Courses

Learn to screen print your own unique designs and to dye fabrics using natural dyes! Forget depending on textile companies or synthetic dyes—you’ll be free to find rebellious color in your local environment, in your kitchen, and from natural sources around the world. You won’t need a lot of special…

Rug hooking is a textile craft, born out of necessity and the desire to bring beauty and warmth into the home. In this class, we will use the natural surroundings of the North Shore landscape to design a rug that is uniquely your own. We will go for walks to…

What type of knitting is associated with the Sámi? The majority of traditional Sámi clothing is made of reindeer skin or wool felt. Very little is knit, except for mittens. This session will explore the knitting motifs of the Skolt Sámi, whose traditional homeland lies at the junction of Norway,…

There are so many functional things you can sew! Spend a weekend helping us with a few projects around North House. From canvas roofs for the new timber frame tents, to seat cushions and curtains to spruce up classrooms, you’ll get to make a mark on campus. Learn a few…

From the blue stripes on the first flag of the US to the extraordinary textiles of the Edo period in Japan to the blue of your favorite pair of jeans, indigo is a color at once exotic and familiar. Indigo dye has been used for centuries in cultures across the…

Skinnfeller is a traditional Norwegian textile craft that until recently was little known in the United States. Though many textiles made the journey across the Atlantic with thousands of Norwegian immigrant families, for reasons lost to history these sewn and decorated sheepskins are rarely seen in collections in the US.…

Toothbrush rugs are attributed to Swedish immigrants who brought this somewhat obscure tradition with them to America in the late 19th century. The Extension Service seized upon the idea and began teaching the technique to persons looking for a means of self-support following WWI and the Great Depression when the…

Woven tapestries are said to bring the northern landscape alive through geometric, curved, representational, or abstract images. In this three-day class, you will assemble and warp a frame, then weave a small tapestry of your design using the North Shore landscape as inspiration. Proper mounting and hanging techniques will also…

Dive into the special Swedish knitting technique of tvåändstickning, also called twined knitting or two-ended knitting. With this technique, the knitter works with two strands of yarn at the same time, traditionally from both ends of the same ball of yarn, twisting them between every stitch. While this type of…

Twined knitting, also known as the Swedish specialty knitting technique tvåändstickning, produces a lovely, dense, flexible cloth.We’ll begin with a brief overview of twined knit, twined purl, chain path, and other color work tips. Then, this class will focus on experimenting with two of twined knitting’s specialty stitches–crook stitch and…

Qiviut is the inner hair of the musk ox, a giant ungulate native to the arctic regions of Canada and Alaska. Musk ox were wiped out in Alaska in the late 19th century, but were reintroduced in the 1930s. As the population of wild and domesticated oxen grew, so did…

Textiles are integral in our lives, yet so often overlooked! Creating one’s own cloth empowers expression through color, texture, and design. In this course, we will explore these elements through weaving on a four-harness floor loom. Students will learn the principles of handweaving, including designing a project, preparing a warp,…

The warp-weighted loom has a more than 9,000 year history as a vital tool of everyday life. Instructors Melba Granlund and Jess Hirsch have updated this fascinating tool into a tabletop version better suited to the modern home and habits. In this unique combination course, students will learn both woodworking…

The distinctive look of a tartan pattern is recognizable the world over as a sign of Scottish highland history and skilled craftsmanship. Woven for centuries according to the tastes and local dye resources of the weaver, tartans acquired a strict taxonomy somewhere in the mid-19th century, with specific patterns associated…

Learn to weave on the rigid heddle loom while making a beautiful, lightweight scarf perfect for spring evenings. Using North House’s rigid heddle looms or students’ own looms in good working condition, students will learn how to set up the loom, weave the scarf, and finish it with a lovely…