Gather with fellow knitters to make hats to share through local organizations that are helping others.
Gather at this monthly hat knit-along to socialize and knit hats for local organizations that are helping keep others warm! Hats can be as simple or complex as you like, and any size. This is a great skill-building and stash-busting project.
Bring your own stash of yarn.
Ages 14 and up are welcome.
View BARN’s current COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition assistance is available. Fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about our Companion Program.
Jessica Rose recently arrived on Bainbridge from Seattle where she had more than 10 years' experience working and teaching at a local yarn shop, as well as blogging and podcasting about knitting. She’s a knitter, spinner, and dyer who loves to play with fiber and color but most of all she loves to knit hats. She’s so excited to join the creative community at BARN!
Join fellow weavers one day a month for a year-long study group to view Jane Stafford’s Online Weaving Guild episodes on our big screen TV in BARN's small classroom. Learn new weaving techniques while we share our successes as weavers. We will be starting with Season 1, back to the basics!
Participants need to enroll in the JST Online Guild. The online guild requires a fee to join, which is not covered by BARN. Once you join, you also will have access to all past episodes and helpful information posted on the JST Weaving School website. Please register so you can get reminders for the upcoming watch parties.
Details:
Instructor:
Facilitated by Weaving Studio volunteers
Join other weavers to explore traditional tapestry designs.
Thanks to our BARN woodworking friends, a set of Navajo-style looms that also can be adapted to Salish-style weaving are now available.
Learn to warp the looms, explore fiber choice, and pattern. You can use one of our new looms or any loom setup for tapestry-style weaving.
We decide on our learning journey as a group. Please register for this event.
Terry Winer and Catherine Camp lead this group, as fellow explorers of these techniques, and who hope to be accomplished tapestry weavers some day.
Make a sweater over several months in this BARN Knit Along using scrap yarn.
Worked seamlessly from the top down, the Sea Glass Sweater is a great pattern option for using up all of those tiny scraps of yarn you have been saving! This long-sleeved, relaxed-fit sweater is knit in DK weight yarn, using a simple 1x1 colorwork method. With inclusive sizing, tons of tutorials and advice included with the pattern, and no ends to weave in, this is an easy project even for beginning colorwork knitters.
(Photo credit @wool.and.pine.designs, sweater modeled by @kiya.faith)
Skill Level: All Levels
Student should bring:
Naomi Spinak has been digging around in the trash bin for some time to create new treasures. Creator at one time of a line of organic and scrap-based children's clothing (Free Range Kids), Naomi is a costume designer, fiber artist, dressmaker, and currently committee chair for the Bainbridge Island Trashion Show. Her work has been featured in the Bainbridge Island Quilt Show; Bainbridge Performing Arts; the Texas state capitol in Austin; the Kirkland Center for the Arts; and the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts in California. She has a piece in an upcoming issue of Surface Design Association Journal. She has taught numerous classes at her children's school, Odyssey, on Bainbridge.
Explore stitches and needlework with other embroiderers!
A different set of stitches or needlework techniques are the focus each month as we explore how to do it and what we can create with it.
In January, for example, we explored some of the many aspects of buttonhole stitch, and decided where to go from there based on the interest and experience of the group.
Fiber Studio volunteers lead the group.
Calling All Open Weavers:
Basket makers of all levels and backgrounds are welcome! Bring your current projects, completed works, or just your curiosity. Weavers share techniques, design ideas, materials information; ask and answer questions, and problem solve.
To receive email reminders of this event, please register. Drop in are welcome.
We meet the third Tuesday of each month, from 10 am to 2 pm in the Fiber Arts Studio. Email Cyndy Holtz with questions: [email protected].
Free for BARN Members and a suggested $10 donation for non-members.
Registration is not required.
Please click here for BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols.
If you have questions, please contact Fiber Studio lead at [email protected]
Join Fiber Arts Studio Lead Dale Walker for virtual open studios focused on slow stitching.
This is an ongoing, virtual open studio rather than a class. Drop in via Zoom Tuesday afternoons to see what others or doing, show them your work, or just say "Hi" and let us know how you're doing!
Basically, we’re considering slow stitch anything you do with yarn or thread by hand. This includes knitting, crochet, embroidery, needlepoint, mending, tatting, and other handwork.
Bring your handwork projects and stitch with your BARN friends.
This ongoing gathering - not a class - is all about hand needlework and embroidery. It is a time to get together and stitch, and get a little advice and help with your project.
Come if you're interested in embroidery, visible mending, needlepoint or hand sewing. It's always interesting and fun to see what others are doing, and to share your work!
