The Weavers and Spinners Society of Austin (WSSA) is hosting two online seminars and an evening program with Robyn Spady on Saturday, April 9th. Robyn is a master weaver who has been weaving for over 50 years. She completed HGA’s Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving (COE-W) in 2004 with the specialized study Loom-controlled Stitched Double Cloth. Robyn is fascinated by the infinite possibilities of crossing threads and loves coming up with new ideas to create fabric and transform it into something new and exciting. She is committed to turning the weaving world on to double-faced fabrics, four-shaft weaves, uncommon and advanced weave structures, and passementerie techniques. Robyn is also the founder and editor of Heddlecraft® magazine.
We have three events to choose from, or you can pick the combo package for $75 if you want to attend all three, and save $15.
All times are Central Daylight Time.
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Seminar #1 – Totally Twill – Beyond the Basics – $35
If you are familiar with the basics of twills and are up for some new challenges, this three hour seminar is for you! In this seminar, we will cover the fundamentals and drafting of some of the most beautiful and versatile weaves around – twills. We will cover advancing, parallel, corkscrew twills and more and how they relate to the dramatic echo weaves you may have seen.
2:00 pm – 5:00 p.m. Seminar #2 – An Introduction to Network Drafting – $35
Network drafted twills are a method for creating designs with curves. In this three hour 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 get the opportunity to create their own networked-drafted patterns.
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Evening Program – Couture Passementerie through the Eyes of a Fiber Artist – $20
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 incorporate 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.
Registration has closed.