Classes

We are honored to offer such a diverse range of classes from some of the most skilled and knowledgeable teachers in the industry. Class offerings are listed below. All class supply fees are collected at the beginning of class by the teacher, please pay in cash. Please read the descriptions fully and notice requirements for skill level and what tools/supplies you need to bring.

Thursday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Mix It Up: The Basics of Combining Color with Braids by Jillian Moreno

This class focuses on the fun of mixing and blending painted braids with other colors and other braids.

We’ll explore how to choose colors that go together, what affects color in spinning, and how to avoid mud in your yarn. You’ll learn how to mix and blend colors in the ply and draft, and how to choose the easiest fibers that work well together.

While you practice your mixing and blending, I’ll show you how to choose colors to turn up or turn down the brightness of a braid, and the best way to stretch braids for projects.

Finally, I’ll show you how to sample to learn the most about spinning braids for color, and how to use those samples as shortcuts for your future braid spinning.

Level of Spinning: If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have made a 2-ply yarn (even once), this class is for you.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Our kit will include your choice of fibers and colors from the variety of wool and wool blend fibers in our Rolling Stash™

Core Spinning and Autowrap by Charan Sachar

This class will cover the basics of core spinning with batts. Students will explore the ways of core spinning to make thick, airy, puffy yarns and also how to make neater and smoother yarns.

We will look into enhancing your core spun with auto wrap thread and the effects it creates by auto wrapping in different stages of spinning.

Level of Spinning: Familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread and make a plied yarn.

Students should bring:

Wheel with a large orifice 1/2" or more to accommodate textured yarns (Magpies will be available to rent)
At least 3 bobbins
Lazy Kate
Niddy Noddy
Any additional spinning tools you prefer.
Materials fee $30.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Art batts, core yarn, ply thread, and autowrap thread

Spinning Lace Yarns by James Perry

Spinning fine lace is a pinnacle of achievement for most spinners. It’s something many aspire to and is included in many cultural traditions around the world. If you want to spin lace, this class is for you.

We will start looking at what makes a fine yarn different to standard yarns. We will then look at the all-important wheel adjustment and modifications you might want to try to make fine yarns easier as well as good fiber prep and appropriate spinning styles. We will then spin a few indicative fibres, discussing ways to spin these successfully into lace yarns Also covered will be handling of fine singles and plying them successfully!

Level of Spinning: Any so long as you can spin a length of continuous yarn

Students should bring: A wheel, spare bobbins, lazy kate, pool noodle/pipe lagging. Materials fee $30.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Spinning Woolen Yarns by James Perry

Have you ever lusted after lofty, woollen yarns but always been too scared to spin them? Got that short stapled fibre that gives you nightmares? Well, this is the class for you!

We will discuss handcarding focusing on producing rolags for your spinning and will then discuss how to spin them to give you a true woollen yarn. We will then move into the difference between English and American longdraw (point of contact). Through all of this, we will also delve into plying and finishing of your yarns so that you can make the woollen yarns of your dreams!

Level of Spinning: Any so long as you can spin a length of continuous yarn

Students should bring: A wheel, spare bobbins, lazy kate, hand carders, any fibers they want to spin woollen or discuss. Materials fee $25.

Spin any Yarn: How to Harness the Power of Your Daedalus E-Spinner by Debbie Held

Don’t let your e-spinner boss you around! Today’s electric spinners, especially the line of Daedulus products, are powerful and yet nuanced enough to help you spin any yarn you want, from the thinnest of lace to the most dramatic textured yarns.

Whether you’re considering the purchase of a new-to-you e-spinner or you’re already a member of the Daedalus flock, there’s something for you in this class. Taught by Debbie Held, this 3-hour class starts off with the basics, including the power of ergonomics and wheel setup. We’ll then spin our way through topics including:

Irish vs. Scotch tension (and when to use which drive system)
Tips on spinning a more consistent yarn
Wheel adjustments for woolen vs. worsted
Adjusting for a fine singles vs. a bulkier yarn (with other yarns inbetween)
Best plying practices
Troubleshooting

Plus a few surprises!

