February

February – Boro to Furoshiki

Have you ever looked at the heap of discarded wrapping paper after Christmas or a birthday and thought ‘What a waste’? The Japanese have a better solution which is to wrap a gift in a beautiful cloth, carefully knotted. In the spirit of mottainai (‘regret for waste’) we will make a giftwrapping cloth using the techniques of boro and sashiko. Boro literally means “rags”. Boro also describes clothes and household items such as futon covers that have been repaired by patching and repatching over and over again. Sashiko is the companion technique to boro. It is a running stitch originally used to mend and strengthen worn clothing and household textiles.
A furoshiki can be almost any size, depending on what you want to wrap. Commonly used sizes are: 54 x 54 cm (approximately 21 x 21 inches); 70 x 70 cm (approx. 27 x 27 in); 98 x 98 cm (approx. 39 x39 in). The material needs to be strong but lightweight so it can be knotted. Old shirts and blouses are examples of suitable fabrics.
As well as textiles you will need needles, pins, sewing thread, scissors, measuring tape, ruler and tailors’ chalk or fade-out marker pen.

March

Understanding Weaving Drafts

Gethin is a weaver living in Co Dublin, Ireland. Her main interest is in creating patterns in balanced weave, mostly using fine yarns in cotton, linen, bamboo and wool.
This workshop is for anyone who has spent time trying to figure out the details of a weaving draft. It is suitable for novice weavers and those with some weaving experience using harness looms. It will incorporate paper-based work and a practical element in which weavers will have the opportunity to create their own draft, using variations in treadling and tie-up/shaft lifting. Guidance will be provided on how to write a draw-down, how to reduce 6- and 8-shaft drafts to patterns suitable for weaving on four shafts and how to interpret profile drafts. She will also discuss how to record information on woven samples, such as would be required for submission of work for a COA in weaving. Participants will be encouraged to experiment with the colour, texture and design of their woven samples.
Each person will need a table or floor loom of four-shafts or higher, yarn for warp and weft (8/2 cotton or similar is good for sampling), squared paper, a ruler, tape measure and the usual loom accessories.

April

‘Go Green’ Part one – Planting a Small Dye Garden

Elisabeth Viguie Culshaw is a natural dyer and textile artist based in Glasgow in Scotland where she grows a small public Indigo dye garden, #theindigoplot. She travels extensively to South East Asia where she both teaches and learns from other dye practitioners. She teaches online on zoom and she runs a yearly group of ‘home growers’ with whom she grows and dyes sustainable ‘grand teint’ dye plants. Her aim is to find the most perfect green out of yellow and blue dye plants.
This workshop is about creating a small dye garden of annuals and bi-annual plants yielding blues and yellows, Persicaria Tinctoria, Woad, Weld… and others. This workshop is suitable for beginners. Even if you don’t have a garden space, you could grow in containers. Elisabeth will introduce us to a selection of dye plants which she will use for the June “Go Green, dye workshop”

April(B)

Using Zoom

Kate’s live workshop consists of two separate courses: ‘Being a Good Zoom Trainer’ and ‘Being a Good Zoom Student’.
Being a good Zoom trainer could be especially useful for anyone thinking of offering to run a workshop for the Online Guild! She will tell you how to run a good workshop online combining the cameras and audio facilities available on your phone, tablet and computer. She will take you behind the scenes to see the ‘Heath Robinson setup’ that ArtyBird Carnforth use for running their Zoom classes, will share tips and tricks, and suggest ways of varying your use of Zoom to keep the class interested and engaged.
A reminder of her top tip in connection with this - don’t try to be perfect. One thing guaranteed by technology is that things will go wrong, you just have to be relaxed about it so you are not stressed and can enjoy your class with your students.
Her other course, ‘Being a good Zoom Student’, will assume you know nothing and will bring you into Zoom, show you around the basics and get you working with it.

May

Sustainability in Weaving - Weaving with Scraps

Learn how to use up those short pieces of yarn and little scraps of fabric by weaving them into a new piece of material. In this workshop we will discuss the need for reducing waste in handcraft and learn which fibres are most suitable for breaking down into a new material.
You will learn how to create long lengths of yarn from short scraps and how to turn old fabric into yarn. After creating your new yarns, we will discuss the suitability of various recycled yarns for warp vs weft and begin to warp up our frame looms. We will go through the methods of weaving without producing waste as well as developing a new appreciation for unplanned creation. We will discuss the interaction of colour and texture when unrestricted by a set palette.
Finally, we will look at reproducing traditional weaving patterns with recycled yarn and how the recycled yarn produces different effects to a traditional yarn.

