Organized jointly by Liwan Design Studios and Labs, and the Materials Library at VCUArts Qatar.
This hands-on workshop explores the transformation of raw wool into a workable material using basic, small-scale, non-industrial, and inexpensive tools. Participants will be introduced to the key stages of wool preparation, including sorting, washing, drying, carding, and hand spinning, while considering the wool's source, ecology, regional heritage, and the role of design in improving materials, tools, and processes.
Participants will then experiment with textile and surface-construction techniques, including weaving, crochet, and wet and dry felting, with knitting and macrame introduced where time allows. The final outcomes will include samples showing wool from its raw to processed stages, textile and felted samples, and a quantity of workable wool for future experimentation. A set of samples will be retained for the Materials Library archive, and each participant will keep a set to continue exploring at home.
Program Details: 6 days / 21 hours
Day 1: Saturday October 17 — 6 hours
11:00–17:00 @ Liwan
- Manual wool processing: shearing and skirting / “usable” vs. “unusable” wool.
- Hand washing and drying wool.
- Hand carding: opening the fibers and preparing them for spinning and felting.
Lunch break.
- Spinning using drop spindles.
- Interlacing: introduction to basic weaving using simple frame looms.
Day 2: Sunday October 18 — 3 hours
17:30–20:30 @ Liwan
- Interlooping: introduction to knitting and crochet.
- Knotting: introduction to macrame.
- Practice weaving, felting, crochet, knitting, and macrame.
- Sample making.
Day 3: Monday October 19 — 3 hours
17:30–20:30 @ Liwan
- Non-wovens: introduction to wet and dry felting.
- Sample making.
Day 4: Tuesday October 20 — 3 hours
17:30–20:30 @ MatLib
- Material and sample archiving: storytelling through material evolution.
- Sample collection and organization: proper storage and labeling.
- Guided experimentation and sample generating.
Day 5: Wednesday October 21 — 3 hours
17:30–20:30 @ MatLib
- Guided experimentation and sample generating.
- Wool beyond textiles: design possibilities (insulation, architecture, structure for bio-resins).
- Manual vs. industrial processing: scale, equipment design, and innovation.
- Introduction to open-source digital fabrication (e.g. Fablab Qatar) to fabricate spinning, weaving, carding, and other tools.
Day 6: Thursday October 22 — 3 hours
17:30–20:30 @ Liwan
- Wool in Nomadic traditions: a carrier of memory, resilience, identity, and place.
- Industry standards and animal ethics. Are our ancestors’ traditions more in tune with nature and animal ethics?
- Where in the pipeline can designers intervene and innovate?
- Group presentation and discussion. Program Details day by day