PLYtogether at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool 2026

Friday all day (6 hours)

Welcome to Pocket Palooza! – where we’re bringing pockets to the party! Say goodbye to sweaters with no where to put your phone and hello to knitwear with flair. In this workshop, you'll learn how to add pockets that are as stylish as they are handy. From vertical and horizontal patch pockets to inset pockets we'll cover it all, giving you the skills to pop a pocket into anything – new projects or old faves! By the end, you’ll be a pocket pro, ready to add function, flair, and a dash of fun to every knitted piece.

Friday PM or Saturday PM (3 hours)

Learn the basics of sweater fit – about how size charts work, selecting a size, identifying fit features on patterns, understanding ease, and how to approach assessing good fit and plan modifications. Learn how to evaluate whether a pattern is suited to a knitter's needs and their desired fit. We'll also be briefly covering the major measurements to take so that you can understand your measurements better. Due to the time limitations, we will not be going over specific math on how to work modifications, but you'll come away with a framework on how to assess fit better and begin to plan for different body shapes.

Saturday AM (3 hours)

Get into the nitty gritty of how raglan shaping works. Learn about how different parts of a raglan construction work together to create desired fit around the upper torso, including the armhole, neck shaping. We'll be talking about how simple changes and knitter math can be used to achieve a better fit for different body types and adjustments. Due to the time limitations, we will not be going over specific math on how to work modifications, but you'll come away with a framework on how to design your customized fit based on your unique needs using any pattern.

Saturday PM (3 hours)

In this interactive and supportive workshop, participants will bring their unfinished objects (UFOs) and share their knitting dilemmas. Whether it's a project stalled by mistakes, a design that doesn't quite work, or a piece you’ve lost inspiration for, we’ll help you decide: should you “fix it” or “frog it”? Together, we'll assess your projects, weigh the pros and cons of finishing versus starting fresh, and explore options for moving forward with confidence.

Saturday PM (3 hours)

Curious or concerned about making yarn substitutions that work? Finding a good yarn to substitute for a knitting project is more than just finding a yarn with the right gauge. In this class we will walk through the process you need to make successful substitutions. Together we'll investigate sheep breeds, woolen and worsted yarns, ply, grist and color, and see how each yarn component affects your knitted fabric. Learn why swatching is a knitter's secret weapon for choosing the perfect yarn for a project. Digging into the details of yarn construction, we'll make sure that any yarn you choose will have the right hand, stitch definition, and look for the pattern you're making. After taking this class, substituting yarns will be a snap!

Sunday AM (3 hours)

Whether you're making a scarf, shawl, or sweater, the final instruction the pattern might offer is “bind-off loosely.” In this class, students will learn various techniques and stitches to create three different loose bind offs that will add a flexible edge o their knitting. Throughout the class, students will also get tips on how to choose the right bind-off for projects and how to troubleshoot common problems that can arise when binding off. And of course, students will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions and get feedback from the instructor and classmates.

Sunday AM (3 hours)

Have you ever been really excited about a project only to be completely unhappy with it once it was finished? That might have happened because you picked the wrong yarn for the project. The yarn–project mismatch is one of the most common reasons knitters aren't in love with a finished object. In this class, you'll learn about the various characteristics of yarn such as ply structure and twist as well as different types of fiber and how those characteristics translate to various stitch patterns and project types. You'll also get to swatch some yarns to experience these characteristics for yourself.

Sunday PM (3 hours)

Learn the basics of how to work and calculate for short row bust dart shaping, as well as tips on how to use other techniques to incorporate more space for full busts. This is a class designed for intermediate to expert knitters. Knitters should be comfortable with sweater construction and general knitting math. Additionally, knitters should be comfortable with working and visualizing short row shaping; in this case, German Short Rows will be worked.

Friday all day (6 hours)

Is the yarn in your head the yarn in your hand? Do you always spin the same yarn? Do you have a dream yarn you just can't make happen? Are you unhappy with what happens to the colors when you spin a variegated top or roving? Do you love your handspun yarn, but don't like how it looks knitted? In this class, we'll focus on making yarn that inspires you from commercially dyed roving and top – yarn you'll love to knit with. Together we'll build your yarn from fiber braid up to a knitted swatch. We'll start by talking about the blueprint for a yarn, the yarn vision. We'll break yarn down into all of its parts. We'll build your yarn's foundations by exploring fiber breeds and preparations. The walls – they're the different drafting and plying methods we'll work with. Finally, the roof goes on as we manipulate variegated top and roving to get the colors you've chosen just the way you want them. All along the way you'll get tips to keeping your yarn's end use or yarn vision in mind and your yarn consistent. This class will give you confidence to build the yarns you want to knit with!

Friday AM (3 hours)

Whether worsted is your default or your nemesis this class will help you gain full control over this smooth, drapey, dense, and lustrous style of spinning. We'll delve into short forward and short backward and why they're both absolutely worsted, along with how to determine, change, and maintain your diameter so that you can spin any weight of worsted yarn and keep it consistent throughout your spin. You'll learn several worsted joins along with how to work back and forth across the width of your fiber (instead of stripping it out or spinning down the side). At the end of this class, you'll be winning at worsted.

