Increase your household resilience by learning how to create clothing, household and decorative items using new or re-purposed materials, and how to maintain and repair the ones you already have! This full weekend of workshops and classes will expand the possibilities for fiber and fabric arts and crafts in your life, as a hobby and/or as a way to contribute to your household economy.

All sessions are hands-on and  taught by local experts. You can attend the whole weekend, one day, or individual workshops, as you wish.

Click here to pre-register

Schedule

Saturday
8:30 – 8:55	Check-in and coffee
9:00 – 11:00	Dyeing yarn with Natural Dyes FULL	Tablet Weaving	Altered Couture
11:15 – 12:15		Tablet Weaving (cont)	Altered Couture (cont)
1:00 – 2:30		Beginner Crochet	Yarn Tapestry wall hanging
2:45 – 4:45	FULL Flat Felt Making	Beginner Crochet (cont)	Yarn Tapestry (cont)
Sunday
8:30 – 8:55	Check-in and coffee
9:00 – 10:00	Arm Knitting	Hat Making	Demystifying the Sewing Machine
10:15 – 12:15	Arm Knitting (cont)	Hat Making (cont)	Garment-making Basics CANCELLED
1:00 – 3:00	So you want to quilt	What to Make with Tiny Scraps	Up-cycling mens’ shirts
3:15 – 4:15	So you want to quilt (cont)		Up-cycling mens’ shirts (cont)

Class Details

(See below for location, cost etc)

FULL Flat felt-making for beginners
This class will show you how to turn wool fibres into finished felt, using water, soap and the magic of your hands! You will make a piece of flat felt that you can embellish as you wish, and use as a wall-hanging, placemat or anything else you can think of.
Saturday 2:45 – 4:45
Materials fee: $10
Instructor: Vanessa Sparrow

Arm knitting with Upcycled Clothing
Learners will spiral cut t-shirts to make “yarn”. The t-shirt yarn, or “tarn” will then be finger crocheted together to make a chunky rope. Once we have created an adequate length of rope, we will use a basic arm knitting method to create a final product! This technique can easily be applied to make rugs or throw blankets – the creative potential is there for you.

Choose fabrics, textures and colours to showcase your unique style. Heavy fabrics like denim work best for rugs, while stretchy clothing materials give a nice soft drape to blankets or throws.

Due to the time restraints of this class, there will be some pre-cut tarn as part of your class materials package. This will allow us to demonstrate all the steps involved in the full process, without the tedium of cutting all the clothing during class.  Scissors and rotary cutters will be available to borrow during class.

Learners should come prepared with at least 3 to 5 articles of clothing to up-cycle. If you have a rotary fabric cutter and mat and/or fabric scissors, please bring them. We will have a few to share.
Sunday 9:00 – 12:15
Materials fee: $5
Instructor: Carly Filewich

So You Want to Quilt (Bare Bones Basics)
Marlaine will explain and demonstrate the necessary skills which include:
a) basic understanding of colour and how to use it with patterned fabric
b) rudiments of working with 3 necessary tools for many sewing projects (rotary cutter, ruler and mat)
c) making friends with your sewing machine and getting it to cooperate
d) making your vision a reality (aka designing your project).
Includes discussion of making use of “found” fabrics and scraps.
Sunday 1:30 – 4:45
Materials fee: $5 kit of fabrics to make a color wheel
Instructor: Marlaine Taylor

CANCELLED Garment Making Basics

Upcycling with men’s dress shirts
From minor edits to major remakes, there’s all kinds of things we can do with old, ill-fitting, or out-of-style men’s dress shirts to get them back into circulation as fabulous new garments. Bring a shirt or two (or three!) and get creative in this hands on class. We’ll talk about the basic anatomy of these garments and clever deconstruction techniques for getting the best out of them, as well as tips for re-fitting to match different types of bodies. I’ll share some of my best remakes and help you come up with your own fabulous new creation!
Sunday 1:30 – 4:45
Materials fee: none
Instructor: Erin Innes

FULL Dyeing yarn with Natural Dyes
In this class we will explore dyeing yarn with one color, using natural dye extracts to dye a variegated yarn and over dyeing yarn to shift the colors.
You will learn how to prepare (mordant) yarn to absorb the most dye and be light fast and wash fast.

We will talk about choosing the right color palette for your projects, harvesting colors locally, modifying colors with iron, and over dyeing in Indigo to achieve beautiful greens and purples.

