The Fabric of Everyday Life :Dish Rags to Silk to Silk Damask: A Weekend of Textiles at Hyde Hall
A Weekend of Textile Exploration at Hyde HallSeptember 17th and 18th, 2022. The household at Hyde Hall used hundreds of yards of cloth between 1817 and 1835, some of it woven locally for everyday use and much of it imported for furnishing textiles. Hyde Hall provides an incredible backdrop for this exploration because it has a wealth of textiles that survive and George Clarke wrote detailed receipts for the purchase of carpet, drapery and household linens. This weekend will explore all the fabric necessary to run an elaborate household before paper towels. We will examine surviving pieces from the collection and also look at everyday towels, sheets, blankets and yes, dish cloths. The session will put into context how the everyday textiles that we take for granted were the necessary fabric of everyday life. We will meet in the new education space – the woodshed – for these sessions, and we will have a special dinner in the Dining Room at Hyde Hall with music on Saturday evening. Saturday September 17th, 9:30 to 4:00 with dinner at 6:30pmSunday September 18th: 9:30 – 4:00pm Registration includes lunches and dinnerRegistration fee $275.00Space is limited to 20 peopleFor more information, please contact us.
Two Upcoming Textile Workshops
Saturday, June 11, 2022: Join me for a behind-the-scenes tour of coverlets in the collection of the New York State Museum. This one-day workshop is designed for textile historians and weavers and is an opportunity to see several very special coverlets from the New York State Museum collection. We will examine and discuss coverlets and also tour the textile storage facility. The workshop will be limited to 15 students and will be an active hands-on discussion of the weave structures, the weaving equipment, the provenance and the place that these coverlets have in 19th century material culture. If you have an interest in coverlets, this is a good opportunity to meet with others and share knowledge and to examine coverlets that have not been available on exhibit. Workshop Cost is $50 for the day. Lunch is on your own. Bring a bag lunch or visit the food court in the Empire Plaza. Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3: Designing and Drafting Weave Structures Workshop at Thistle Hill Weavers. This two-day short course is aimed at helping weavers understand the practical aspects and application of block weave structure. If you are a weaver and want to know how to design, this workshop is for you! This class teaches the theory of blocks and allows students to develop their own patterns in different weave structures. We will be designing block patterns and fitting appropriate weave structures into those designs. The structures we will be working with are float work (overshot), summer and winter, double cloth, twill blocks, spot weave and damask. This class will meet from 10am to 4pm both days. Class is limited to 8 students. Cost for this class is $125 and includes lunch both days.Please contact us for more details or to register.
Explore Weave Structures: Designing and Drafting for Hand Weavers
Saturday and Sunday February 18-19, 2023at Thistle Hill Weavers143 Baxter Rd Cherry Valley NY 13320 This is a basic drafting course for hand weavers. Learn to recognize, develop and design your own work in several different weave structures. The goal of the class is to teach the fundamentals of weave structure including spot, block structures, complex twills, crepe weave and satins. When we understand weave structures, we can design fabric that is both beautiful and functional. This is an opportunity to explore how different weave structures affect drape, durability and surface texture. Explanations of weavers’ drafts, both modern and historic, will serve as teaching tools for understanding how to draft patterns. Students will then design in several different structures and then have the opportunity to develop their own patterns to use in their own weaving. The class will be taught by Rabbit Goody at Thistle Hill Weavers and is intended for weavers of any level who wish to understand more about weave structures. The class starts with basic skills of reading weavers’ drafts and translating patterns into several weave structures. Students will then design a project for their own looms using different structures. This is a theory class rather than a weaving class but looms will be set up with a few different structures to demonstrate different aspects of structure. Cost for the weekend is $175.00Lunch and materials are includedSaturday and Sunday February 18-19, 20239:30am – 4:30pm both days.For more information or to register, please contact us.