Saturday AM (3 hours)

Parallel drafting is one of my favorite color spinning techniques; there are so many exciting options! It allows you to blend and mix colors without dye and tools beyond your wheel and hands. Together we'll learn the basics of parallel drafting with solid colors, including lots of tips to keep fibers together and orderly. We'll work with solid colors and braids, shifting the value and mood of colors, and making multicolored braids more unified. We'll see how plying changes the look of parallel drafted yarns, by making singles, 2-ply, and 3-ply yarns. For extra fun, we'll parallel draft intermittently with color, silk and sparkle. Parallel drafting is versatile and exciting, and after this class your stash will look limitless!

Sunday AM (3 hours)

Are you new to spinning braids and unsure of what to do? This class focuses on the fun of mixing and blending painted braids with other colors and other braids. We'll explore how to choose colors that go together, what affects color in spinning, and how to avoid mud in your yarn. You'll learn how to mix and blend colors in the ply and draft, and how to choose the easiest fibers that work well together. We'll look at a lot of swatches so we can examine more closely how the colors in each method look from fiber, to yarn, to cloth. While you practice your mixing and blending, I'll show you how to choose colors to turn up or turn down the brightness of a braid, the best way to stretch braids for projects. Finally, I show you how to sample to learn the most about spinning braids for color, and how to use those samples as shortcuts for your future braid spinning.

Sunday PM (3 hours)

Here, spinning becomes a conversation between the heart and the hands. Paying attention to the fiber, where it came from, how many hands it passed through before your own, giving homage to the lineage of craft that brought you here today. None of us creates anything alone – we are always connected to a web of support, and feeling the strength and flexibility of that web opens us up to a deeper understanding and experience of our craft. Participants will be guided in beginner-friendly, intuitive spinning techniques and be invited into a meditation on our craft. Transforming the raw fiber into "in-tentioned" yarn, we see many metaphors for how we can transform our lives through intentional action. When we listen and go with the flow instead of trying to control or force, when we trust the slow pace of change and work with the material we have, this fiber practice becomes a mirror for our life experience. Participants will experience a shift into recognizing interconnectedness and compassion, leaving with a deeper foundational spinning skill set and a sense of purpose and presence within this craft. Will include an element of meditation, wool-working songs, journaling, and hands-on creative fiber practice.

Sunday PM (3 hours)

Whether woolen is your default or your nemesis this class will help you gain full control over this warm, lofty, airy style of spinning. We'll delve into several styles of woolen spinning (short forward with twist, short backward with twist, supported/point of contact/American, and double draft/English) and where each falls on the woolen scale. You'll learn how to determine, change, and maintain your diameter so that you can spin any weight of woolen yarn and keep it consistent throughout your spin. You'll learn several woolen joins along with which woolen drafts are best suited to which fiber preps. At the end of this class, you'll be winning at woolen, even if you've never spun woolen before!

Friday PM (3 hours)

Weaving bands on an inkle loom is a fun and simple portable weaving art! Learn how to make banks that can be used for bracelets, key chain fobs, zipper pulls, shoelaces, straps for bags and more! This 3-hour class is designed to give you all the knowledge you will need to comfortably weave on an inkle loom. We will learn how to make heddles, warp your loom, and weave the band. We will also discuss thread options and available resources. Student notes will be provided.

Saturday and Sunday all day (12 hours)

Learn the basics of 4-shaft doubleweave in this two-day class. This workshop will cover the following: two separate layers, double width, tubular, stitched cloth and colour and weave techniques. Extensive theory will be discussed to ensure students understand doubleweave foundations. Students will leave with a thorough understanding of how basic doubleweave works and the skills to design and create their own future doubleweave projects. Thorough class notes will be provided.

Friday AM (3 hours)

When we create, we are pulling something from the realm of the unmanifest into the manifest. We see something in our heads, twirl a few sticks around, and Presto Chango, we have a useful item. That's not to say it is easy: we put a lot of work in, using our skills, thoughts, emotions, and through the alchemical act of creation, not only do we change something into something else that didn't exist before, we are changed in the process. We take raw elements, twist them, untangle them, weave them together, rip them back, and learn lessons along the way. Imbuing intention into your work, opening to the world of magic all around you is what shifts "making something" into making magic. We will use meditative and creative practices to learn to be guided by our intuition, and become a channel for creativity to flow. Every day, we are surrounded by beauty and magic. The purpose of this class is to help you open your eyes to see it. To experiment, to play and to see the world from a magical perspective. Bring your projects, or some raw materials that inspire you and let's make magic together!

Saturday AM (3 hours)

Fiber festivals are a whirlwind of fun and excitement, but what would happen if in the middle of it all, you returned to presence, connected with what your body is asking for, and returned to the festival fully engaged and ready to interact in a wholistic and creative way? Through guided meditation, stitching, and journaling we will connect back into what made us fall in love with our craft. Mindfulness is an essential practice in being present to life, and as fiber artists, our creative activity brings us back to center, and we can use it as a practice ground for being mindful in the rest of our life. We will follow the foundations of mindfulness to connect with our bodies, breath, emotions, thoughts, and bring presence back into our work. Come as you are and leave ready to experience the inspiration the sheep and wool festival has to offer in a grounded way that has you feeling clear about what you want to make next. Bring a simple project to work on, preferably one that you can do for some time with your eyes closed. Don't worry! It doesn't have to be perfect!