After this class, you won’t even miss your treadles.

Debbie has been using an e-spinner since 2017, when a back injury forced her to ease up on the treadling. She has been studying ways to hone her control over her e-spinners ever since. She has written about the topic and teaches variants of this class both online and in person. Most of all, Debbie loves empowering other spinners to maximize their electric spinners’ uses and capabilities.

Level of Spinning: While this class is for beginning and experienced spinners alike, it is not a how-to-spin class. Students need to be able to spin a stable singles yarn and have basic plying skills in order to get the most out of the lesson plan.

Students should bring: Students should bring any of their Daedalus wheels and two empty bobbins, a niddy noddy, as well as a lazy kate (homemade kates are just fine). If you don’t own a Daedalus brand e-spinner, we will have some available for rent and trial. Materials fee $15.

Stacks by Charan Sachar

This class will focus on a plying technique for creating stacks that give the appearance of beads. We will explore ways to spin your singles with pops of color and texture using contrasting colors, sections of fiber fluff, and beads then trapping them in the stacks during the plying process.

Level of Spinning: Familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread and make a plied yarn.

Students should bring:

Wheel with a large orifice 1/2" or more to accommodate textured yarns (Magpies will be available to rent)
2 bobbins with at least 1 oz of singles spun on each of contrasting colors. Worsted spun at approximately 10-12 WPI (not very fine), with enough twist for plying.
At least 3 additional empty bobbins
Lazy Kate
Niddy Noddy
Any additional spinning tools you prefer.
Material fee $25.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: fiber, beads, and ply thread

Friday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Spinning Singles: Structure and Color by Jillian Moreno

Learn the ins and outs of spinning a singles yarn that won’t bias when knit. The secret to a sound singles is getting the twist right, plus practice.

We’ll discover exactly the type of twist a singles yarn needs and learn to measure it both with tools and with just your hands and eyes. You’ll get to practice your new twist by exploring spinning singles with variety of fibers, blends, and preparations, to see how each change effects singles.

We’ll talk about the different ways to finish your singles, and how best to use your singles yarn.

Think you are out of luck with playing with color and spinning singles? Think again!
We’ll make variegated, gradient, intermittent, and marled yarn while we combine colors, naturals, and braids. You’ll learn about fractal singles and find out what happens when we combine different color methods into a singles yarn for a kaleidoscope of color.

You’ll leave this class with the inspiration and You’ll leave this class with the inspiration and know-how to make your perfect singles yarn.

Level of Spinning: If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have made a 2-ply yarn (even once), this class is for you.

Students should bring: A wheel in good working order, at least three bobbins, a lazy kate, a niddy noddy, tags to mark samples, pen and paper to take notes, and any other spinning tool that makes you happy. Materials fee $25.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Our kit will include your choice of fibers and colors from the variety of wool and wool blend fibers in our Rolling Stash™

Core Spinning and Autowrap by Charan Sachar

This class will cover the basics of core spinning with batts. Students will explore the ways of core spinning to make thick, airy, puffy yarns and also how to make neater and smoother yarns.

We will look into enhancing your core spun with auto wrap thread and the effects it creates by auto wrapping in different stages of spinning.

Level of Spinning: Familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread and make a plied yarn.

Students should bring:

Wheel with a large orifice 1/2" or more to accommodate textured yarns (Magpies will be available to rent)
At least 3 bobbins
Lazy Kate
Niddy Noddy
Any additional spinning tools you prefer
Materials fee $30.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Art batts, core yarn, ply thread, and autowrap thread

All About Tweeds by Debbie Held

Learn how easy and fun it is to design and spin your very own classic tweed yarns!

