Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild
The Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild is dedicated to promoting the art of weaving and the craft of fiber work through education, member activities, and mutual support. The Guild promotes fellowship among members with meetings Sept. through May, educational workshops and community demonstrations.
Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and our mission is to educate the community about weaving, spinning and the fiber arts. Begun in 1972, DH&SG continues to bring programming and hands on experiences to the surrounding community. CONTACT US for possible demonstrations at your event.
The DHSG’s exhibits give each member an opportunity to show off their latest treasures. We invite you to join us and experience the camaraderie of our members and the interesting topics at one of our general meetings.
Guild members meet September through May on the first Saturday of each month at 9:30 am. We meet physically at The Point, Center for Arts and Education on the campus of the CC Young Memorial Home, located at 4829 West Lawther Drive, in East Dallas near White Rock Lake. We also meet virtually via Zoom for members who can’t attend in person. We enjoy friendships, old and new, and learn from speakers on a wide range of subjects and areas of interest to our members.
Benefits of Membership to DH&SG
- Make new fiber friends!
- Participate in our Study Group and learn new weaving structures and techniques!
- Have priority registration to workshops.
- Improve your skills in one of our Meet Ups, like the Spinners gatherings or Fiber Play get togethers.
- Get a mentor and have access to the expertise skills of our members.
- Attend our holiday Off the Shelf party and swap for a wonderful handcrafted item.
- Exhibit your work in one of our public exhibitions.
Another benefit of membership is having access to our wonderful library of books, magazines, periodicals, and equipment that you can rent! Click the Library tab in our menu that links to our digital library and scroll through our collection. You will find instructions to:
- Hold a book from our library.
- Search our library for the topic you're interested in.
- Do an advanced search of the library.
With your guild membership ID, you can reserve and check books out. Connect to a community that keeps growing and learning! Join today!
General Meeting - Study Groups Present - A Year of Exploration
Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 10:00 am
The Dallas Handweavers and Spinners Guild has many opportunities for members to learn and create. The May meeting will be a time for the various study groups the Guild sponsors to show what the members have been working on, thinking about and creating. Weaving, spinning, sewing, braiding and other fiber techniques will be shared and discussed.
If you have participated in a study group this year, and have things to share, please send photos and brief descriptions to Cate Buchanan () by noon on Wednesday April 30th. Please be sure to include your name and which study group. Thank you!
It is volunteer recognition month! Cake will be served.
If you are attending in person, we meet at The Point (see the map on our Calendar page www.dallasweavers.org). Please remember that we meet in The Auditorium now.
May 2025 President's Message
May 2025
Hello!
It is the end of the guild year, and I want to thank each of you for everything you contributed – your time, skills, knowledge, attention, and volunteer hours. What a wonderful group of people! I’ve so enjoyed meeting you and getting to know many of you better. Keep your eye on the guild calendar. We will be hosting some fun summer events!
At a recent gathering of guild members, we started debating the difference between a skein and a hank – so I’ve done some research and cobbled together a smattering of interesting facts. I would recommend these articles by Interweave and Knitfarious. They are very thorough.
https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/lisas-list-yarn-ball-types/
https://knitfarious.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-yarn-hanks/
Here are the highlights:
Hank: “Although hank was historically used as a specific unit of measurement, these days consensus points to hank being the correct term for a loop of yarn, fastened into a continuous circle with ties.” (https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/lisas-list-yarn-ball-types/). This makes it easy to paint or dye the yarn.
“The word hank has been in use for centuries. It originates from Middle English (hank or haunk), which referred to a loop or coil. Even further back, it has ties to Old Norse (hönk), meaning a loop or a coil of yarn. Given the strong influence of Norse language on English—especially in Scotland and northern England, where textile traditions flourished—it’s no surprise that hank became the go-to term for a neatly looped bundle of yarn.” (https://www.craftspinlab.com.au/blog/the-origin-of-the-word-hank-in-yarn-craft)
Twisted Hank: A hank twisted into a braid. I have been calling this a skein, and the terms are often used interchangeably.
Folded Hank: A hank that is folded and fastened in the middle.
Skein: Many sources say that a skein is simply a cylindrical ball of yarn, but this shape is also called a bullet skein. (https://www.muezart.com/blogs/muezart-musings/skein-of-yarn),
It turns out the word skein can mean many different things, including “anything wound in or resembling such a coil” – like hair!
https://www.publicationcoach.com/skein/
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/skein
There are many other ways yarn can be packaged. I hope you find the Interweave and Knitfarious articles interesting.
Just for fun, I’ve included links (see below) to sites that list common words and phrases that originate in the textile industry. For example, I had no idea the word shoddy was related to wool-production.
“The word shoddy had different meanings in different wool-producing areas. In the West Yorkshire woollen district, it was the fibrous waste that was blended with new wool to make heavy goods such as overcoats. Elsewhere, it described the dusty mixed fibres that gathered under carding machines.” (https://library.chethams.com/blog/a-weaving-of-words/)
Fabric-isms: https://www.fabriclink.com/dictionaries/cism.cfm
As always, I am grateful for all of you – for our community. You are valued and important. Thank you for being here and thank you for such a wonderful year! See you this summer!
Happy weaving, spinning, and dyeing!
Katherine
You can find us learning, demonstrating & teaching!
We welcome you to join us!
