Acquire the basic skills to work with the versatile and portable rigid heddle loom—a great entryway into weaving scarves, placemats, dishtowels, and more.
Upcycle a vintage quilt or make your own fabric selection and follow a basic pattern to create your custom quilted coat.
Create a simple but charming embroidered painting. First paint fabric in the hoop with acrylic paint and then use a variety of stitches and beads to embellish your image.
This class is for those who feel utterly untalented at sewing yet want to make a quilt. Journey from not knowing to bold experiments, finding your sense of quiltmaking confidence as you learn strategies for piecing, appliqué, quilting, and finishing.
Learn the fundamentals of knitting, including casting on, basic knit and purl stitches, increasing, decreasing, and binding off. Students learn by practice, and may start a knitting project during class.
Let your creativity flow as you slow stitch a fabric journal composed of your favorite embroidery stitches, embellishments, and fabric scraps. Build a repertoire of embroidery stitches combined with other textile-based elements to produce a finished, bound fabric book with a personalized cover by the end of the class.
This workshop introduces beginners to freestyle hand embroidery, in which stitches are applied freely, disregarding the weave of the ground cloth. Students put their own spin on a provided template through color choice and stitch application.
Learn to use a variety of approaches to the medium of embroidery while taking inspiration from the Smithsonian collection. Explore the history of embroidery back to the Middle Ages and together analyze the art form while practicing in a series of guided exercises.
The use of embroidery on quilts between 1865 and 2025 waxed and waned alongside fashions, social changes, materials, and the roles of women in domestic life and the workplace. During class, practice stitching while diving into these topics.
