About Jill Duarte

Jill Duarte spends their days geeking out about all things fiber, diving into the nuances of fiber preparation, color, and the act of spinning. As co-owner of HipStrings, Jill is dedicated to the resurgence of modern craft that is based on a foundation of technical and historical knowledge. This approach is reflected in the fiber, yarn and tools they’ve developed and produce. Jill shares their insights as a regular contributor to PLY magazine, with the goal of making the technical aspects of craft accessible to all. Jill is also an active member of their local fiber community, as a lecturer, instructor, and participant as well as being the co-organizer of Indie Knit and Spin Fiber Arts Marketplace in Pittsburgh, PA.

https://hipstrings.com/

Jill Duarte's Daedalus Retreat Classes

So Many Different Fibers Out There, How Do I Choose?

Full Day $30 materials fee

Hand spinners have access to an extremely wide range of available fibers for hand spinning, so how are you supposed to make informed choices about what fibers are suitable for the project you have in mind or which fibers you might enjoy spinning?

In this workshop, we will discuss a simple method for the categorization of spinning fibers that will enable you to acquire fiber you enjoy spinning and create handspun yarn you’ll want to use. We will discuss how fibers behave when spun alone versus when included in a blend and how to characterize fibers based on staple length, crimp and structure.

How to pair fiber preps and dyeing methods to your desired handspun yarns will also be discussed. Students will sample a variety of fibers including different wool breeds, camelid fibers, silks, viscose, and a variety of plant fibers.

Level of Spinning: Participants should be able to spin and ply independently

Students should bring:

A spinning wheel in good working condition
Extra bobbins
Notebook
Lazy Kate
Niddy Noddy

Supplies Provided by Instructor: a Fiber Sampler containing 4 different wool breeds, alpaca, silks, viscose and several cellulose fibers, notebook.

Fiber Speed Dating

3 hours $25 materials fee

Explore nine different fiber blends while discussing approaches to spinning different fibers - which drafting methods pair well with particular fiber preps or blends? Should you judge a fiber by your first impression? We will discuss worsted and woolen drafting methods and how they relate to the fiber you spin. Fiber blends will include a variety of different wools, silks, flax, viscose and luxury fibers such as yak, camel and cashmere.

Level of Spinning: Participants should be able to spin and ply independently.