Shaker Weaving with an Emphasis on Rugs
All Levels Welcome
Required Skills:
Class Length:
Less than Half Day
Class Times:
Many are familiar with Shaker chairs or buildings, but the Shakers also applied their fundamental principles of utility, simplicity and proportion to textiles. They are known for weaving poplar strips into cloth for baskets, bonnets and fans, utilitarian cloth for their own use, heavy fulled wool fabric for the Dorothy cloaks they wore and sold, and simple but unique rag rugs that still delight hand weavers today. We will consider hand woven textiles from several Shaker museums, with a special focus on the unique aspects of Shaker rugs.
Registration Fees:
Materials Fee:
None
Registration Fees are paid when you register to attend the FTWG Conference. Materials fees are paid directly to the instructor at the beginning of class. You should plan to pay the materials fee in cash.
Melissa Weaver Dunning is a hand-weaver, spinner, and knitter with over 40 years of experience working on antique equipment to recreate 18th- and 19th-century home-produced textiles. She began her textile study with Scottish master weaver Norman Kennedy in 1980, and carries on this rich tradition in her own teaching. Melissa is an avid tartan and linen weaver, a compulsive knitter, and a lover of wool who enjoys sharing her passion for weaving and spinning with students. She is also a ballad singer, specializing in the ballads and songs of Ireland, Scotland and England from before Napoleon’s time.