Title: Beginning Spinning
Description: In this course, participants will be introduced to the craft of spinning yarn. Participants will be instructed in the basics of use of a spinning wheel to create 2-ply yarns. Creation of “singles” from wool roving will be practiced. Participants will practice plying a 2-ply yarn. We will discuss the basics of fiber selection, fiber preparation, and yarn finishing. Participants will leave with a completed skein of their own handspun yarn.
Class level: no experience necessary
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order with at least one bobbin
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, notebook with handouts, fibers for spinning
Title: Blending Colors at the Wheel
Description: Learn to make unique multi-colored yarns at the wheel, without dyeing or the use of carding/combing equipment. In this workshop, we will take rovings and tops of different colors and combine them by pre-drafting in several simple ways to create yarns that produce more colorful and more textural fiber projects. We will cover techniques that allow you to create the same blends of color from skein to skein. We will practice making singles yarn as well as 2- and 3-ply yarns. We will also cover techniques for making marl yarns (plied yarns with different color singles).
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate spinning
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, and a lazy kate
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, notebook with handouts, fibers for spinning
Title: Creating the Yarn You Want
Description: This workshop is designed for the spinner who wants to gain greater control over the final characteristics of the yarn she or he spins. We will practice methods for controlling the thickness and twist of yarns. We will cover techniques for creating yarns that are consistent from bobbin to bobbin, and that match already existing yarns, either hand spun or commercial. We will cover techniques for plying a “balanced yarn”.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate spinning
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, and a lazy kate
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, notebook with handouts, fibers for spinning
Title: The Diversity of Wool
Description: The wool from different breeds of sheep can vary substantially in softness, elasticity, luster, and feltability. Through hands-on examination of fiber, yarns, and knitted swatches, we will cover these widely varying characteristics of wool. In addition to sheep breed, other factors will be addressed that influence the characteristics of the final fiber project, such as fiber preparation and spinning techniques. We will practice spinning wool from sheep breeds that span the spectrum from fine wool to medium wool to long, luster wool. In addition, we will practice spinning wools that have been prepared in various ways.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate spinning
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, lazy kate; hand cards (optional), hand combs (optional).
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, notebook with handouts, fibers for spinning
Title: Spinning & Knitting Energized Singles
Description: Yarns that are not “balanced” can create biasing fabric when knitted. Most knitters try to avoid this effect, but yarns with extra twist energy can be used to create intriguing textural effects while using fairly simple knit stitches and we will explore some of these possibilities. We will also cover techniques on how to create balanced yarns and unbalanced yarns (with energized twist) as well as “management” of energized singles yarns for knitting.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate spinning and knitting
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, lazy kate, and several sizes of knitting needles.
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fibers and yarns for spinning, notebook with handouts
Title: Spinning & Knitting Goat Fibers
Description: Mohair! Cashmere! Pygora! Cashgora! From long & lustrous to short & soft, goat fibers make wonderful yarns. We will explore various techniques for spinning these fibers as well as spinning blends with wool and silk. There will be some discussion of the animals themselves and the processing of raw fibers. We will also knit swatches of commercial mohair and cashmere yarns, and discuss advantages and challenges of these fibers for knitting.
Class level: intermediate to advanced spinning skills; advanced beginning knitting skills
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $20
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, extra bobbins, lazy kate; knitting needles of various sizes
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers for spinning; yarns for knitting; notebook with handouts
Title: Spinning With Commercial Yarns
Description: Here are some strategies for combining your fiber stash and your yarn stash! In this workshop, participants will explore ways to “re-spin” commercial yarns as well as ways to spin together commercial yarns and fiber. We will cover techniques for creating and using energized yarns, core-spun yarns, yarns plied more than once, and plying together handspun and commercial.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Contact hours: 6
Materials fee: $15
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel, lazy kate, 3 bobbins, miscellaneous balls of commercial yarns of all kinds and sizes
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers and additional yarns for spinning; notebook with handouts
Title: Mechanics of Your Wheel
Description: Spinning wheels are marvelous machines! In this workshop, we will cover how spinning wheels work. There will be spinning exercises to help participants make sense of drive mechanisms, drive ratios, take-up tension, and wheel maintenance. Along the way, participants will be introduced to concepts of mechanics (such as force, torque, angular momentum, friction) in a non-mathematical way.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Contact hours: 3
Materials fee: $10
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fibers for spinning, notebook with handouts
Title: Plying for Texture
Description: In this workshop, we will practice making textured yarns by manipulating the way we ply singles together. We will spin snarl yarns, cabled yarns, two kinds of knot yarns, and two kinds of spiral yarns. These are all yarns that can be created with “ordinary” Z-spun singles. Along the way, we will discuss how to create a smooth, balanced two-ply yarn.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Contact hours: 3
Material fees for class: $10
Participants to bring: spinning wheel in good working order, 2 bobbins partially filled with Z-spun singles (they should be about the same thickness and twist, but may be of the same or different colors/fibers) plus 2 empty bobbins, a lazy kate
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fibers for spinning, notebook with handouts
Title: Plying Balanced Yarns
Description: Consistent and even plying is as important to a high-quality, hand-spun yarn as is the spinning of singles. Matching the twist in plying to the twist in the spun singles is the key. In this workshop, we will cover issues related to controlling tension on the singles while plying and the amount of twist in both spinning and plying. We will practice techniques for plying from one source (Andean plying, Navajo plying), and from two or more sources.
Class level: Advanced beginner to intermediate.
Contact hours: 3
Material fees for class: $6
Participants to bring: a spinning wheel in good working order, two bobbins partially filled with Z-spun singles plus one empty bobbin, and a lazy kate.
Instructor to provide: samples for examination, fiber for spinning, notebook with handouts.
Title: Variations on Long Draw
Description: “Long draw” spinning techniques are often used to create “woolen” yarns – yarns that are airy, lofty, soft and warm! We will cover three variations of long draw using commercially-prepared rovings, drum carded batts, and hand carded rolags. We will create samples of thick, lopi-style singles yarns, as well as thinner, plied woolen yarns. In the process, we will discuss the types of fiber that work best for different long draw techniques, how to create a hand carded rolag, and how best to use woolen yarns.
Class level: advanced beginning to intermediate
Contact hours: 3
Material fees for class: $10
Participants to bring: spinning wheel in good working order; hand cards (optional).
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers for carding and spinning; notebook with handouts
Title: Spinning with Silk Hankies
Description: Silk hankies are a “mawata” silk that consist of very thin layers of silk squares. We will learn strategies for preparing these hankies for spinning, and then we will spin them using various strategies, including Navajo plying. We will cover strategies for making your hands smooth to minimize snagging of silk on your hands, and various uses of silk hankies and yarns spun from them.
Class level: intermediate spinning skills
Contact hours: 3
Material fees for class: $12
Participants to bring: spinning wheel in good working order
Instructor to provide: samples for examination; fibers for spinning; notebook with handouts