Learn to Spin Workshop

Discover the ancient craft of spinning fiber into yarn using a drop spindle. In this 2-hour workshop, you'll learn how to draft roving, find your rhythm with the drop spindle, and spin your first continuous length of yarn. Spinning is a wonderful complement to knitting, weaving, and sewing — understanding how yarn is made deepens your relationship with textiles and opens the door to creating truly one-of-a-kind materials for your own projects. No experience with fiber arts is needed — just a willingness to slow down and let the spindle do its work. All spindles and roving are provided in class.

Instructor: Haley Houseman

What will you learn: The basics of spinning on a drop spindle, leaving with a completed practice skein of yarn, extra roving to continue spinning at home, and a drop spindle to keep.

What to bring: Nothing. All materials and tools for class are provided.

Level: Any. Ages 14+.

Prerequisites: None!

Date/Time: July 18 from 10 am -noon.

This class will run with 4 to 10 students.

About the teacher:

Haley Houseman is a lifelong sewist who learned at her mother’s side as soon as she could reach the foot pedal. With a deep family history of sewing, tailoring, and craft education, she brings generations of knowledge to the classroom—along with a love of making that spans projects from her own wedding dress to reupholstered armchairs.

Based in Massachusetts, Haley is a writer who explores craft, material culture, and environmental history in her work. She has taught sewing to beginners and returning makers in private sessions, women’s clubs, and workshops at venues like Labor in Vain, and also runs a popular mending pop-up around the North Shore. Her classes aim to demystify the crafts we yearn to learn, and are rooted in both skill-building and storytelling—helping students feel at home with their tools and empowered to bring their ideas to life.