We’ll be carding our own tweedy blends, then spinning up our samples using effective methods for keeping our inclusions on our bobbins and not all over the floor. Topics covered will include cohesive color planning, selecting the best materials for optimal grip/adhesion, best draws for locking in your inclusions, planning ply structures for your intended projects, and yarn-finishing options.

You’ll leave class with the confidence to spin those expensive tweed fibers in your stash and be filled with creative ideas for future blending.

Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn and have familiarity with plying.

Students should bring: A working spinning wheel they’re comfortable using, three or more bobbins, lazy kate (homemade is fine), niddy noddy, note-taking paraphernalia, and hand cards. (If you don’t have hand cards but you do have a blending board, bring that!). Materials fee $20.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Base fiber, a smorgasbord of mix-ins, scissors for use in class. There will be an extra blending board and set of hand cards for students willing to share, though bringing your own is highly recommended due to our short time together.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Spin any Yarn: How to Harness the Power of Your Daedalus E-Spinner by Debbie Held

Irish vs. Scotch tension (and when to use which drive system)
Tips on spinning a more consistent yarn
Wheel adjustments for woolen vs. worsted
Adjusting for a fine singles vs. a bulkier yarn (with other yarns inbetween)
Best plying practices
Troubleshooting

Plus a few surprises!

After this class, you won’t even miss your treadles.

Spinning Woolen Yarns by James Perry

Have you ever lusted after lofty, woollen yarns but always been too scared to spin them? Got that short stapled fibre that gives you nightmares? Well, this is the class for you!

Level of Spinning: Any so long as you can spin a length of continuous yarn

Students should bring: A wheel, spare bobbins, lazy kate, hand carders, any fibers they want to spin woollen or discuss. Materials fee $25.

Match Game: Spinning for Knitting by Jillian Moreno

So much about knitting a project out of handspun yarn is getting a good match the right fiber, prep, draft and ply. Maybe you’ve never knit anything from your handspun, have had some spectacular disasters, or are just looking for tips to make the process smoother.

Too many spinners stress out about the list of measurements and the details, and the sampling that you should do. We’re going to throw "should" out the window. Spinning for knitting doesn’t have to be stressful at all. In this class, we’ll make it into a matching game.

In this class, we’ll learn to decode and match commercial yarn. We’ll discuss why and how it’s easy to improve on a commercial yarn used in any pattern. With our spinning superpowers, we’ll learn a variety of ways to match the yarn we want for our project.

We’ll learn the tricks to sampling quickly and exactly what and why you need to measure to get a consistent, predictable yarn for a project.

Bring a pattern you are interested in knitting, if you’d like to decode the yarn it calls for in class.

Level of Spinning: If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have made a 2-ply yarn (even once), this class is for you.

Saturday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Beyond Barber Pole: Blending Colors at the Wheel with Marls

by Jillian Moreno

Barber pole, peppermint stick, humbug, piebald, or marled, when you think of these yarns do you think of a color plied with white or black? There is much more to marling than these starkly contrasted yarns.

In this class, we will spin all kinds of marled yarns. In the process, we’ll learn about contrast and value and their affect on marled yarns. You’ll learn about optical blending and how draft and yarn size affect color.

Marled yarns can be used sparingly as transitions between colors, or all over to make yarn and fabric with deep dimensional color.

Using natural, solid, and variegated fibers, we’ll spin single, double, and intermittent marls with a variety of contrasts. We’ll work marls on singles, 2-ply, and 3-ply yarns to learn how ply influences color, and discuss how best to use marls in making cloth.

Any way you spin them; marled yarns bring excitement to your spinning!

Level of Spinning: If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have made a 2-ply yarn (even once), this class is for you.

Stacks by Charan Sachar

Level of Spinning: Familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread and make a plied yarn.