Free to members, guests pay a $10 drop-in fee.
Registration is not required, and drop-ins are welcome, but please register to receive reminder notices.
Dale Walker hosts these Better Together sessions. She is the Fiber Arts Needle Arts Coordinator, and enjoys weaving, knitting, embroidery, sewing, dyeing, and surface design.
Time to grab your knitting and head to BARN!
Join knitting enthusiast Betsy Hagestedt, share your projects, and plan your next one. Explore new ideas, finish projects, and see what fellow knitters are making. This is a great time to immerse yourself in fiber and friendship!
Please register so you can get reminders of the next Knitting Circle.
Skill level: All levels
Free to members, $10 drop-in fee for guests.
Betsy Hagestedt hosts these Knitting Circles. She Betsy has been working with fiber since she was in elementary school, having learned to sew and knit from her mom. As an anthropologist, she uses her fiber practice as a means of connecting with people from other cultures, embracing the universal nature of fiber arts. Knitting gradually became her specialization due to its portability as she began to travel around the world. You can see some of her fiber experiments on her Instagram feed at behestknits.
Spend the afternoon weaving at BARN.
Do you like to weave on a rigid heddle loom?
Crazy about frame loom weaving?
In love with weaving on floor looms?
Does weaving tapestry pieces make your heart flutter?
If your answer to one or more of these questions is yes, then drop on by and come hang out with your fellow weavers every Wednesday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. This is also a time we schedule labs or study groups.
If you would like a reminder before each session, you can register. Drop-ins are welcome.
Free to members, guests $10.00 drop in fee.
Explore eco printing with plant material directly on your fabric or paper.
Achieve incredibly vibrant and realistic leaf prints using contact printing, a natural dye method of transferring the pigments found in plant material directly to cloth or paper (also known as eco-printing or botanical printing). You will explore the basics of contact printing, including some rudimentary plant physiology and how to manipulate prints with mordants and dye blankets. You also will experiment with some simple shibori techniques and easy methods of embellishing the finished prints.
Skill Level: Beginner
Students should wear clothes that can get dirty
Bring a bag lunch and beverage daily. BARN has a refrigerator and microwave on the lower level.
Students will leave with several printed scarves (silk and wool), a variety of printed fabric samples, printed papers suitable for book arts or other paper arts, handouts for technique review, and a newfound appreciation for the color and beauty within the common leaf.
Students should bring:
Rubber gloves N95 (or KN95) mask Apron Sharp scissors While the instructor will provide a variety of plant materials for printing, you are encouraged to bring additional leaves from their local environment. You also have the option of bringing personal fabrics and/or papers to experiment with (natural fibers only - silk, wool, cotton, linen, hemp, and/or blends)
Judilee Fitzhugh is a textile artisan who specializes in natural plant dyes and couture sewing. A tour of duty in Japan with the U.S.Navy led to a profound Japanese influence and a lifelong affection for vintage kimono and other historic textiles. Her finely crafted work combines natural objects with vintage textile remnants, hand dyed and printed fabrics, handweaving and surface design for couture-inspired garments, home textiles and art work. www.judileefitzhugh.com
This orientation grants members access to the Fiber Arts Studio seven days a week (some classes may preempt use).
You will spend 30 minutes in the studio reviewing safety and equipment care protocols. In exchange, your BARN member fob will be activated to gain access to the studio 8 am to 10 pm.
Open to BARN members only. Register so we know how many will be attending. Guests may use the studio during Better Together sessions.
Orientations are conducted by a various studio members.
The Fiber Lab’s natural indigo vats will be opened for supervised overdyeing and up-cycling in this special event.
This is your opportunity to bring new life to worn and faded textile by overdyeing it in a natural indigo vat. These vats use a natural reduction process to produce a quick, reliable, long-lasting indigo blue.
Participants may bring items such as cotton T-shirts, linen tops, vintage napkins, cotton socks, or up to one yard of natural fiber fabric to be dip-dyed. If you've never experienced the magic that is indigo, this is your chance!
About a month before the event, we will send you instructions for preparing your garment or textile for dipping in one of our Indigo vats, along with more information about what to expect during this experience. The volunteer staff is made up of experienced natural dyers led by Judilee Fitzhugh, who is directing this community activity.
Student should wear work clothes that can get dirty.
If it is a warm day, bring a water bottle.
You will learn the indigo over-dyeing technique by dyeing one piece of garment that you bring.