No experience necessary. Method is transferable to protein fibre based fabric, such as silk or wool.
Saturday 9:00 – 11:00
Materials fee: $5
Instructor: Amber Friedman

CANCELLED Up-cycled Diaper Covers

CANCELLED What to make with your tiny scraps

Make a Yarn Tapestry wall hanging
Bring along your scraps and short lengths of yarn, your leftovers, the yarns that looked pretty but turned out to be splitty, scratchy or slippery to work with, and even lengths of lace, tassels, fringes, pompoms, and old jewellery! Learn one very simple knot and you have the tools to create decorative and practical wall hangings from materials that would otherwise be wasted. Leave with your first yarn tapestry well on its way, or even completed.
Saturday 1:00 – 3:00
Materials fee: $5 ($3 goes to Fibre Space for the use of their supply cupboard)
Instructor: Kevin Wilson

Make a Simple Hat – using new or up cycled materials
Each person will construct a hat from a sample of three designs. Working with recycled and new materials, students will measure their head, pick a pattern and size from the pattern templates supplied, cut, sew and embellish their hat.
Hats may be lined or unlined. If you have any of your own fabric and embellishments you would like to add to your hat to make it fun bring them along. Embellishments suggested but not limited to:
Beads, zippers, buttons, fabric of interesting textures, leather strip, lace, jewelry that can be sewn, belts, belt buckles, scarves, sticks.
Hats are not often washed so many different items can be attached.

Pre-requisites: basic hand-sewing and sewing machine skills.
Sunday 9:00 – 12:15
Materials Fee: $5
Instructor: Anne Leaman

Tablet Weaving
Tablet weaving is one of the oldest methods of creating narrow strips of cloth. From fine silk bands for garment trim to sturdy wool bands tor bag straps or belts, this simple loom and weaving method can produce a wide range of useful products.
Students will learn a little of its history, learn how to construct and warp a tablet loom, learn how to read a pattern and how to weave on the loom. The class project will be woven in wool yarn for a band suitable for a belt or bag strap. This class is intended for beginner weavers and for experienced weavers who are unfamiliar with warp-faced band weaving or using cards to produce bands.

Class materials provided:
Wool yarn for warp and weaving
shuttles
pattern draft paper
Notes handout

Please bring: a sturdy belt or sash that will fit around your waist.
Optional – bring if you wish: Inkle loom for warping, note taking materials

Saturday 9:00 – 12:15
Materials Fee: $5
Instructor: Val McKeen

Beginner Crochet
Learn the basic crochet stitches: single, double and triple crochet, plus basic terminology and how to read a pattern.
Saturday 1:00 – 4:45
Materials Fee: $10 includes yarn, crochet hook and yarn needle (does not include scissors – please bring your own). OR you may choose to bring your own supplies. You will need: 2 different light colored balls of Red heart Super saver yarn, size 5mm crochet hook, yarn needle, scissors.
Instructor: Susan Reid

Altered Couture
In this class we’ll spread out garments, discuss the possibilities, and dismantle or cut into a few. There will be stations for various techniques from sweater mending (using needle felting!) and embellishing to making a bum warmer to creating lace from a doily. Students will go home with ideas and new skills rather than a completed object.
Saturday 9:00 – 12:15
Materials Fee: TBA
Instructor: Shaunalee Yates

Demystifying the Sewing Machine
This class will cover how sewing machines work (including example of a dismantled machine so you can see inside), home maintenance of your machine (with a tool list), mechanical versus electronic, and what NOT to buy. Cam will show you how to ‘learn’ your own machine and not be intimidated by it, the importance of correct thread and threading the machine, and understanding tension.

Event Logistics

Walk the Talk: this weekend aims to be zero waste and support local producers. Please help us reduce our carbon footprint by carpooling, biking, walking or using the bus to get to and from the site!

Date: Sat and Sun Jan 27 and 28 2018

Location:
Saturday: Cranberry Community Hall, 6828 Cranberry St (at the top of the hill: NOT the Seniors Centre hall)
Bus route 1 stops just down the hill from the Cranberry Hall
Sunday: Fibre Space at Oceanview Education Centre, 7085 Nootka St – above Vancouver Island University.
Bus route 2 stops just down the hill from Oceanview.

Cost: 

Non-refundable deposit $20 on registration, remainder due by Jan 21.

Full Weekend: Early bird price $110 till Jan 7
Full Weekend: Regular price $149 from Jan 8 to Jan 28
Single Day: $85
Single Workshop (1.5 – 2 hours): $35
Extra-long or 2-part workshop (2.5 – 3 hours): $60

You may pay up to 50% in Powell River Dollars PR$

Special deal: 15-19 year olds get in for only $40 for the whole weekend!
Work trades welcomed
Some partial scholarships available – contact Kevin directly

Register Here

Cancellation policy
50% refund up to 2 weeks before
No refund after that but you are welcome to send a substitute