Wool: Field to Loom — A Five-Session Fiber Arts Series

Wool has clothed people for six thousand years. Before synthetic fiber, before the mill, before the machine — there was the sheep, the hand, and the knowledge of how to move from one to the other.
Wool: Field to Loom is a five-session series that walks that entire process from the raw fleece to finished yarn, ready for use. Led by fiber artist and educator Samantha Rose, this program is rooted in the living craft tradition of the American South — and in the Gulf Coast Native sheep breed, a heritage breed uniquely adapted to Southern heat and climate, raised by local partner farms outside Athens.
This is not a class about knitting. It is about understanding fiber as a material — where it comes from, how it is prepared, and how human hands have shaped it into something useful and lasting for millennia.
THE SERIES
Session 1 of 5 — Scouring & Washing
Saturday, May 9, 2026 · 1:00–4:00 PM
Raw fleece arrives with lanolin, vegetable matter, and the evidence of a life outdoors. This session begins where wool begins: a cold soak, a wash with wool wash, and the patient process of making a fleece clean enough to work. Participants handle raw Gulf Coast Native fleece and leave understanding what they are working with.
Session 2 of 5 — Combing & Carding
Saturday, June 13, 2026 · 1:00–4:00 PM
Clean fleece must be aligned before it can be spun. Participants learn hand combing and carding — the techniques that turn tangled locks into roving, the soft rope of fiber that feeds a spinning wheel. Each participant produces their own carded sample.
Session 3 of 5 — Spinning
Saturday, August 8, 2026 · 1:00–4:00 PM
Roving becomes yarn on the wheel. Participants learn the mechanics of hand spinning — how tension, twist, and drafting determine the weight and character of the yarn. Spinning is prescriptive: the choices made here determine what the yarn is capable of becoming.
Session 4 of 5 — Natural Dyeing
Saturday, September 12, 2026 · 1:00–4:00 PM
Yarn is colored using natural plant dyes — mordant soaking, dye bath preparation, and fixation. Participants learn to source and prepare native plant materials from the Southern landscape, connecting the fiber process to the ecology of this region.
Session 5 of 5 — Collaborative Weaving
Saturday, October 10, 2026 · 1:00–4:00 PM
The series closes with a collective making. Participants weave together with the yarn they have processed — a single collaborative piece that holds the work of the entire group.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Samantha Rose is a fiber artist and educator whose practice is rooted in the traditional processes of Southern textile craft. She brings technical expertise, patient instruction, and a deep respect for the materials and their histories.

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