Judilee Fitzhugh is a textile artisan who specializes in natural plant dyes and couture sewing. A tour of duty in Japan with the U.S.Navy led to a profound Japanese influence and a lifelong affection for vintage kimono and other historic textiles. Her finely crafted work combines natural objects with vintage textile remnants, hand dyed and printed fabrics, handweaving and surface design for couture-inspired garments, home textiles, and art work. www.judileefitzhugh.com
Get to know our Baby Lock Solaris 2 Embroidery Machine working one-on-one with a studio volunteer.
Hoop and embroider a couple of the designs that are among the hundreds that come loaded on the machine in this two-hour tutorial.
Leave the session ready to explore more of the machine’s dazzling number of functions and knowing how to leave the machine clean and ready for the next embroiderer.
Check out our Embroidery Machine Skills series to build your repertoire on the Solaris 2.
Rotating Fiber Studio Volunteers
Weaving beginners and experts alike create a scarf to take home on these portable, easy, and versatile looms.
Weaving on a rigid heddle loom is fun and easy. The looms are small and portable and your weaving can be as simple or as complex as you like. This class is for those new to weaving or established weavers looking for a way to make quick projects.
You will learn how to direct warp the loom, how to do simple balanced weaving, how to identify and fix simple mistakes, and how to remove the finished project from the loom.
Rigid heddle looms are perfect for weaving with hand-knitting yarns. You will choose from a variety of yarns provided by BARN to make a scarf you'll finish by the end of class and take home.
Skill Level: Beginners to advanced weavers
A $25 materials fee, included in the cost of the class, covers all materials needed.
Bring a bag lunch. BARN has a refrigerator and microwave on the lower level.
A scarf to take home.
This class is led by a rotating team of Fiber Studio weavers and fiber artists, including Terry Winer, Dale Walker, and Sybil Carrere.
Get certified to use the Baby Lock Presto 2 sewing machines in the Fiber Studio.
This class also serves as a prerequisite for Fiber Studio workshops, sew-alongs, and other events where you'd like to use these machines and for working on your own projects any time you’re in the studio. It is also a prerequisite for orientations for other sewing machines in the studio.
Presto 2 machines are easy to use and have many functions. This class guides you through basic machine use including:
We’ll end the class with a checklist for putting your machine away so it’s ready for the next person.
This class will certify you to use the new Babylock Presto 2 sewing machines in the Fiber Studio. This class is a prerequisite for Fiber Studio workshops, sew-alongs, and other events where you'd like to use these machines, and it is also a prerequisite for future orientations for other sewing machines in the studio. This class also qualifies you to use these machines for your own projects any time you’re in the studio.
Please note that this class is about the Babylock Presto 2 sewing machines. This class is not for the industrial sewing machine or the embroidery machine. We will not focus on learning to sew, though learning to use the machines is a great start for learning to sew.
The Presto 2 machines are easy to use and have many, many functions. This class will guide you through basic machine use including:
We’ll end the class with a checklist for putting your machine away so that it’s ready for the next person to use.
BARN will provide neutral-color thread, a size 70 needle, and quilting cotton for the orientation. You are welcome to bring other materials for your own use.
Instructors: Rotating Fiber Studio volunteers
Celebrate Pride Month by sewing a beautiful progress Pride flag backpack.
This is for sewists who want to make the perfect backpack to celebrate Pride Month. You will learn how to install hardware like D-rings, install a zipper, and make adjustable straps that are custom made for you.
You will make the "Love for All" backpack, a ProperFit Clothing pattern.
You will need to purchase the $2.99 pattern online: Love For All Backpack
Alex McKeon believes creativity is inherent in us all and brings creativity and enthusiasm to the Fiber Studio. She loves helping students tap into their inner artist and learn more about themselves in the process. Whether at the loom or exploring with needle and thread, Alex inspires all who work with her.
Must have completed Learn How to Use the Fiber Studio Sewing Machines.
Join us for a monthly spinning session.
Everyone - from first-timers to experts are welcome! Spin on one of BARN's spinning wheels or bring your own. Dive into BARN's stash of fleece or bring your own.
Whether you've been spinning for years or you are just curious, drop by and check out BARN's spinning community. We're excited about getting you started in spinning, so come on in!
To receive reminder emails about this event, please register. Drop-ins are welcome.
Join us for two mornings of sewing the Oberlin bag – “a stylish take on the classic market tote” - from Klum House.
This roomy tote has four exterior pockets and a hanging interior zip pocket. It closes with a magnetic snap or recessed zipper. It can be an everyday tote, or you can use it for picnics or crafts. Make the exterior pockets from contrasting fabric for extra pizzazz.
And here’s an added bonus: When you register for the sew-along, you’ll receive a discount code for 10% off from Klum House! Check your confirmation email when your registration is complete.
