LoMaNa

Locally Made. Globally Inspired.

Group Classes

Contact me anytime to set up a private lesson or group class. Lessons and classes can take place at a location of your choosing, including virtually – we do not have classroom space at the studio. All group classes can be offered as individual lessons.

Possible classes might include:

Introduction to Wool

  • Time: Approx. 3 hours*
  • Cost: $35/student

Want to learn more about natural fibers and wool? In this class, students will learn about plant and animal fibers and their attributes by examining their physical properties and processing those fibers from their raw form. We will examine a variety of breed samples and will discuss what we observe visually and tactilely and what attributes result from those observations. We will continue our observations and discussion while physically processing raw materials, walking through the various stages of processing wool – skirting, scouring (where we’ll talk about lanolin), picking, and carding (where we’ll talk about differences in yarn attributes that result from different methods of preparation).

Natural Dyeing

  • Time: Approx. 3 hours*
  • Cost: $70/student = $50 lesson + $20 materials fee (includes glass jars, wool and/or yarn to dye, and dye materials)

Participants will learn the basic principles of natural dyeing – including fiber dyeing attributes, pre- and post-mordanting, pH, color-shifting, and over-dyeing – as well as the importance of foraging and dyeing sustainably.

If time allows, we will forage for local materials. During that time, we will discuss sustainably foraging, taking only 10-20% of materials so as to minimally affect the micro-ecosystem and so as not to accidentally eliminate any populations.

We will then use both those collected dye materials as well as other materials to create solar dyeing jars. While creating the jars, we’ll discuss ratios of dye material to the materials being dyed, how and why different types of fiber/textiles dye differently, changing the pH or adding iron to shift the color of the dye, and over-dyeing darker natural materials or over-dyeing already dyed materials to achieve different colors.

Participants will take their solar dye jars home where they will dry the dyed wool/yarn, rinse, and dry them again.

Basic Color Theory & Blending Fibers

  • Time: Approx. 3 hours*
  • Cost: $50/student = $30 lesson + $20 materials fee (includes wool for blending)

Participants will learn the basic principles of color theory and how best to choose colors for their purposes. We will discuss the color wheel and color harmony, focusing on inspiration from nature, analogous colors, and complementary colors. Using what they’ve learned, students will select 4-5 colors of wool, which will then be blended with a drum carder, on a hackle, or with hand carders. We will discuss the different ways wool can be prepped for spinning and how it can affect the color and other attributes of the finished yarn – rolags, roving, pencil roving, batts, nests, vertical stripping, and horizontal stripping.

*Content may vary due to time constraints.

Beginner Drop Spinning

  • Time: 1-3 hours*
  • Cost: $35-65/student = $15-45 lesson + $20 materials fee (includes drop spindle and wool)

Learn how to spin your own yarn from natural fibers without the hassle and cost of a spinning wheel. In this class, we will learn the basics of spindles and wool, will draft fibers, and will practice spinning on a drop spindle to create the first half of a yarn skein. In the latter half of the class, we will learn how to complete the yarn by plying it. All attendees will go home with handspun yarn that they have made and a handmade drop spindle.

*In an extended class, we will learn about differences between drop spindles and support spindles and look at several examples of each, discussing many of the attributes that affect the spin and why some spindles are better under certain circumstances. Examples include the differences between top- and bottom-whorl spindles, the size of whorls, spindle lengths, density of materials, and fiber types. At the end of the extended class, participants will learn about multiple plying techniques, 2-ply vs 3-ply, yarn weight, a balanced yarn, and how to finish their yarn for the best effect.

Introduction to Weaving

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $75/student = $30 lesson + $40 materials fee (includes small tapestry loom + weaving materials)

Using lap-sized, all-in-one laser-cut weaving looms that participants will take home with them, participants will create a small tapestry of materials and will learn a variety of weaving techniques. After looking at some examples and talking about a few basic design principles, participants will use colored pencils to create a rough design for their tapestry, working on intentionality. Then they will learn how to warp a basic frame loom as well as different methods of weaving techniques in order to create a variety of textured effects.

Sweater Unraveling

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $40/student = $30 lesson + $10 materials fee

Unraveling knit sweaters can provide you with plenty of yarn, but not all sweaters are made equal. Learn how to choose the right sweater to unravel, deseam a sweater, and begin unraveling (the fun part!). Every student will be provided with one thrift-store sweater. Feel free to bring a sweater from home to learn more about it. There will be tools to share – a seam ripper, a pair of small scissors, a nostepinne, an umbrella swift, some drop spindles, and perhaps a spinning wheel – but if you have any of these or similar items, please bring them (especially seam rippers and swifts!). You’ll be able to take home all of the yarn you unravel plus the rest of your sweater to finish unraveling it.

Spindle+: Leveling Up

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $35/student

Interested in taking the next step with your spindle? Whether you’re a beginner who still has questions or a more advanced explorer, this class will help you on your quest for learning. Included in the class will be informal question-asking and lots of practice in a relaxed space as well as a hands-on presentation of different types of fiber and different types of spindles and how the two relate to one another. We’ll talk about longer fibers, like longwools and alpaca, vs shorter fibers, like cotton and angora, and the basic physics of spindles, like the difference between a top-whorl and a bottom-whorl and why you can’t spin chunky on a Russian spindle or laceweight on a Navajo spindle. Bring questions! And if you already have a spindle and a specific fiber you are working with, bring that, too, but if not, plenty of other fibers and spindles will be provided for your use during the class.

Spindle Plying Techniques

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $35/student

So you’ve spun some yarn on your drop spindle – now what? In this class, participants will learn several methods of how to ply their single-spun yarn – using an Andean bracelet, a center-pull ball, a makeshift Lazy Kate, and chain- or Navajo-plying. If you have something already spun and ready to go, bring it with you. Samples will also be provided for practicing with.

Bicycle Wheel Weaving

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $50/student = $30 lesson + $20 materials fee

Turn a used, headed-for-the-dump bicycle wheel into a work of art! Learn how to weave in the round, using wool roving and design techniques similar to Ojos de Dios (God’s eyes). Students will take home a bike wheel, enough wool roving to finish their weaving, and a guitar wall mount to hang it on.

Basics of Wet Felting

  • Time: 1.5 hours
  • Cost: $20/student = $15 lesson + $5 materials fee

Learn the basics of wet felting – water, soap, and friction! In this introductory class, you’ll learn the basics about wet-felting by making felted balls.


Beginner Crochet

  • Time: 3 hours
  • Cost: $40/student = $30 lesson + $10 materials fee

Students will learn about hook sizes and yarn weights, basic crochet stitches – chain stitch; single, half double, double, and triple/treble stitches; and slip stitch – and how to read a simple pattern with abbreviations. We will also discuss why choosing the right yarn for your project is important as well as the importance of swatching. Yarn will be provided for students to keep and practice with.