February 15th and 16th at Thistle Hill Weavers – A Two-Day Workshop on Double Cloth, Double Width and Layers on Layers
Sorry for the late notice but there are still a few places in my weekend workshop This weekend workshop will explore how fabrics can be made in layers for structure, design or expanded width. This is NOT a project workshop. A basic knowledge of weaving is important, but you do not have to own a multiple harness loom. The participants will have the opportunity to try many different systems and understand the technical aspects of creating layers of cloth in different structures. The class will be working on different types of looms already set up to demonstrate several different layered systems. Students will be able to take samples home but the main part of the class will be theoretical, exploring weave structure, density and layering concepts. This is a two-day workshop:
Winter Weaving Classes
Weaving Fabric for Clothing Saturday, February 2 – Sunday, February 3 Students will explore the process of choosing yarns, densities and weave structures that are suitable for weaving fabric for fine garments. Each student will choose yarns and patterns to create a series of samples during the workshop. The samples will allow students to choose a pattern, color way, and sett for their clothing fabric and create a plan based on their woven samples that will allow them to weave garment fabric at home. This workshop is designed for students who have some weaving experience and want to explore making fabric for clothing. Class cost is $150.00 per student. Class is limited to 5 students. All materials and lunches are included in the fee. Introduction to Pattern Hand Weaving for Beginners Friday, March 8 – Sunday March 10 Weave a luxurious lightweight scarf in silk, bamboo, and alpaca – no experience necessary! This is a beginning weaving class that will teach you from start to finish how to set up a warp, wind, beam, thread, sley, weave and finish a beautiful scarf of your own. The class is limited to 5 students. Class hours are Friday at 1pm-4:30pm, Saturday 9am-4:30pm and Sunday 9am-4:30pm. Cost is $225.00 with all materials, equipment and lunches included.
Winter Newsletter
Join us December 2nd and 3rd to celebrate the trade of Woven History.
The Workshop of Rabbit Goody welcomes you to our Annual Open House and Mill Tours on December 2nd and 3rd, from 9am to 5pm. Watch our antique looms run! We have been working on some interesting projects this year. Join us and we will lead you through our process and let you experience a rare custom weaving mill still using looms made over 100 years ago. Our showroom will have fabrics, scarves, shawls, hand towels and carpet just right for the holiday season. Drink a toast with us, spread some cheer and learn about our traditional trade. Our showroom will be open through out the holiday season, weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Our luxurious over-run fabric can be made into custom gifts and we have special items ready for your gift giving needs. Meet the folks who can still make historic textiles! Laura, John, Vicky, Lisa, Frank, Holly and Rabbit Goody love sharing what we do, so please join us for the Open House or anytime during the Holiday Season. The staff at Thistle Hill Weavers wishes you the most peaceful and joyous season.
Beginning Weaving Class
Weave a scarfSaturday, March 4 and Sunday March 5, 2017 No experience necessary. This is a chance to explore a craft for the first time or refresh your skill from years ago. Students will warp, thread, and weave a scarf from silk and wool. All materials and equipment are supplied. The class is limited to 6 students.Cost including materials and lunch: $195. Please contact us for more information or to sign up.
Hand Weaving Class
Understanding Patterns for Multiple Harnesses – a theory and practice classSaturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22, 2017 The class is limited to students with basic weaving knowledge. The object of this class is to develop a sense of what is possible when more than four shafts are involved in creating weave structures. The concentration will be on designing with twill and block weaves to create functional fabrics for interior furnishings. We will use Olsner’s “A Handbook of Weaves” along with traditional multiple harness drafts form the 19th century to explore patterns.Cost including materials and lunch: $195. Please contact us for more information or to sign up.
Designing and Drafting Pattern Weaves for Hand Looms
On October 15-16, 2016, Rabbit will be teaching a class at the Mill on designing and drafting for pattern weaving. She developed this class for weavers of any level who wish to understand more about weave structures and how to design patterns. The class starts with an overview of basic skills of reading weavers’ drafts and translating patterns from historical draft books into several weave structures. This class is more theory than practical weaving but in the end, this approach should help free you from having to use “cookbook” recipes for creating beautiful pattern work. Some of the weave structures will be very familiar to students, like twills, satins, double cloth and block weaves, but it’s important that weavers be able to design their own work. Cost for the weekend is $175.00 We will be announcing this via our newsletter later this month but thought you might want to know about it early. Please contact us for more information or to register.