Classes
Beginning Weaving
taught by Kate Smith
This class is designed to introduce the new student to hand weaving in the traditional manner as taught by Norman Kennedy and Kate Smith. The week long session will guide the student through the process of designing a simple project, making a warp, dressing the loom and weaving the cloth.
No previous experience is required, but the class is also appropriate for novice weavers who would like to increase their knowledge of the basics and hone their skills at the loom.
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Cost: $750 plus materials
February 24 -28, 2025
May 12 - 16, 2025
July 7 - 11, 2025
October 13 - 17, 2025
December 8 - 12, 2025
Spinning, Dyeing & Weaving a Full Sized Scottish Wedding Blanket
taught by Kate Smith and the Weaver's Croft Staff
The Scottish Wedding Blanket is a traditional piece of a wedding dowry in the Scottish culture and this was the first design that Norman taught his students to weave back when he started the school in the 1970s. This class will start with spinning the warp on a great wheel using Vermont made pencil roving and then card and spin the weft on a treadle wheel using local fleece. We will then dye the stripe yarn with a traditional indigo fermentation vat. The blanket will then be woven in two panels which will be sewn together to make a full sized blanket and fulled in a traditional Scottish waulking.
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May 5 - 30, 2025
​​​​​Cost: $2,000 plus materials​
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The Woven Wardrobe Series
taught by Noel Guetti
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This is a continuation of a comprehensive series of weaving-and-sewing intensives begun in 2024. These classes create the foundation of a handmade wardrobe. We will weave the fabric for and complete the construction of a garment during the course of the class.
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During each class we will explore:
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- a particular fiber and the weaving techniques it calls for
- historic material and garment context
- pattern drafting and fit alterations
- machine- and hand-sewing construction techniques,
with considerations for working with handwoven fabrics
- hand sewn buttonholes and other traditional hand
finishing methods
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Click the buttons below to learn more!
taught by Andrea Myklebust
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In this class, we will learn how the warp-weighted loom works and will weave a small (approximately 24” x 36”) weft-faced project inspired by Sami grene blankets. We will use a three-post warping frame and rigid heddle to make a warp with a heading band, select and hang weights and learn about their role in the weaving process, and dress the loom for plain weave with a single heddle bar and knitted heddles. We will wind weft bobbins, and weave with sword beater and pin beater. The class includes some exploration of the history and preservation of the warp-weighted loom in the ancient North Atlantic. We will discuss building a loom of your own, and learn a variety of tactics for finding or making loom weights. No prior weaving experience is necessary for this class. Students who wish to weave with their handspun yarns are welcome to do so; please reach out ahead of time to discuss yarn specifications with the instructor.
Experienced students are also welcome to choose from additional woven projects; rya/varafell, krokbragd, tapestry, twill, balanced weaves with handspun singles, and weaving wide projects on the warp-weighted loom.
Date: October 6 - 10, 2025
Cost: $750 plus materials
Weaving on the Warp-weighted Loom - Level 1 & 2
Flax Intensive
taught by Andrea Myklebust
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Flax Processing & Spinning
In this three day class we will explore all aspects of traditional flax production, from seed selection and cultivation, to harvesting, dew-retting and water-retting, and flax dressing using hand tools. Students will have opportunities to do hands-on processing work with raw and retted flax straw, using a flax brake, scutching board and hackles to dress flax into tow and line ready for spinning into linen. Working with both hand spindles and spinning wheels, we will learn how to dress a distaff and use it in spinning line flax. Students will have plenty of samples to take home at the end of the workshop, and a packet of textile flax seed to plant in their own gardens next spring.
Date: August 15 - 17, 2025
Cost: $450 for the 3 day class
taught by Rosemary Wexler and Nelly Detra
The Jewish prayer shawl, or tallit, is the traditional garment worn by Jews during religious observance. The only specifications given in the Torah for this garment are that it should have four corners to hold the “tzitzit” or fringes. This gives the Jewish weaver a broad range of artistic options when designing a tallit. In this class each student will design and weave their own tallit, atarah and corners. We will wind up the class by tying the tzitzit together, and discuss how we can express our own vision of Jewish observance through the mitzvah of crafting and wearing tzitzit.
Date: September 8 - 12, 2025
More information and registration can be found on Black Cat Judaica's site here: BlackCatJudaica.com
Weaving a Tallit.
taught by Rosemary Wexler
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Imagine a warm, soft rug with strong squares of color... that you made! This class, centered on a simple technique for making reversible weft-faced rugs, is suitable for beginner and more experienced weavers alike. Receiving guidance through the entire process, students will weave a rug in either a checkerboard or windowpane pattern. We'll unlock creative design possibilities that expand this structure, showcasing the power of color and pickup work. By the end of the week, you'll have an understanding of profile drafts, ski shuttle usage, rug finishing, as well as a beautiful usable textile.
Date: September 22 - 26, 2025
Cost: $750 plus materials
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Weft Faced Rugs
Policies
The Weaver's Croft studio is available for weavers to use for their special projects, for scheduled guest instructor classes and for research and study. Dates and fees for these activities are described in each of the individual activity pages. Payments may be made through the online cart, or by personal check.
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The studio is open for working from 8am to 8pm, Monday through Friday. Weekend Workshops days and times are outlined for each session in its description.
In order to ensure that the studio space and equipment are ready for the limited number of places that are available, we depend on advanced planning. However, if you are unable to attend, a 100% refund is available up to 60 days before the session. A 75% refund will be issued for cancellation up to 30 days before. Cancelations within 30 days are non-refundable.
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Payment plans and limited need-based scholarships are available. Please contact us via email for more details.