The original Oberlin is made from waxed canvas - and Klum House provides a pre-cut, waxed-canvas kit. Or choose your own fabric: canvas, upholstery fabric, denim, waterproof cotton, faux leather ... even quilting cotton or other light fabrics will work in combination with medium to heavy interfacing. The pattern calls for leather straps, but webbing, cork, or fabric straps will all work.
This bag pattern is rated “confident beginner,” and includes terrific skill-building techniques. You’ll sew straight, French seams. You’ll put in a magnetic snap, and attach the straps with rivets (using BARN’s rivet press, if you like). With the expansion pattern, you’ll add a recessed zipper.
Students need to bring:
Your sewing machine, with a fresh needle suitable for the fabric you're using. Or you may reserve a BARN sewing machine.
Your own copy of the Oberlin pattern from Klum House (or a source you prefer)
Optional: The pattern expansion pack, if you’d like to add a lining or the recessed zipper.
Supplies as specified in the pattern. Check the second page of this Klum House online document. It also is a starting place for brick-and-mortar and online sources for supplies if you don’t want to purchase a Klum House kit or supplies.
None for the sew-along, but if you're reserving a BARN sewing machine, you must have completed any session of Learn How to Use the Fiber Studio Sewing Machines or Orientation to Fiber Sewing Machines.
Marcia Adams-Landry is a BARN founding member and a life-long sewist who learned to sew along with lots of her friends from her mom, a 4-H leader who taught cooking and sewing. Marcia and her sister entered stitching and cooking projects in the county fair for several years.
Marcia’s biggest experience with fabrics was designing a fabric line and developing production techniques to produce cosmetic bags, tableware, and other products. In her current profession as a custom picture framer, Marcia’s love of fiber continues, and she always jumps at the chance to use fiber or frameworks of fiber.
Let's help one another get a better fit with sewn garments!
Fitting garments for yourself is tough. It’s hard to make adjustments while you’re wearing the garment, and once you manage to figure out the adjustments you need to make, how do you translate that to your pattern? And by the way, what does “good fit” even look like?
While BARN looks for a fitting teacher, let's try helping each other. This group is guided by the folks who come. Bring patterns, garments, and projects-in-process that have you wondering about fit, and we’ll pool our collective knowledge to answer our questions to find the right fit.
Please sign up each month so we know you’re coming!
Explore embroidery as you create your own bird using appliqué and embroidery on supple wool.
To give your bird personality, you will choose a basic color scheme to work with, then appliqué pieces down, learning embroidery stitches to create texture and depth. You will start with a 6 1/2” x 4” piece of wool and use a variety of hand stitch techniques to create your project.
Select your own color scheme and wool with stitched-down body and head sections. The instructor will supply drawn and labeled diagrams of stitches to be learned. Then you will select wings, petals, and stems to pin and whip stitch to anchor.
The teacher will demonstrate seven embroidery stitches: bullion knot, chain stitch, closed fly stitch, couching, French knot, long/short stitch, and oyster stitch.
We will strive to complete the learning of all stitches on the bird and, if needed, you will need additional time at home to complete the sampler.
The $10 materials kit includes:
Three needles (#18, #24 Chenille and #1 Milliners)
Choice of three different color schemes
Dark thread for branch and beak
6 1/2” x 4” bird piece
Appliqué pins
The Fiber Arts Studio will provide:
Nathalee Lowrie’s passion for textiles began as a child, learning textile arts from both of her grandmothers. Using a needle and thread fueled an instant love affair with color, the suppleness of fabric, and the movement of a needle. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in education/art specialization from North Texas University. She also trained at the Madeline Island School of the Arts in Wisconsin, studying under Sue Spargo and Katie Pasquini Masopust. Her pieces have been accepted into several juried shows and galleries, and her larger pieces can be viewed in the gallery section at https://colorthreadtexture.com/Gallery
This is a sew-along, so we'll be figuring our how to make our tops together, with guidance from the instructor. This fairly simple project will be a great refresher for those who haven’t sewn in a while, and a good confidence-builder for newer sewists.
An unstructured summer blouse. Your progress during the sew-along will be up to you.
Supplies that students need to bring:
View BARN's current COVID-19 health & safety protocols.
BARN is committed to accessibility. Tuition Assistance is available—fill out the application before registering.
For those who might need physical assistance, learn more about BARN's Companion Program.
Knitters - learn how to create your own color motif.
Have you ever seen something that you wished could be incorporated into your knitting? Flowers? Geometric designs? Why buy a pattern when you can design your own? In this class you will create your own colorwork motif using graph paper, knit a small sample, and then adapt that motif to become a custom cowl pattern. Class discussions will include color choice, scale, and adapting designs for gauge.