Students should bring:

Wheel with a large orifice 1/2" or more to accommodate textured yarns (Magpies will be available to rent)
2 bobbins with at least 1 oz of singles spun on each of contrasting colors. Worsted spun at approximately 10-12 WPI (not very fine), with enough twist for plying.
At least 3 additional empty bobbins
Lazy Kate
Niddy Noddy
Any additional spinning tools you prefer
Materials fee $25

Supplies Provided by Instructor: fiber, beads, and ply thread

Love Your Blending Board: Going (Way) Beyond The Rolag by Debbie Held

Dust off that blending board and prepare to be inspired! Learn how this all-in-one, space-efficient blending tool provides a nearly unlimited backdrop for fiber preparation. We’ll explore several of the many uses for the blending board, and Debbie will share her proven pro tips for unlocking its true blending powers. Students warm up to the board with hands-on practice in creating both smooth and textured rolags — rolags that not only look good but draft with ease. From there we move on to more advanced fiber preparation, including custom-blended pulled sliver, dizzed roving, full-sized batts, making a tweed roving, planning for large projects, and more. If you’ve never quite meshed with your blending board, come find out what all the fuss is about!

Students will leave class with the fiber they’ve prepared (and it’s a lot!), as well as a whole new appreciation for the space-saving and versatile blending board.

Level of Spinning: This class is for any handspinner who loves playing with color. There are no spinning prerequisites.

Students should bring: A blending board of their choice, including the brush and dowels it came with. There will be one blending board available for borrowing and it must be claimed in advance. If you own a diz, bring it, but we will have some to share. Materials fee $20.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Tons of fiber and add-ins to play with, as well as other blending tools to share in class.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Draft-O-Rama : Woolen and Worsted Prep and Draft

by Jillian Moreno

Are you new to spinning? Know how to make yarn, but not sure about the difference between woolen and worsted, or even what it means?

In this class, we’ll explore the mysterious and sometimes daunting world of woolen and worsted. You’ll learn woolen and worsted drafting techniques, how they are different, how they can be similar, and what is the key factor for each one. Hint: It’s not the direction you draft.

You’ll learn how to set up your wheel and get the right rhythm between hands and twist to make spinning a woolen or worsted draft easier than you think.

As you practice your drafting, we’ll talk about how woolen and worsted drafts change a yarn’s characteristics and what that means to your knitting and other fiber crafts.

Working with both top and roving you’ll learn how to make each a draft work in sync with different fiber preparations, wools, and blends and what type of yarn you can expect. Is a short forward draft always worsted? Is long draw the only woolen draft? What about spinning from the fold? Can I spin top woolen? Which draft is good for sweaters? For socks? You will leave this class knowing the answers to those questions and with the satisfaction and confidence of knowing several ways to draft woolen and draft worsted.

Level of Spinning: If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have made a 2-ply yarn (even once); this class is for you.

Students should bring: A wheel in good working order, at least three bobbins, a lazy kate, a niddy noddy, tags to mark samples, pen and paper to take notes, and any other spinning tool that make you happy. Materials fee $25.

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Our kit will include a variety of commercially and independently dyed wool and wool blend woolen and worsted preparations

Spinning Lace Yarns by James Perry

Level of Spinning: Any so long as you can spin a length of continuous yarn

Students should bring: A wheel, spare bobbins, lazy kate, pool noodle/pipe lagging. Materials fee $30.

All About Tweeds by Debbie Held

Learn how easy and fun it is to design and spin your very own classic tweed yarns!

You’ll leave class with the confidence to spin those expensive tweed fibers in your stash and be filled with creative ideas for future blending.

Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn and have familiarity with plying.

Students should bring: A working spinning wheel they’re comfortable using, three or more bobbins, lazy kate (homemade is fine), niddy noddy, note-taking paraphernalia, and hand cards. (If you don’t have hand cards but you do have a blending board, bring that!). Materials fee $20

Supplies Provided by Instructor: Base fiber, a smorgasbord of mix-ins, scissors for use in class. There will be an extra blending board and set of hand cards for students willing to share, though bringing your own is highly recommended due to our short time together.

February 28th - March 3rd, 2024

Classes

Thursday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Friday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Saturday

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.