I write a blog post for every class with lots more information!  You can read more about each of the upcoming classes by choosing “Upcoming Classes” category from the “What I’m talking about” section in the right sidebar.  

Click the venue to register.  If there is not a link for registration, that means it is not online yet.  I will add them as soon as they are available.

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October 7 • 6-9 pm • Intro to Digital Design • Textile Center

Designing your own custom fabrics is a new innovation in the craft world. New online services like Spoonflower.com allow you to design and digitally print small amounts of yardage with your own custom designs, from just a swatch to yards of fabric. You create the digital file and they print and ship it to you. This seminar will take you through the basics of what you need to know to get started and we will create a collaborative design in class.

October 15 • 1-3 pm • Intro to Needle Tatting • Darn Knit Anyway

Needle tatting is a contemporary twist on a classic lace making technique.  Learn the basic stitches, knots and picots to make a simple snowflake design.  We will use larger yarns in class so you can easily see your stitches and will talk about working at different scale, adding beads and more.

October 19 • 6-8 pm • Digital Fabric Labels • Darn Knit Anyway

Create your own personalized fabric labels to stitch into your finished projects. Perfect for labeling quilts, adding care instructions for your handknits or even making custom hang tags to sell your work. Learn the basics of designing digitally to print them on fabric, using Spoonflower.com.  Becka literally “wrote the book” about designing digitally at Spoonflower; the Spoonflower Handbook will be available September 1! Bring a laptop in working order.

October 25 • 1-4 pm • Handpainted Skeins • Weavers Guild of MN

Learn to dye your own custom yarns with three techniques: semi-solid, hand painted, and self-striping.  We will dye mini skeins using each technique during class as samples, then dye an additional skein (wool, alpaca, silk) for your own project.  Learn the basics of using acid dyes on protein fibers, tips for making sure your dyes are colorfast, and how to plan and create the yarn you want.

October 29 • 6-9 pm • Amplify your Art • Weavers Guild of MN

Part demonstration, part inspiration.  This session will give you dozens of ideas of how to incorporate technology into your fiber art projects.  From electronic components like LED’s and conductive threads; to digital, 3-D printing and laser cutting; to chemistry with thermochromic and phosphorescent paints.  Becka will show samples, provide sources and do some short demos to show how you can incorporate technology of all kinds into your weaving, spinning or sewing projects.

November 3 • 6-9 pm • Handpainted Roving • Weavers Guild of MN

Learn the basics of dyeing wool fiber including choosing and mixing dyes; processing for saturation and colorfastness; and tips and techniques for handling fiber without felting.  We will make samples using a variety of hand painting techniques to achieve different effects like semi-solids, stripes, and gradients.  You will leave class with a sampler of small balls of roving (great for needlefelting, and embellishments) and the skills to tackle larger projects.

November 7 • 10 am – 12 pm • Digital Fabric Labels • Darn Knit Anyway

Create your own personalized fabric labels to stitch into your finished projects. Perfect for labeling quilts, adding care instructions for your handknits or even making custom hang tags to sell your work. Learn the basics of designing digitally to print them on fabric, using Spoonflower.com.  Becka literally “wrote the book” about designing digitally at Spoonflower; the Spoonflower Handbook will be available September 1!  Bring a laptop in good working order.

November 8 • 1-4:30 pm •Dyes & Fibers Sampler • Weavers Guild of MN

Hand-dyeing your own fibers can be intimidating.  How do you know which dye to use?  Heat or no heat?  Salt? Acid?  This class will break it down into the chemistry you need to know.  Using commercial dyes, we will dye small samples of yarn and fabrics in cotton, silk, nylon, wool and more.  Get the specifics for which dye to use when, the process you need for each kind of fiber, how to get the colors and effects you want and most especially how to work with dyes in ways that are safe and earth-friendly.  Finally learn some troubleshooting techniques for when things don’t come out the way you envisioned and dispell some old dyers “wives tales”.

November 9 & 16 • 6-9 pm • Macro Photo; Digital Fashion • Textile Center

This class goes “beyond the book” to create an infinity scarf with digitally printed fabric. We will start with one of the projects from the new “Spoonflower Handbook”: a fabric design created from a macro photograph and take it to the next level.  In the first class, we will focus on photography with a hands-on photoshoot to capture macro photographs of small objects.  We will learn about lighting effects, focus, macro mode and optional features on your camera.  In the second session, we will edit our photos learning about cropping, resizing, resolution and ratios to create a finished file that is ready to print.  Your photo will be transformed to an abstract print on fabric which you can finish into an infinity style scarf.

November 17 • 6-8:30 pm • Photos on Fabric • Weavers Guild of MN

There are many ways of printing photos on fabric to add to your fiber art pieces, but how do you make sure it prints at the right size or color?  This class will help you take the guess work out of photos on fabric.  We will talk about printing to exact sizes and editing color and contrast to get the best results.  Want to put more than one photo on your piece of fabric?  Learn a couple of different ways to do that too.  Finally we will talk about kinds of fabric, washfastness and durability of many different printing options.

November 23 • 6-8 pm • Intro to Needle Tatting • Darn Knit Anyway

Needle tatting is a contemporary twist on a classic lace making technique.  Learn the basic stitches, knots and picots to make a simple snowflake design.  We will use larger yarns in class so you can easily see your stitches and will talk about working at different scale, adding beads and more.

 

December 7 & 14 • 6-9 pm • Digital Art Quilt • Textile Center

This class goes “beyond the book” to create an art quilt with digitally printed fabric. We will start with one of the projects from the new “Spoonflower Handbook”: a cheater quilt made from a paper collage.  In the first class we will create a small art collage from textured and patterned paper; a hands-on way to add depth and complexity to your design with minimal computer skills needed.  The second night we will scan to transform that art into a digital format and enlarge it to fit on a yard of fabric. Finish with some simple “photoshopping” to add details or adjust colors and get tips for creating coordinating prints to accompany your design.  Your finished design can be printed to make a quilt or wall hanging (finishing/sewing to be completed on your own).

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