June-July

"Go Green" Part Two - Dye Garden and Dyeing with Plants

“Go Green”, A natural dye workshop using home grown and foraged dye plants to achieve the most perfect green. (We will use the plants grown in our “Go Green” garden). In this 4-week workshop she will take you on a dye journey using a limited number of fresh home-grown and foraged plants to create yellows, blues and greens on cellulose (linen) and protein (silk and wool)
We will learn to select material, efficiently mordant it, create the dye bath and finally dye using our home-grown plants from the “Go Green dye workshop”.
We will finish our dyes to a high standard.

July

Annual Guild Discussion Week

A time of evaluation for the Online Guild. This week features an open discussion in which all members are encouraged to participate.

September-October

Spinning: Scottish Sheep Study

Here in Scotland, we are very privileged to have such a wonderful variety of native sheep and such an array of beautiful natural colours. During the six-week study we will be looking at the origin of each sheep breed, their diet and studying the fibre each produces and how best to process and spin.
The weather, terrain and food all have a big impact on the sheep's wool; for example, a Shetland sheep living on grassy pastures in England will produce a very different wool to a Shetland sheep living on peat lands in Shetland.
For participants sourcing the wool for their study, keeping notes of the origin of your fleece or roving will be as important as the breed.
Participants will also be able to purchase packs I will be making available containing washed fleeces and roving along with a colourful, spiral-bound journal to record your findings. I have had so much fun travelling all over Scotland this past year collecting fleeces and taking lots of photos for this course and I am sure you sheep lovers will enjoy this study as much as I have creating it.

October

Wheel and Loom Personalisation aka "Pimping"

Depending on what can be done in 2 weeks, I will go through the processes of personalising either a second hand 80 cm Ashford rigid heddle loom (age unknown), and/or 1970’s Ashford Traditional spinning wheel and/or a second hand 4 shaft Ashford table loom. It will start with dismantled equipment which will be cleaned/sanded/painted/varnished and decorated then reassembled. All equipment will be decorated using the method of decoupage. I will use napkins or wrapping paper or my own eco prints on wet strength tissue paper. But I will also mention the use of decoupage rice paper, speciality decoupage paper, make your own decoupage paper (where you trace an image or design onto plain rice/tissue paper). I will include the use of wallpaper, and thin gauzy fabric (commercially printed old silk or organza cotton scarves, hand dyed or hand printed silk/cotton gauze or cotton lawn). I will also apply the method to bobbins/shuttles. This will allow members to experiment with the method without too much expenditure of materials/time. I may even show other wheels I’ve personalised.

November

Crafty and Creative with Textile Waste

As textile creators we often have small amounts of leftover fibre, yarn or fabric. Traditionally nothing was ever wasted but over the years we have lost sight of this. However, sustainability is becoming more important to how we live our lives. Many of us feel increasingly uncomfortable throwing ‘waste’ away, yet are unsure of what to do with it.
We will look at ways to reuse, recycle and repurpose our waste to reduce our textile footprint. The workshop will explore techniques and ideas. We invite you to share your thoughts and creativity on how we can apply these and incorporate new ideas to make our textile crafts more sustainable.
We have set a challenge for this workshop. Just how many ways are there to use thrums and other textile waste? Our target is 101, can you help us reach it?

December

Festive Greetings

An opportunity for members to upload Festive Greetings, created by any means, to a dedicated photo album.

February

Dyeing Self-Striping Yarn

This workshop is for anyone who wants to learn how to dye self-striping sock yarn. It is suitable for beginners, and for those taking their dyeing to the next stage. Over four weeks we will explore how to calculate the amount of yarn to use to create a set number of stripes when knitting socks. We will expand that information for larger items. We will look at the whole process from designing our stripes to skeining and dyeing.
Over four weeks we will explore how to calculate the amount of yarn to use to create set number of stripes when knitting socks. We will expand that information for larger items. We will look at the whole process from designing our stripes to skeining and dyeing.

March

Weaving Software (and Some Other Weaving Aids)

This workshop will provide an overview of many of the different weaving software programmes available, with detail and explanations provided by the software providers where possible. The main focus will be weaving draft software, plus some exploration of colour and design software/websites, reference to past Online Guild workshops using computers in colour or design, and even a few physical weaving aids.
The workshop will hopefully provide a framework for active discussion among our many members using - or considering - various software for their weaving. The colour and design area should also be of interest to non-weaving members who are encouraged to follow along.

