The Weaving School

Learn to weave. Learn new techniques.

Overview

WGGB sponsors the Weaving School in cooperation with the Catonsville Recreation and Parks Council and the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks.  Classes are open to all adults in the community and are held at Hillcrest Elementary School in Catonsville.  For most classes, looms are provided.

The Weaving School is open to the general public and to Guild  members.

Skill Levels

• Novice – No previous weaving experience
• Step-Up – Completed a Beginning Weaving class and understands concepts of reading a draft, warping and weaving. Classes designed to extend skills of beginning weavers.
• Step-Out – Completed a Beginning Weaving class and is able to independently plan a project, warp a loom and weave. Classes designed to expand knowledge of weave structures and techniques.

Registration Process

The WGGB Weaving School is operated through the Catonsville Recreation and Parks Department – online registration is now open.

To register or to be placed on a waitlist, visit: https://wggbweavingschool.corsizio.com/

Class Descriptions 

Beginning Weaving – Spring 2023

This class is designed for adult beginners with no previous weaving experience. The instruction focus is on teaching a simple, efficient method for warping and weaving with a 4-shaft floor loom.
Several projects will be completed using a variety of fibers. This allows students to become confident about planning simple projects, choosing yarns, warping the loom and finishing their cloth.

Students will use our “Wolf Pup” floor loom and all materials are included. Projects will be started in class and completed at home. Students should expect to spend two to four hours of weaving at home per project.

For more details, to register, or to be placed on a waitlist, go to https://wggbweavingschool.corsizio.com/

Weaving with Your Handspun Yarn

Do you have bins of beautiful handspun yarn that you don’t know what to do with or are just too beautiful to use? Are you afraid to weave with your handspun yarn? Do you fear that your handspun yarn is not structurally sound for weaving?

If you said “yes” to any of these questions, then this class is meant for you!

Together we will face these fears head-on! Bring those bins of beautiful handspun yarn to class as well as your loom. We will cover techniques and project planning strategies specific to weaving with handspun yarn. Students will plan, weave, and wet-finish a project using their handspun.

For more details, to register, or to be placed on a waitlist, go to https://wggbweavingschool.corsizio.com/

Overshot Basics

This class is a must for your weaving repertoire. One of American handweaving’s most popular weave structures, overshot provides the weaver with a wealth of pattern possibilities which look complex but only require four shafts.  In this class, students will weave a runner while learning the important aspects of overshot weaving:
> Choosing appropriate yarns and colors
> Determining warp sett and beat in order to produce a pleasing pattern
> Using 2 shuttles, weaving a plain weave cloth with supplementary wefts forming the overshot patterns
> Using the proper sequence of shuttles for rhythm and good-looking selvedges

For more details, to register, or to be placed on a waitlist, go to https://wggbweavingschool.corsizio.com/

Warping Techniques

Expand your warping abilities in one day!  Learn to dress the loom back to front (b2f) and front to back (f2b), plus learn to use a paddle to wind a warp.
Part 1: Were you taught to dress your loom from back to front, but would like to learn front to back? Or vice versa?  This class will teach you these two common methods. Participants will be sent instructions to wind two small warps (30 ends max) in 3/2 or 5/2 cotton ahead of the class and then you’ll dress the school’s Wolf Pup looms.
Part 2: We’ll demonstrate how to use a paddle to wind a warp using the warping board and a warping mill. There will be time for participants to practice this technique. This is a very helpful method to use when several colors or textures are used in one warp.

For more details, to register, or to be placed on a waitlist, go to https://wggbweavingschool.corsizio.com/

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