TAC offers classes, workshops, maker meetups, and other programs in a wide variety of textile and fiber arts. See what we have coming up below. If you have a class or program request, please contact us.
Peruse all of TAC’s upcoming class listings below, or search by one of the following categories…
Needle & Thread: Sewing, Quilting, Hand Stitching, Mending
Yarn Arts: Knitting, Crochet, Weaving
Wet Work: Wet Felting, Dyeing, Printing, Paper Making
Everything Else!: Creativity, Book Arts, Stone Wrapping, Felt Arts
PJ Pants Party!
PJ Pants Party!
Saturday, December 13 from 9am-3pm
Class level: For students who have taken Sewing One or have previous sewing experience
Age requirements: 16+
Teaching artist: Sarah Best
Class fee: $90
Come sew fun pajama pants for you and your family! This class is a great opportunity to outfit your loved ones for Christmas morning or for gifting!
Choose your fabric ahead of the class - we suggested a woven cotton or flannel (not knits or anything with stretch). Then, we will sew them up based on the sizes you need and add some fun trim for the drawcord!
NOTE: Please fill out this questionnaire after registering to help prepare ahead.
A detailed supply list is below.
REGISTER
Teaching Artist Bio:
Sarah is a longtime apparel designer with focus on knitwear and textile design. After graduation from UNC Chapel Hill, she took a retail job with Nordstrom which proved to be a great introduction with the business side of fashion. Her passion to sew and knit as a young girl led her to pursue the more creative side of the retail industry and head back to school for an Apparel Design degree, with a Textile Arts minor, at VCU in Richmond VA. Her career has included working for Armani Exchange and Ralph Lauren in NYC, then Lands’ End in Wisconsin. She has designed and developed men’s and women’s clothing, ranging from basic knits to swimwear, sleepwear, and heritage sweaters. She is currently working as an educator and contract designer, expanding her creative interests across interiors and textile arts.
Website: Sarah Best
Required Supplies
3 yards fabric for each pant
Thread to match (2 spools)
Fabric scissors
Basic sewing supplies including pins, seam ripper, etc. (TAC’s studio has all of these items, so you can borrow anything you might during the class)
Sewing machine in good working order with a new needle (If you’d like to borrow one of TAC’s studio machines during the class, let us know using the survey link above)
Provided Supplies
Pattern
Drawstring Trim
2D Felted Winter Ornaments
2D Felted Winter Ornaments
Saturday, December 13, 10am-12pm
Class level: All levels welcome!
Age requirements: 12+ (under 16 should register with an adult)
Teaching artist: Michelle Martin
Class fee: $40
Learn to needle felt cute ornaments using cookie cutters as the template! We will learn about the mechanics of the felting needle and how to use it safely. Then, we will lay out wool roving inside the cookie cutter and felt away. We will finish our ornaments off by adding details with more wool (which is sort of like painting, but with wool). Participants can also embroider or sew beads onto their ornaments.
All materials provided by the instructor, including wool, felting needle, foam mat, ribbon, and cookie cutters.
REGISTER
Bio:
Michelle Martin (she/they) is an informally taught fiber artist living in Madison. They have dabbled in all things fiber art since being handed a drop spindle while in college. These days, they crochet, weave, wet felt, and spin, But their main crative love is needle felting. They love the process of felting and the freedom and creativity it offers. As a teacher, Michelle LOVES to encourage people to play, have fun, and get lost in the process. Helping students let go of “perfect” and that inner voice that says "I'm not artistic" is an absolute joy.
Holiday Gift Tags
Holiday Gift Tags
Saturday, December 13, 1-3pm
Class level: All are welcome!
Age requirements: 16+
Teaching artist: Roann Mathias
Class fee: $25
Get ready for the holidays with this beginner-friendly class. Create gift tags for teachers, family and friends. Class includes a brief overview of hand-lettering and pre-printed phrases to copy or trace over. You will learn simple watercolor techniques to paint a string of lights and some mistletoe.
What to Bring:
Scissors
All other materials will be provided by the instructor.
REGISTER
Teaching Artist Bio:
Roann Mathias is an artist and educator who is experienced in a variety of media including abstract painting, photography, watercolor, and lettering. All of these varied interests can be seen in her art. Her work has been published in Somerset Studio Magazine, Letter Arts Review and Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. She taught calligraphy and mixed media workshops for several years throughout the US and Canada. After receiving her MFA in 2015, she became an adjunct professor at Memphis College of Art and Southwest Tennessee Community College. Originally from New Orleans, the colorful architecture and plant life instilled in her a love of color and nature. Travels around the US and Europe inspired her love of nature and the landscape.
Website: roannmathias.com
Social: @roannmathias
Fast Construction by Hand and Machine
Fast Construction by Hand and Machine
Friday, January 30 through Sunday, February 1, 10am-4pm all three days
Class level: All experience levels welcome. Should have basic hand- and machine-sewing comfort.
Age requirements: 18+
Teaching artist: Heidi Parkes
Class fee: $600
Sometimes it’s fun to go fast! We will sew with intuition and convenience front of mind in this class focused on the exploration of shape, color, and visual movement. We’ll start with machine piecing to efficiently discover the personalities of our fabrics and will then transition into hand appliqué and piecing to complete our medium-sized quilt tops. On our last day, Heidi will share a bit about hand quilting, hand binding, and signing your work.
Your class fee includes on-demand recorded videos of each stitch, which you will view ahead of time and begin sewing before class meets. You will then attend in-person to view Heidi's quilts up close for inspiration, ask questions, see demonstrations, and address technical challenges as you sew your quilt top. A PDF with links to the pre-class instruction videos will be sent to registrants 4 weeks in advance of the class.
It will be possible to complete an entire quilt top by the end of class! A minimalist design can be completed within class, while a maximalist look can be achieved with additional sewing in the coming weeks or months. Large-scale appliqué, negative space, and incorporating the work sewn before class will allow for a beautiful abstract composition. A quilt top can be a lovely textile all on its own, but it can also be fun to quilt it! You're welcome to quilt in any style on your own after class, and students will receive a coupon code if they would like to take Heidi's on-demand Improv Hand Quilting class.
Required Supplies:
PLEASE SEE THIS PDF FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF REQUIRED AND OPTIONAL SUPPLIES.
REGISTER*
(*Note: All registrants will receive a PDF with links to the pre-class instruction videos 4 weeks in advance of the class. The value of these online instruction materials is $50, therefore any workshop cancellations made less than 4 weeks in advance of the class will incur a $50 cancellation fee in addition to TAC’s standard $10 cancellation fee.)
If you are traveling to Madison for this workshop and need lodging recommendations, please contact us.
Teaching Artist Bio:
Before Heidi Parkes was born in Chicago, IL in 1982, her grandmother organized a collaborative family quilt to commemorate her birth. Now based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her quilting and mending celebrate the hand, and her works tug at memories and shared experience. Engaging in the worlds of art, quilts, mending, and social media, Heidi is an advocate for the domestic realms, slow stitching, and mindfulness; find her on Instagram and YouTube. She was the 2024 Pfister Hotel Artist in Residence, and is a 2005 graduate from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Heidi will be exhibiting at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show in Madison this September. Soft Magic was her recent exhibition at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts. Her quilts have received awards at Quilt National and QuiltCon, she has exhibited internationally in France and South Korea, and she has taught in Italy and Japan.
Website: heidiparkes.com
Social: @heidi.parkes