Guild Programs - 60-90 minutes
Weaving TnT: Dynamite Tips 'n Technique for Every Weaver
Boom! Get ready to blast through weaving challenges with an explosive presentation packed with over 36 clever tools, tricks, and unconventional techniques to make your weaving life easier, faster, and more enjoyable. Whether you're a seasoned weaver or just starting out, you'll walk away with a collection of surprising solutions to everyday frustrations. From household hacks to unexpected gadgets, you'll discover smart shortcuts and creative workarounds that can streamline your process, solve stubborn problems, and even spark new inspiration at the loom.
In this presentation, learn things like a great method for repairing a broken warp end and tracking your treadling while you weave to making your own repair heddles and more! If you’ve ever muttered “There has to be a better way”. . . then this session is for you. Full of practical ideas and “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments, Weaving TnT is your invitation to weave better, not harde.
Couture Passementerie through the Eyes of a Fiber Artist
From Chanel and Balenciaga to the House of Worth and Ralph Lauren, passementerie has been a way to elevate a garment from something ordinary to something extraordinary. What is passementerie? It’s a French term without an English equivalent. Passementerie encompasses a multitude of techniques used to create embellishments. It includes the creation of buttons, cording, trim, garment closures, braiding, tassels, and much more.
Modern-day uses of passementerie may be found in couture fashions, like the trim edging on French cardigan-style jackets made famous by Coco Chanel and the fashions seen in period films or shows, like Downton Abbey. Passementerie also appears on historical garments, military uniforms, and in high-end home interiors.
In this program, Robyn Spady will share insight into how many couture fashion designers incorporated passementerie into their garments from the perspective of how simple some of the techniques are and how they could be easily recreated and adapted into our own wardrobes.
Taming of the Hue - Techniques for the Color Challenged
Does color make you feel challenged and even overwhelmed? Does choosing the "right" combination intimidate you? Join us for The Taming of the Hue, an exploration of how to harness the power of hue, value, intensity, and contrast to create woven fabrics with new horizons.
In this informative presentation, Robyn will present many aspects of the art and science of color in weaving to help you discover strategies to take control of color, rather than letting it control you. With a practical eye on the loom, this presentation is all about building your confidence and sharpening your creative instincts. Whether you love color or fear it, The Taming of the Hue will equip you with tools to make color choices that elevate your weaving and express your personal voice.
Great Weave Structures for Color and Texture using Novelty Yarns
Perhaps you have walked into a yarn shop and been fascinated with stunning novelty yarns. But as a weaver, it can be a challenge to figure out how to incorporate them into weaving projects in order to showcase the yarns without breaking the bank. Or you may have been inspired by the fabric used for a Chanel-style jacket that was created by Linton Tweed, Lesage, or Bernat Klein and would like to understand how these fabrics were created so you can design and weave your own. In this program, Robyn Spady will share a small collection of weave structures that let you take advantage of fun and exciting yarns and to add new dimensions to your weaving.
Weave Structures: Totally Twill – The Basics
Twills are one of the most versatile weave structures and the possibilities are amazing! The breadth of weaving twills can be a bit daunting, but so much fun! In this class, we will cover the basics from straight draw and point twills and then move on to broken, undulating, M&W, Dornick, plaited, and turned twills.
Weaving Innovations from the Bateman Collection
Dive into the unconventional mind of Dr. William G. Bateman, whose work introduced new ideas to the landscape of handweaving. In Weaving Innovations from the Bateman Collection, Robyn will present the remarkable legacy of a weaver who wasn’t afraid to challenge convention and who left behind a treasure trove of innovative techniques that continue to inspire today. Dr. Bateman’s body of work represents a reimagining of traditional weaves. This presentation offers a tour highlighting how he manipulated conventional weaves to create new horizons, which may inspire others to create their own weaves.
Seminars - 2-3 hours
Four Shafts Aren’t Complex? Au Contraire!
Who says weaving on four-shaft looms can’t be complex? Too many people! In fact, four-shaft looms are capable of much more than many weavers realize. Tapping into the potential of four-shafts helps weavers learn how to maximize undervalued looms and better understand how to exploit the capabilities of looms with more shafts. From turned swivel to integrated double weaves to finding the “fashionable” ways to weave a warp, this is an opportunity for participants to see just how amazing a four-shaft loom can be.
Introduction to Network Drafting
Network drafted twills are a method for creating designs with curves. In this seminar, learn the fundamentals of designing network-drafted patterns and understand what terms like initial, grid, and network mean. After the fundamentals are covered, through hands-on exercises, participants will explore how to apply network drafting techniques into different weave structures – from twills to double weaves and more!
Weave Structures: Totally Twill – Beyond the Basics
If you are familiar with the basics of twills and are up for some new challenges, this class is for you! In the first half of this class, we will cover the fundamentals and drafting of some of the most beautiful weaves around - advancing and networked twills. In the second half of this class, we will cover corkscrew twills and how they relate to the dramatic echo weaves you may have seen. This is a great opportunity if you have (or are considering) a loom with eight or more shafts.
Weave Structures: Introduction to Tied Weaves
Do terms like “single two tie” or “single three tie” bewilder you? Are you curious about what makes a tied weave a tied weave? For weavers interested in understanding terms like “summer and winter” and how it relates to taqueté or exploring Quigley and Bergman tied weaves, then this class is for you! All of this establishes a foundation for understanding the double two tie threading and its incredible versatility.
Weave Structures: The Beauty of Lace Weaves
Lace weaves are some of the most beautiful fabrics in the world, but have you ever wondered what the difference is between Atwater-Bronson lace, Swedish lace, and huck lace is and why you would choose one over the other? Loom-controlled lace weaves explored will include huck, Swedish, Atwater-Bronson, and bead leno. Weaver-manipulated lace weaves, such as leno, Brooks Bouquet, Spanish lace, and Danish medallion will also be included.
Weave Structures: Introduction to Double-faced Weaves
Double-faced fabrics have a different appearance on both sides. There are numerous ways to create double-faced fabrics and many of these methods require only four shafts or less! In this class, we will explore the fundamentals of how double-faced fabrics are created, how double-faced fabrics are distinguished from double weave fabrics, and how the majority of these methods don’t require more than one warp beam to weave.