The ancient crafts of spinning and handweaving are alive and well in Cambridge.
United by an interest in fibre, the Cambridge Handweavers and Spinners Guild aims to encourage, inspire and sustain these traditional textile techniques.
Since 1978, club members meet to practice spinning, weaving, basketry, beading, dying and all that is related to fibre arts.
“I think in this day and age, we are so busy, in front of electronics,” said Cambridge Handweavers and Spinners co-president, Barbara Laking.
“To use your hands to create and craft something, it really is one of the nicest things you can do. You can do it for yourself or make something for someone else. And spinning or weaving is just so comforting.”
Guild members explore their mutual interest at meetings, workshops and special events throughout the year.
Meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at Cambridge Centre for the Arts, as well as on the fourth Friday of the month, either at St. George’s Historical Society or at a fellow member’s home to share some tricks of the trade and to see each other’s creations.
“We are a guild with people that come from places like Burford, or Ayr. I live in Campbellville. Everyone is pretty much within a half hour away. We have about 30 members, but we might have 20 to 25 who just want to come out to meetings too,” Laking said.
“One of our members has a rural property where we've held a ‘spin in's’. She will BBQ, we show up, bring our spinning wheels, and we dye and sew. It is a lot of fun.”
For Laking, spinning or handweaving can really get the creative juices flowing.
"We don't do as much hand crafting today and I don’t think kids are as much in school. I think it's important to do something with our hands. As an artist, you set yourself a task, you problem solve, and you figure out how much material is needed,” she said.
“When you spin, you think, well, I want to make enough yarn for a sweater. If dying, you need a certain amount of dye. It’s very fulfilling.”
Handspinning is an old form of twisting together fibres to form yarn that can be used to create clothing and other items. Weaving is the process of making fabric from threads.
Laking has been a member of Cambridge Handweavers and Spinners for over 25 years. She said the guild is for anyone who is interested, from beginner to a seasoned spinner or handweaver.
"I originally started as a knitter. It seems to be a pretty common progression. You start as a knitter and you buy lots of wool. Then you decide to spin, and then once you start spinning, you have lots and lots of yarn. And then you think, well what can I use my yarn for? Then you go to weaving," Laking said.
"That just seems to be the progression for a lot of people."
Laking said there are many opportunities to learn and to see what other people are working on.
“We have some members who are very accomplished and it’s really nice to see what they do. It inspires us," she said.
The Cambridge guild is affiliated with the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners (OHS), a not-for-profit organization that has been in existence since 1956.
The OHS connects its member clubs by providing networking opportunities through conferences, seminars, and workshops to raise the profile of handweaving, spinning and related fibre arts throughout Ontario and beyond.
Laking encourages anyone interested to come out to a meeting.
"There are many different guilds. We are a very relaxed guild. We encourage people to come out, see if we click,” Laking said.
With manufactured clothing available at your fingertips, there are still people who prefer to spin yarn and create their own textiles, a craft that has been practiced for thousands of years.
“It’s nice because here in Ontario, we still have producers of fibre. In Elora, we have Wellington Fibre Mill,” Laking said.
"You can buy a new wheel or a used wheel. And depending on what you are looking for, that could be $200 to 600 for a brand new wheel. But it’s something that you can try and see if you are interested in it."
Cambridge Handweavers and Spinners has equipment available for loan.
“It’s a nice way to get introduced to it. And or $25 a year, you can become a guild member. Then you can sign out a spinning wheel, sign out a loom, try it, and if you want to purchase your own, you can,” Laking said.
The ultimate goal for the guild is to raise awareness for future generations.
“Anyone can join. We have one family with a mother who is very interested and her daughter comes out too. And she’s just nine,” Laking said.
“That is how, I think, we as a guild, will continue on. If we can encourage kids, and they have an interest, this will keep going.”
