Intermountain Weavers Conference
2025 Intermountain Weavers Conference (IWC) Location and Dates
The 2025 IWC will be held 17 – 21 June 2025 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque NM.
We are very excited to host IWC in the Albuquerque Convention Center. This allows us to host all of our classes and events in one location. The Convention Center has easy access from highways and a large airport.
New Mexico is a great location for our Conference. New Mexico is one of the few regions left in the United States where fiber art is thriving. Over the past centuries, fiber art has played a crucial role in the economy of the region.
For more information about the conference, see the Info page.
IWC Newsletter and Workshop Information
The June 2025 IWC Newsletter is available on the Info page. It includes list of the workshops and information about the conference hotel.
The Conference Hotel is the Hyatt Place Albuquerque Uptown. We have a special rate which includes free parking, hot breakfast and wifi. There is a link on the Info page where you can reserve a room at the Conference rate.
Detailed information about the workshops is on the Workshops page.
The Conference Hotel is the Hyatt Place Albuquerque Uptown. We have a special rate which includes free parking, hot breakfast and wifi. There is a link on the Info page where you can reserve a room at the Conference rate.
Detailed information about the workshops is on the Workshops page.
IWC Zoom Seminar - Introduction to Sprang, Carol James
In this seminar, Carol James will discuss:
• What is sprang?
• How does sprang work?
• Evidence of sprang throughout history
• Replicating the Arizona Openwork shirt, a 1500 year old cotton sprang garment.
What did they do before spandex? How did they make stretchy clothes in a time before knitting? This very engaging program begins by describing the method we now call sprang. A continuous thread set on a simple low-tech frame allows manipulation to form cloth. Cloth formed in this manner can have amazing horizontal stretchiness. View evidence of this technique as it recurs in history from the Bronze Age into the 19th century, from Scandinavia to China to South America. See the many uses of this technique, from bonnets to leggings, from bags to shawls. ...and why have I not heard of sprang before now?
Carol James has been exploring low-tech textile methods for 30 years focusing mostly on fingerweaving and sprang. A very patient teacher, she has taught classes across North America, Europe, and New Zealand. While travelling, Carol uses the opportunity to examine historic examples of these techniques. She has successfully reproduced a number of items including George Washington’s silk sprang sash, the “Tonto” shirt in the collection of the Arizona State Museum, as well as diverse Coptic bonnets and Medieval leggings. She has also created garments deemed worthy of HGA’s Convergence fashion show.
Carol James is the author of numerous articles and five books: Fingerweaving Untangled, Sprang Unsprung, and six books of sprang lace patterns.
The seminar costs only $20.
To sign up, go to the Register page.
• What is sprang?
• How does sprang work?
• Evidence of sprang throughout history
• Replicating the Arizona Openwork shirt, a 1500 year old cotton sprang garment.
What did they do before spandex? How did they make stretchy clothes in a time before knitting? This very engaging program begins by describing the method we now call sprang. A continuous thread set on a simple low-tech frame allows manipulation to form cloth. Cloth formed in this manner can have amazing horizontal stretchiness. View evidence of this technique as it recurs in history from the Bronze Age into the 19th century, from Scandinavia to China to South America. See the many uses of this technique, from bonnets to leggings, from bags to shawls. ...and why have I not heard of sprang before now?
Carol James has been exploring low-tech textile methods for 30 years focusing mostly on fingerweaving and sprang. A very patient teacher, she has taught classes across North America, Europe, and New Zealand. While travelling, Carol uses the opportunity to examine historic examples of these techniques. She has successfully reproduced a number of items including George Washington’s silk sprang sash, the “Tonto” shirt in the collection of the Arizona State Museum, as well as diverse Coptic bonnets and Medieval leggings. She has also created garments deemed worthy of HGA’s Convergence fashion show.
Carol James is the author of numerous articles and five books: Fingerweaving Untangled, Sprang Unsprung, and six books of sprang lace patterns.
The seminar costs only $20.
To sign up, go to the Register page.
IWC 2025 Vendor Applications Now Being Accepted
Vendor applications for the 2025 IWC Conference are being accepted. To sign up, go to the Register page and click on "IWC Vendor Application".