Saturday, January 9th and Sunday, January 10th
10:00 am to noon, and 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Location: Zoom!
Registration Link
Jillian Moreno, author of the best-selling spinning book Yarnitecture: A Knitter’s Guide to Spinning: Building Exactly the Yarn You Want, is an acclaimed teacher of handspinning and knitting based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jillian is returning to Austin via Zoom to conduct a workshop for spinners. Brief descriptions of each session are below
True Color: Exploring Dye Patterns in Braids, Saturday 10:00 am to noon
Speckled, striped, dyed in a repeating pattern, or dyed in no pattern at all, painted braids come in a huge variety of styles. It’s hard to know what your yarn will look like when spinning a particular pattern of braid. In this class we will explore several popular dye patterns so you’ll have a better idea of what your yarn will look like no matter the braid you spin. We’ll first look at braids, unchain them, and investigate how the dye has been applied to the fiber.
Then you’ll spin several pattern types to see exactly the outcome a particular dye style has on your yarn. There will be lots of samples on hand to see each dye style from fiber, to yarn, to knitted swatch. Don’t really like the dye pattern in your braid? That’s an easy fix! We’ll explore manipulating the colors in our braids to play with switching up the patterning. You’ll leave this class ready to tackle your braid stash (or add to it) with color confidence.
Combo: Spinning all the Combinations, Saturday 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Combo is the most fun spinners have had with painted braids in a long time. Combo Spins, Combo Drafts, and Combo Plies seem to be on almost every spinner’s wheel. Each one of these Combos uses variegated braids, but they aren’t the same. In this class we’ll spin through all three Combos, so you can see the difference between them. We’ll look at swatches so we can examine more closely how the colors in each method look from fiber, to yarn, to cloth.
Using braids isn’t the only thing the Combos have in common; all of the Combos are designed for all of those single braids in your stash. These techniques are about combining colors and braids, matching colorways need not apply. No matter if you spin, draft or ply, you’ll leave this class excited about all of the possible combinations.
Plying for Texture and Color, Sunday 10:00 am to noon and 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Know the basics of plying and ready to dig deeper? How about making yarns with layers of texture and color? Looking to make curls and loops, deep texture or undulating swirls? Curious how color affects these captivating yarns? In this class we will focus on using ply to create layered and textured yarns . We’ll learn to spin spiral, crepe, cable and bouclé yarns with enough time to practice each yarn in different fibers and colors.
You’ll learn about:
Plying with uneven tension for spirals
The difference between a cable and crepe yarn
How the right twists makes a cable yarn pop
The secret to even and round loops for bouclé
What fibers make the best loops and the best textures.
First we’ll focus on the basics – fiber, prep, draft and getting all of the twists just right, and then we’ll add color, lots of color, layers of color for truly unique yarns. Finally we’ll look at these out of the ordinary yarns in knitting and see what stitches and types of patterns work best for these uncommon yarns.
Who should register for this workshop?
If you are familiar with your wheel, can spin a continuous thread, and have plied a yarn, these sessions are for you. Join us for this WSSA Zoom workshop!
Students should bring: A wheel in good working order, 3 bobbins, a lazy kate, a niddy noddy, tags to mark samples and pen and paper to take notes, baggies for sample fiber. Students will purchase a $25 materials kit for the True Colors session.
Cost:
Workshop, $175.00 per student
Materials Kit, $25.00
Total: $200 per student
Registration closes Dec. 2, 2020 at 11:30 PM Central Standard Time