Join fibre artist Danielle Soucie for a two-day, retreat-style workshop in Argenta, BC, exploring the journey from raw alpaca fleece to your first handspun yarn.

Set at Danielle’s home studio, this hands-on weekend will guide participants through the essential steps of preparing alpaca fleece for spinning, felting, and other fibre projects. Working with raw fibre from Danielle’s own alpacas, grazing in the nearby pasture, participants will learn how to assess, wash, pick, card, and spin fleece using simple hand tools.

This workshop is designed for beginners and curious fibre folks who want to better understand where yarn begins. Together, we will slow down and follow the fibre through each stage of preparation, learning how care, patience, and handling shape the final material.

Over the course of the weekend, participants will learn how to assess raw alpaca fleece, wash fibre gently, open and pick clean fleece, card it into usable preparations, and begin spinning on a drop spindle. We will explore how alpaca fibre behaves through washing, carding, and spinning, and how preparation affects the quality and feel of the final yarn.

Participants will leave with practical skills, prepared fibre to continue working with, and their own drop spindle to keep practicing at home.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to assess and select raw alpaca fleece

• Gentle washing methods for alpaca fibre

• How to pick and card clean fleece by hand and with tools

• The basics of spinning on a drop spindle

• How alpaca fibre behaves through each stage of preparation

• How preparation affects spinning, felting, and future fibre projects

Participants Will:

• Wash and prepare raw alpaca fleece samples

• Learn how to pick and card fibre by hand and with tools

• Practice spinning on a drop spindle

• Take home clean prepared fibre to continue working with

• Take home their own drop spindle

• Gain practical knowledge for handling alpaca fleece at home

Workshop Details:

Instructor: Danielle Soucie of Earthborn Textiles
Dates: Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6
Time: Starts Saturday at 1:00pm and wraps up Sunday at 3:00pm
Location: Argenta, BC - Exact location will be provided upon registration

All materials and tools are provided. No previous experience is necessary.

This is a retreat-style weekend workshop with time to learn, gather, and share food together. Breakfast will be provided. Participants are asked to bring their own lunches. Dinner will be potluck-style, with everyone invited to contribute something to the shared evening meal.

Tent camping spots are available on site for participants who would like to stay overnight. Please note that facilities are simple and include outhouse access as well as running water.