Spinning Flax, Hemp and Nettle with Amanda Hannaford 
I’m so pleased that Amanda Hannaford has agreed to put on this practical two day workshop where she will share with you the techniques required to spin your own yarn from Flax, Hemp and Nettle.
For thousands of years women have sat together spinning, weaving and sewing with Flax, Hemp and Nettle, the first materials to be spun for use in woven fabrics were taken from the stems of these plants.
These days most spinners learn to spin with wool and often don’t get the opportunity to experience the pleasure of spinning with these bast fibres and miss out on creating wonderful yarns that become softer and more beautiful with age.
I love spinning with Flax and using hand-spun nettle and linen yarn in my work, the way it shimmers in certain lights, its unevenness which still retains traces of life, gives an essential ‘clothiness’ to textiles that is missing in machine spun yarn.
On the two day workshop we will provide you with the Flax, Hemp and Nettle fibres and with the expert help of Amanda you will learn…
- The techniques required to spin your own yarn from Flax, Hemp and Nettle.
- The similarities and differences between flax, hemp and nettle fibres experiment spinning these fibres on their own and in blends.
- How to take dry stalks of flax and work through the stages of rippling, breaking, scutching and hackling to turn them into bundles of golden or silver shimmering fibres depending on the mehod of retting.
- How to make and dress a distaff and spin the fibres into a smooth and lustrous yarn.
- How to spin long line flax without a distaff.
Amanda will also give an illustrated talk explaining all the different categories of hand-spinning fibres, and then focus on a detailed explanation of the flax plant and all the stages in the production of the fibre, using both historical and contemporary images.
The course is £120 for two days and includes a delicious lunch, refreshments and basic materials.
Barn-House Accommodation – In the orchard next to my studio we have newly restored barn-house accommodation available. To find out more please visit the Accommodation tab above.
Please use the contact tab above to enquire about course and accommodation availability.
2017 course dates
Feb 20th to 24th – Winter Residential 5 day Creative Textile Course – full
March 11th and 12th – Weaving course – full
March 23rd , 24th, 25th and 26th – Flax processing, spinning and weaving course – full
April 6th and 7th – Weaving course – Full
April 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd – Textile Art Techniques with Alice Fox and Susie Gillespie – full
May 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th – Residential 5 day Creative Textile Course – please enquire
May 25th and 26th – Weaving course – full
June 3rd and 4th – Weaving course – full
July 31st, Aug 1st, 2nd, 3rd – Textile Art Techniques with Alice Fox and Susie Gillespie – full
August 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th – Flax processing, spinning and weaving course – 4 places
September 16th, 17th – Weaving course – 6 places
October 21st, 22nd – Weaving course – 4 places
Please use the contact tab above to enquire about course and accommodation availability if I don’t get back to you within a day or two please try again as sometimes the enquiries do not reach me. Thanks Susie.
I also have gift vouchers available if you would like to give a course as a present.