Nordic Pickup Band Weaving: Two-Day Workshop

Explore the beautiful yet utilitarian world of band weaving with Scandinavian weaver, textile artist, and craft instructor, Caroline Feyling. Over the course of two days, students will learn to weave patterned bands backstrap style on a grindvev (band heddle), using the “pick up” technique to create intricate, colorful patterns.

Historically, patterned bands were used across the Nordic countries and beyond for everything from hair ties, to belts, swaddling bands, to horse reins. These bands decorated the ordinary through use of bright colors and bold patterns, making everyday objects meaningful and interesting.

In class we will weave a sample along with a longer band between 36 and 72 inches in length. At the end of this workshop students will be able to design, set up, and weave pickup bands independently. This technique is well suited to students with prior band weaving experience who are looking to expand their skills. Enthusiastic beginners are welcome as well.

Students who are interested in making their own folk costumes may be particularly interested in this class. A basic tool kit and materials will be provided by the instructor with the option to purchase additional weaving tools at the end of the class. Selected examples of the instructor’s own work will also be available for purchase.

Some hand strength required, and ability to see fine details. Must be able to stand for up to 30 minutes, and to sit for extended periods of time. This technique can cause lower back strain. Students will be encouraged to take stretch breaks throughout class time.

Other offerings from this instructor at Nordic Northwest throughout the spring:

• Beginning Nordic Band Weaving on a Band Heddle (March 21)

• Lecture: Bunad and Bandweaving – A Nordic Folk Art Journey (April 10)

• Norwegian Tablet Weaving Telemark Style (May 2)

About Your Instructor

Caroline Feyling is a Norwegian and American textile artist based in Corvallis, Oregon. Born in Upstate New York to a Norwegian father and an American mother, Feyling speaks fluent Norwegian, and remembers hints of Nordic craft everywhere in her childhood home. Her first craft memories are of the colorwork sweaters her grandmother knit while visiting from Norway and the Norwegian bunad she would play dress up in. Feyling spent a gap year in Norway attending a folkehøgskole (folk high school) to study classical piano, but fell in love with and fully immersed herself in Norwegian knitting culture. She returned with 13 pairs of socks she had knitted and a foreshadowing of a new life passion.

Feyling holds a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from School of The Art Institute of Chicago, 2020. She studied Scandinavian weaving at Vävstuga Weaving School in Shelburne, MA, and was a 2023-25 Resident Artisan at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN. She has taught at North House Folk School; Tarweed Folk School, Corvallis, OR; Vesterheim Folk School, Decorah, IA; and American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis, MN. Feyling’s current work explores Scandinavian weaving techniques in contemporary interior design contexts for her business Elderberry Textiles Studio. You can follow her work on Instagram @carolinefeyling.

This is a two-day workshop! April 11, 10am-5pm, and April 12, 10am-5pm.

Cost

Member Admission: $185 

General Admission: $210

Tickets include all tools and materials

Please note, all sales are final