Category Archives: Weaving Classes

The Fabric of Everyday Life :Dish Rags to Silk to Silk Damask: A Weekend of Textiles at Hyde Hall

July 5, 2022

A Weekend of Textile Exploration at Hyde Hall
September 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 6:30pm
Sunday September 18th: 9:30 – 4:00pm

Registration includes lunches and dinner
Registration fee $275.00
Space is limited to 20 people

For more information, please contact us.

Two Upcoming Textile Workshops

March 3, 2022

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.