Workshops

Jill Duarte is a dyer, a spinner, an equipment aficionado, a fleece sniffer, a former academic and an unabashed fiber nerd.  Jill is one half of the duo behind HipStrings and spends their days geeking out about all things fiber, diving into the nuances of fiber preparation, color, and the act of spinning.  Jill is also now available as an instructor for fiber arts workshops for interested individuals, small groups, guilds and retreats.

Since picking up spinning over a decade ago, and then starting HipStrings a decade ago, Jill has taken an approach to spinning that is grounded in a technical approach married to historical context and a lot of curiosity as to how things work.  In other words, they read all the books and tried all the things and made lots of mistakes so that you don’t necessarily have to.   They have been an instructor at Maryland Sheep and Wool, Ply Away, Super Summer Knitogether and Shenandoah Vally fiber Festival as well as private and local small group instruction.  Jill is a regular contributor to PLY magazine and the PLY Online Spinning Guild.

As an instructor, Jill excels in explaining the “Why?” of spinning, whether it’s exploring the relationship between fibers and spinning techniques, the physics of handspinning and the tools we use for spinning, or providing insight in how to make something work for you.  Jill challenges students to try fibers new to them, explore novel fiber blends and techniques, revisit things they’ve tried before and to step out of their comfort zones in order to expand their horizons as spinners. 

Jill’s workshops are focused on encouraging spinners to try new fibers, techniques and tools and learn more about the wide, wild, and wonderful world of fiber through a framework of fiber structure and characteristics.  With the information presented, students should leave with the confidence to explore new fibers, to seek out new challenges and fiber blends, to boldly go where no spinner has gone before.

Upcoming Workshops

MDSW Winterfest 2025 January 25-26th 2025, Zoom class - Register here

Reliable Wools - January 25th 6-9 pm 

In this workshop, we will explore sheep breeds that tend to be reliable, defined as yarns that don’t radically change with wet finishing and their gauge doesn’t shift with blocking.  These wools tend to be excellent for beginning hand spinners, as well as those spinners embarking on larger projects where consistency is important.  We will discuss the origins of these breeds, the characteristics of their fleece and what these characteristics mean for the handspinner.  The suitability of different fiber preparations and uses for handspun from these different types of wool will be discussed.  Students will gain a deeper understanding of selecting the best wool for their intentions.

Next Steps in Supported Spindle January 26th 2025

Class Description: 

Have some basic understanding of how to spin with a supported spindle, but looking for what are the next steps?  In this workshop, student with a basic understanding of spinning on a supported spindle will expand their knowledge and techniques for supported spindles.  We will discuss how to pair spindles to a particular fiber type, and the importance of fiber preparation for spinning on supported spindles.  Students will learn how to refine their long draw on a supported spindle - how to manage drafting and their fiber supply and ensuring that you’ve created a stable single with an appropriate amount of twist.  How to manage the winding on of singles and building a stable cop on the spindle will also be discussed.

Maryland Sheep and Wool - April 30th - May 2nd 2025, West Friendship, MD

Darn Knit Anyway Spin Camp - May 15-17th, 2025, Stillwater, MN - Register here

Jill will spend Friday with campers. Her focus will be about fiber blends, the how, what and why of them and how to develop consistency in your handspinning! She'll go over fiber prep, drafting methods, using tools to measure WPI and angle of twist and grist, project planning. She'll be focused on all the little details that make spinners more confident in producing yarn you'll actually use!

MAFA - June 26-29, 2025, Millersville, PA

How does one reliably create consistent yarns when handspinning? This workshop is an in-depth dive into methods and practices for handspinners that are specifically geared towards the goal of creating consistent handspun yarns. We will start with measuring wraps per inch (WPI), angle of twist and grist to take control of your spinning for more consistent results. Students will learn how to measure wraps per inch for singles and plied yarns; the relationship between WPI of singles and plied yarn; how to measure the angle of twist and the effect of twist on finished yarns.

These skills will be practiced while spinning a variety of different fibers. Consistency will be further developed by exploring ply structures and best practices for finishing yarns. We will also dive into planning a handspun project, fiber choice, fiber preparation, combining fibers and how to manage singles and plying for more consistent finished yarns.

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If you are interested in securing Jill for a teaching opportunity, please contact us