PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Textile Workshop: Mending with Gabrielle Trach
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16 April – 7 May 2023
During this series of Textile Workshops: Mending, our guest artist Gabrielle Trach will guide participants through the different mending techniques used to repair and extend the life of your clothes and other loved textiles. This workshop is presented alongside our current exhibition at Gairloch Gardens, Wolf Tones: A Many Sided-House, highlighting their individual and collaborative meditations on material histories and the handmade. With their densely constructed installations, Wolf Tones gather, reclaim and exchange objects, textiles, and images to create new connections.
Each week participants will bring in a new textile or garment to be mended and Gabrielle will demonstrate new tools and techniques to give your textiles a second chance. Do you want your mending to be visible or invisible? For an invisible repair, bring in matching fabric, string, or yarn to match your existing textile piece. Participants may choose from the materials provided for a visible repair and give their garment extra details.
Join us for a single session or sign up for a few sessions to build on your newly learned skills!
Register now
Week #1: 16 April 2023 | Woven Textiles: Patch Mending
Week #2: 23 April 2023 | Woven Textiles: Woven Mending
Week #3: 30 April 2023 | Knit Textiles: Scotch Darning
Week #4: 7 May 2023 | Knit Textiles: Woven Mending
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Gabrielle Trach is a maker and educator based in Toronto, Canada. Her practice explores sustainability, identity, memory, the environmental impact of the textile industry, and the resurgence of historical textile techniques. Her practice is informed by research and theory surrounding fashion, identity, and sustainability.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Time
1:00 – 4:00 PM
Location
Studio & Gairloch Gardens, Oakville Galleries
1306 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville
What to bring
• Bring an old favourite (shirt, dress, pants, apron, blanket, mitten, hat, etc.) in need of a little repair. Don't have anything to repair? We can provide sample fabrics for you to practice on.
• All other materials will be provided
HOW TO TELL IF A FABRIC IS KNIT OR WOVEN:
• Look at the threads. If you look closely at the fabric, you should see the individual threads that make it up. If the threads appear to have loops, then it's knit; if the threads have a perpendicular criss-cross pattern, it's woven.
• Check for stretch. Knit fabrics will have much more stretch than woven fabrics. Try to stretch the fabric both lengthwise and widthwise; if it stretches, it's likely a knit, whereas if it resists, it's likely woven.
• Do the wrinkle test. Squeeze a little bit of the fabric in the palm of your hand. A knit fabric will spring back quickly into shape with few wrinkles; a woven fabric will retain the wrinkles and often remain slightly crumpled.
Cancellation policy
Cancellation with a refund must be applied for at least 14 days before your program begins. Refunds are subject to a $25 administrative fee. There are no refunds for cancellations requested less than 14 days before the program begins.