Emily Wohlscheid is the teaching artist behind Bricolage Studios. She works out of a cooperative studio in West Michigan and specializes in small batch fiber blends and jewelry
inspired by nature and textiles. She regularly contributes to both Spinoff and PLY Magazine and teaches spinning and blending courses year round.
While working toward her BFA degree, Emily was introduced to wool through the art of felting but it wasn’t until she took a class at a local arts center on handspinning that her passion for blending fibers was ignited. That first experience with the drum carder really stuck with her and remains her favorite tool for exploring color, texture, and effects.
Emily’s workshops are the result of a large amount of experimentation with fiber types, how they take dye, how to process them, and how they will optically blend once spun. She believes that the proper use of fiber processing tools both for the longevity of the equipment and the user’s safety are just as important as the excitement of creating your own custom blends.
No matter what your experience may be, Emily will familiarize you with how to adapt techniques for a variety of blending equipment to suit your needs!
Classes
Intro to Carding
3 hours $25 materials fee
Familiarize yourself with the carding process on the drum carder and hand carders. Material to be covered will include the proper ways to prepare fleece for carding, how to load the fibers for processing, color blending, and how best to remove fibers when they have been carded. Woolen, semi-woolen, and semi-worsted preparations will be covered.
Methods of spinning that correspond with the preparations from woolen to semi-worsted will be demonstrated with particular attention to note taking. Students will have the opportunity to spin samples and compare the differences between their prepared fibers between carding samples. You will have fun sampling in this playful introductory workshop! Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn. Students should bring:
Hand carders if they own them and their spinning wheel
Drum carder (optional)
Instructor will have several drum carders and hand carders for student use
Extra bobbins
Lazy kate
Niddy noddy
Supplies Provided by Instructor: 3 oz of fleece to be processed on both the drum carder and hand carders, Handouts (paper & digital)
Blending Fractal Stripes
3 hours $30 materials fee
Achieving a subtle color shift whether as a gradient or a stripe for fractal spinning can be done on a variety of carding equipment. Fractal spinning is loosely based on the mathematical definition of a fractal being repeating parts in progressively smaller sizes. In fiber blending, we are creating color repeats that begin large and progressively become several smaller parts. Using the drum carder and the blending board, students will immerse themselves in the blending process to create batts and punis that beautifully merge colors from one to the next. Adding textures and effect fibers in addition to how to create punis and rolags for varying sizes of color repeats will be emphasized along with how to order the fibers for spinning a fractal yarn. Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn. Students should bring:
Blending board
Drum carder (optional)
Instructor will have several drum carders and a limited amount of blending boards for student use
A spinning wheel in good working condition
Extra bobbins
Lazy kate
Niddy Noddy
Supplies Provided by Instructor: 3 oz of fiber to be processed
Color Effects on the Hackle
3 hours $30 materials fee
Produce color effects from swirls to gradients using the hackle. Students will blend and layer colors and varying fiber types to achieve two different rovings from the same color palette. The class will discuss what impact diz types, staple length, and technique can have on the resulting roving.
Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn.
Students should bring:
Hackle (if you don’t have one, instructor will have a limited number for student use)
Diz
Supplies Provided by Instructor: 2 oz blending fibers (various), Handouts (paper & digital)
Upcycled Blending
3 hours $30 materials fee
Experiment with a variety of readily available upcycled fiber materials for effect blending! This carding course will demonstrate how tweedy, scrappy fiber preps can be blended beautifully on a variety of carding equipment. How to handle fabric strips, silk waste, recycled denim, salvage, yarn scraps to create textures from mild to spicy while protecting your carding cloth and obtaining a good blend will be emphasized. Students will leave with a variety of preps and textures from incredible upcycled materials!
Level of Spinning: Students should be able to spin a stable, continuous singles yarn.
Students should bring:
Blending board
Drum carder (optional)
Instructor will have several drum carders and a limited amount of blending boards for student use
Supplies Provided by Instructor: 3 oz of fiber to be processed, Handouts (paper & digital)
Find Emily at:
Facebook If you'd like to learn more about the Daedalus Fly-In Retreat for 2024 check out the official website. Sign ups are open!
Stay tuned for our next teacher spotlight!
- Evanita
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