April

Sami and Baltic Inkle Band Weaving

This workshop is an opportunity for participants to explore the wonderful heritage of traditional Sami band weaving and the amazing variety of patterned bands from the Baltic region. I will give background information about the weaving and its uses. There are a variety of weave structures in use within this region, however this workshop will concentrate on one: the Baltic pick-up technique.
The workshop will start with the simplest pick up patterns using 5 and 7 pattern threads on an inkle loom and provide instructions for using the standard rigid heddle with a back strap which is the traditional method of pattern band weaving. The first week will also show how the patterns can be woven using a pattern slot heddle, and on a multi-shaft loom for those who wish to explore, or prefer to use, other methods.
For the workshop you will need access to an inkle loom and band weaving shuttle. If using a backstrap you will also require a waist cord or belt and a band lock or clip-it.
I will be using wool which is approximately a 4 ply yarn with a thicker yarn for the pattern threads. I have also used 4 ply sock yarn (which comes in a variety of colours) for the warp and used two strands of the yarn for the pattern threads. Other yarns can be used and I will give details during the workshop.
In summary, the workshop will cover the following topics.
Week one –5 and 7 pattern threads bands with a variety of weaving equipment.
Week two – 9 & 11 pattern threads.
Week three – 13 pattern threads and beyond!
Week four – Finishing woven bands. I will cover a variety of techniques to finish a woven band or belt.

May

Entrelac and Beyond

This amazing stitch is built from interlocking blocks that join as they go and create a bias fabric, knitted on the diagonal. The blocks can be any size, worked back and forth. It is easier to knit than to describe in words!
Basics:
We will begin by knitting a sample piece (photo top left): following the instructions carefully will guide you through making not only the blocks, but including triangles on all edges so you have a rectangle. Being able to make straight edges is useful for projects, for example front edges, neck shaping, cushions etc, and once you have done this, you have done the most difficult bit! Once you start knitting the blocks, especially if working in the round, it becomes easier than creating a small sample, and it’s possible to make complete garments with no seams. Having learnt the basics (and you may already have used this stitch and be ready to progress), the fun begins: there will be instructions provided for exploring working at different scales, trying different stitches that cause completely different results both visually and in shaping the fabric, and we will look at ways of dyeing yarn for patterning. For spinners, there is the opportunity to investigate working with an energised singles yarn.
Even if you are familiar with entrelac stitch, there is so much to explore!

June

Yarn Design Techniques for Spinning

During this workshop, we will explore several yarn design techniques. Some will be repeats from previous workshops and a few will be making their appearances for the first time.
Emphasis for this core information will be on spinning yarns suitable for weaving, knitting, etc. Members experienced with the design methods will be invited to play with scale and/or fibres. In addition, there will be opportunities to create textures and/or work with colours inspired by images offered by the instructor.

July

Collecting Plant Materials for Soft Fibre Basketry

A whistle stop tour of my fibre garden, introducing members to several plants that are easily found in their own gardens or communal green spaces. Enabling members to identify everyday garden plants (and weeds!) found throughout the course of the year that can be used in soft fibre basketry. I will demonstrate how, when and what to harvest from those plants. I will also advise on how to extract plant fibres and /or prepare harvested plant material. Advice with how to store prepared plant material for later use in the soft fibre basketry workshop later in the year.
Hopefully members will be amazed at what plants can be found in our gardens and communal green spaces that can be used to make baskets.

July

Annual Guild Discussion Week

A time of evaluation for the Online Guild. This week features an open discussion in which all members are encouraged to participate.

September, October

Tapestry Workshop - A Tour through the Archive

This workshop covers several subjects within tapestry weaving - the history, an introduction for beginners, a description of outlining techniques, weaving complex shapes, weaving with unconventional materials.
You are creating your own workshop by deciding which subjects are of interest to you and what you would like to study during the 6 weeks. The tutors will be available to answer questions and discuss the different subjects.
All the workshops can be found in the archive of previous workshops held within the OLG. You will be guided to the various workshops within the archive. And you can learn how to access the archive and how to find the amazing fond of knowledge on the subjects of weaving, spinning and dyeing and other textile related crafts.

October

Talk - Undertaking Association Spinning Certificates

Chris is going to introduce the Association spinning certificates and discusses how to approach them. This talk is based on Chris’s own journey through the certificates.

November

Soft Fibre Basketry

Following on from the 2-week introduction to plants for soft fibre basketry earlier in the year, I will guide members in how to use their prepared and stored fibres and plant materials. Which were collected earlier in the year form their own gardens or communal green spaces.
I will cover several techniques commonly employed in soft fibre basketry, notably cordage, coiling, pairing looping and strip weave. The aim would be to allow members to produce woven items such as coasters, bowls, baskets and pouches from the plant material they harvested.
However, if no material is harvested some of these techniques can also be used to make baskets from high twist and plied hand spun yarn or commercial string or garden twine.

December

Festive Greetings

An opportunity for members to upload Festive Greetings, created by any means, to a dedicated photo album.