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Read about one of Terry and Darby's experiences in the field:

How We Came to Teach Weaving at
The High School for Fashion Industries in New York City


In January 2002 Kate Boulamaali, Assistant Principal High School of Fashion Industries contacted the New York Guild of Handweavers to find someone to evaluate a "big loom" that had stood for years in one or her classrooms... read more

Sophomore Class at
High School of Fashion Industries -2016
This year, our fifth, there was a change in the program...read more




OUTREACH

Why outreach?
We work to promote wider recognition of the role of handweaving in everyday life -- in the past, present and future. We're also eager to share our enthusiasm for handweaving with the community. We have more than fifty years weaving experience between us, creating one-of-a-kind woven scarves, shawls, ties, towels, napkins, tablemats, runners, wall hangings, rugs and even market bags woven from recycled plastic bags. We also answer calls for help from weavers who are having problems with their looms.

What kinds of programs do we offer?
Live demonstrations and hands-on experiences are both effective ways to convey the basic concepts behind handweaving. We tailor our programs to meet the needs of the audience. We can bring floor looms, table looms, spinning wheels, drop spindles, fleece, and yarn as needed. The program can include a demonstration of fleece preparation, spinning and dying. Demonstrations work best for large gatherings. For smaller groups there are options that give participants the opportunity to weave with simple equipment. For children, we like to start with a "Penny Purse" woven on a small cardboard loom that can be taken home to use for additional projects. Adults can begin with tablet (card) weaving; this instruction can be adapted for children ages ten and above. We can demonstrate spinning yarn with both drop spindles and spinning wheels, and we can even start with preparing a sheep's fleece for spinning. Complete courses in weaving on a four-shaft loom, running eight to ten two-hour sessions, also are available.

Our previous work
We have held demonstrations at the Museum of Arts & Design (formerly the American Craft Museum) and the Donnell Branch of the New York Public Library (a children's program). We have participated in festivals at three of the sites of the Historic House Trust of New York City: Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in upper Manhattan, King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Queens, and the Morris-Jumel Mansion in upper Manhattan. We found and set up the loom that now resides at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.

Fees
With rare exceptions, we do not charge for our demonstrations and hands-on activities. However, we do charge for group and private weaving lessons that are on-going.