Each student will leave with a pattern adapted for their motif by slightly modifying the stitch count and adjusting the pattern repeat.
Two skeins of worsted weight yarn (different colors for colorwork),
Size 8 16” circular needle
Betsy Hagestedt had been working with fiber since elementary school, having learned to sew and knit from her mom. As an anthropologist, she uses her fiber practice as to connect with people from other cultures, embracing the universal nature of fiber arts. Knitting gradually became her specialization due its portability as she began to travel the world. She has lived in the UK and Canada, visited parts of Asia and Europe, and traveled extensively in South America. Now she designs knitwear patterns and loves to learn new techniques to expand her skills even further. When she is not knitting she can be found reading, practicing archery, or working with animals, and is always looking for new hobbies. Her Instagram feed is behestknits.
Spend your Monday afternoons immersed in fiber and friendship!
This "class" is not about instruction, but it is about grabbing your knitting and heading to BARN. Share your projects and plan your next one. Explore new ideas, finish projects and see what fellow knitters are making.
Betsy Hagestedt had been working with fiber since she was in elementary school, having learned to sew and knit from her mom. As an anthropologist, she uses her fiber practice as a means of connecting with people from other cultures, embracing the universal nature of the fiber arts. Knitting gradually became her specialization due its portability as she began to travel around the world. You can see some of her fiber experiments on her Instagram feed at behestknits.
Use fabric scraps to sew up a reusable fabric garland to string up and brighten your next celebration.
Learn how to make a beautiful reusable fabric garland from fabric scraps, perfect to brighten up any celebration.
If you’re nervous about trying to make something by hand, or don’t consider yourself very “artsy,” this is the perfect class for you. With only a straight stitch, you will be able to make a handmade fabric garland to hang in your house or backyard at your next event. Bring holiday fabric scraps to make a garland with a specific theme or use whatever fabrics you like to make a “celebratory” garland that could be used at any event or holiday! This is a wonderful scrap busting project. Use up all those pesky little pieces of fabric that have accumulated that you’re not sure what to do with, but you don’t want to throw away.
You will walk out of class with a handmade fabric garland to string up at your next celebration.
A $10 materials fee included in the cost of the class covers all needed materials.
Alex McKeon believes creativity is inherent in us all. She brings creativity and enthusiasm to the fiber studio. She loves helping students tap into their inner artist and learning more about themselves in the process. Whether at the loom or exploring with needle and thread, Alex inspires all who work with her.
Build stencil and print skills while engaging in structured play exercises alongside friends and fellow fiber artists.
Build stenciling and print skills in a fun and engaging atmosphere of spontaneous, grown-up play. Using high-quality stencils, fabric paint, sponges, brushes, fabric pens, and other printing tools, you will lay technical foundations of structured surface design work on textiles while freeing up your creative energies. You will experiment with heavy and thin textures, and light and dark fabric colors. You are invited to bring one or two garment pieces from your wardrobe as a foundation for combined printing and collage. A plain, white cotton T-shirt can be turned into a work of art, and add a building block to your surface design techniques.
Skill Level: Beginning
Be sure to wear a big apron or clothes that can get messy.
A $20 materials fee, included in the cost of the class, covers the fabric paints, additional specialty fabrics, stencils, and art tools the instructor will provide. See "Materials" below for what students can bring.
Bring lunch and a beverage. There is a refrigerator and microwave on the lower level.
We will focus on creating 16” x 20” sample pieces, which are big enough to use for some finished work. Students who would like to work on larger pieces may bring their own yardage to cut.
Our Learn to Sew classes were designed for anyone new to sewing, to gain new skills and have good practices reinforced. Skills covered in this class include cutting with a rotary cutter, sewing with a consistent seam allowance, looking at the typical "order of operations" for a sewing project, and gaining more confidence using a sewing machine.
Projects in this series included a drawstring bag (focusing on making a casing and buttonholes) in March, a simple tote bag (focused on sewing a larger project and applying a magnetic snap) in April, an apron (how to apply bias binding and topstitch) in early May and this pillow class, offered during the day in May, and during the evening June (this class!).
A 14-inch pillow, learning how to sew heavier fabric, and how to install a zipper.
You must have completed Orientation to Fiber Sewing Machines
Fran Fuller learned to sew when she was 6 or 7 from her mother, who was a precise, creative, and inspiring sewist and a very patient teacher. Fran sewed her own clothes through high school and college, and now she sews clothing, home decorating items, and bags.
