one for pale, medium and dark colored yarns. Correct measuring of dye material to the volume water in the vat will be emphasized to ensure successful indigo dyeing. Students will assist in making the vats and running samples on natural colored yarn and as well as  pre-dyed natural dyed yarns to mix for greens and blues and purple shades. Finally, correct finishing of indigo dyed yarns will be demonstrated to minimize crocking. Students will receive a set of 96 samples that we dye in class.

Once a weaver has learned the basics in tapestry weaving, it’s a natural next step to learn how to apply them to designs. Project planning, yarn choice, technique application… all of this and more will be covered in this class.

Each week a different weaving topic will be covered, and each student will have the opportunity to explore their weaving plans with the instructor and their group. In addition, small projects will be suggested for students to practice techniques that will take their weaving to a new level.

This is a class that can be taken as many times as one wants, as new issues and questions arise with any tapestry project a weaver takes on. There is also great camaraderie that forms amongst weavers as we expand into this art form.

Pre-requisite: Introductory to Tapestry Weaving or commensurate experience.

Materials needed for this class:

Tapestry loom
Preferred warp yarn
Preferred weft yarn
Weaving tools

If you are building your supplies stash and would like some suggestions on what to purchase, please reach out to fiber@shelburnecraftschool.org

Borrowing from the studio is also an option depending on availability.

NOTE: For this semester, the group will meet every other week to allow time for weaving in between classes.

Wondering whether to use a huckaback pattern or an advancing twill pattern for that baby blanket?

Knowing how different weave structures affect the drape and feel of your fabric can help. In this short class, we’ll look at woven samples of different structures, learn to identify their basic weave structure, and see how the weave structure’s interlacement affects the fabric’s appearance and hand.

Students will learn the characteristics of 4 important weave structures (plain weave and its derivatives, twill weaves, compound weaves, and double weaves), how their drafts differ,  how to choose a structure that suits the aims of their project.

Tapestry weaving dates back thousands of years and is a woven art form that conjures many images in peoples’ minds. It is a medium that allows the weaver to create shape, design, texture and symbol using yarn. In this course, students will learn fundamental skills required for taking their tapestry weaving ideas to the next level.

We will use a simple frame loom that students will learn to warp themselves. Also covered are: weaving vocabulary, some tapestry yarns and tapestry weaving tools. Students will create samplers that will include most if not all of the following elements: horizontal and vertical lines, spots, and shapes like squares, rectangles and triangles, outlining, color gradations, and some finishing techniques.

This will be a hands-on class with a specific set of skills taught in each class that participants can experiment with and develop for the remainder of class.

Materials included, loom and tools available for use during course of class. 

Have you always wanted to learn how to knit, but didn’t know which pattern to choose?

A warm and Cozy Cowl is a wonderful first project to start your knitting journey. As you knit your cowl, you will learn how to cast on, knit, purl, increase, decrease, and bind off. At the end you will have a hand-knitted piece you can wear or give as a gift. In class, we will talk about knitting tools, yarn, and gauge.

This is a perfect class to take as we enter the winter months! You will leave with enough knowledge to start your next knitting project and stay cozy all season long!

Materials Information:

Please bring your yarn to the first class.

Circular needles will be provided and are included in the class fee, and will be yours to keep.

The Yarn suggested for the pattern is Super Bulky. You will need 175 to 200 yards to complete the project. A solid or tonal color is suggested for your first piece in order to see the stitches.

There are multiple local yarn stores in the area to buy yarn; Must Love Yarn, Northeast Fibers, The Makery, and Michaels.

Participants will learn the art of needle felting and create a three-dimensional wool sculpture of an owl using a special barbed needle. Instruction will be hands-on and will include demonstrations.

Students between the ages of 9 and 12 are welcome to enroll with an adult.

Materials: Included