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Take a class with us!



We are so happy you want to take a class with us! It is our hope that you will enjoy the community aspect of our classes in an inviting and comfortable space while building skills. Our talented and experienced teachers want you to have fun and enjoy being a student again as you learn techniques that can be applied to future projects. We’re here to support you every step of the way!         
Class Policies 
Please read carefully before signing up for your class.

Class Registration: We recommend registering as soon as possible for a class in order to guarantee a spot. You can register and pay for classes here or in-store.


A minimum of three students is required to hold a class.  If the class does not get a minimum number of students, we will refund your class payment.  (Individual instructors may decide to proceed with fewer than three students, per their discretion.)


If you find you must cancel within 72 hours of the scheduled class, a store credit will be offered for a future class or products. There are no refunds or store credits for missed attendance.  If you must miss a session of your class, we will help you convert your missed class to a private lesson.  Please note that private lesson fees are separate from class fees and must be paid prior to the appointment. 

All private lessons must be cancelled or rescheduled more than 24 hours before your scheduled time.  If you cancel or reschedule within the 24 hour period, no refunds will be issued.


If a class is canceled by the instructor, a refund will be issued. If inclement weather or reasons beyond the shop's control affect a particular class session, the class will be rescheduled.


Supplies are not included in class prices unless specifically stated in the class description, but a 10% discount on supplies for the class will be offered if purchased through Dances With Wool.  

No discounts or loyalty points can be used for instruction but may be used on supplies.  


 

Need a Private Lesson?  

Click Here for Knitting or Crochet Classes with Pam 
For Private Spinning Lessons with Erin Please Call the Shop
For Private Circular Sock Machine Lessons with Barbara Please Call the Shop 
For Private Weaving Lessons with Keyser Please Call the Shop

Calendar


Advanced Crochet: Timber Earwarmer and Cowl Workshop with Kimberlee

Inspired by the picturesque forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Timber Earwarmer and Cowl invite you to get lost in a thicket of textured crochet stitches. The finished set is perfect for quick trips to the coffee shop, or gift this set to the adventurer in your life.

Introduction to Wheel Spinning (In Person Only)

Learn the basics of spinning yarn on a wheel!

My First Sweater with Pam (In-Person only)

Ready to take the leap into sweater knitting? This class will guide you every step of the way!

Apr 15
Beginner Rigid Heddle Weaving with Keyser (In Person Only)
Apr 16
Crochet 102 Workshop with Kimberlee
Apr 16
My First Sweater with Pam (In-Person only)

Classes


Our Wonderful Instructors!



Pam Winne
Pam’s love of all things fiber related began at a young age when her grandmother taught her to crochet. She went from crocheting potholders to designing her own granny square vests to wear while in Middle School. She learned to sew in High School, going on to create her own wedding dress.

About 30 years ago, she took a beginner knitting class, during which she knit her very first sweater. Wanting to learn more, she took a second class where she created another sweater, this one with 3 different colors of yarn, intarsia, and cables. That was the beginning of her love of knitting, and it has only continued to grow.

Pam went on to start a knitting group while living in Wiesbaden, Germany for 3 years. The knitting group was made up of other Americans (both female and male) stationed in Wiesbaden, as well as several German locals. While living overseas, she sought out yarn stores in each country she visited with her family so that she could purchase yarn as her souvenirs. Those yarn souvenirs were lovingly turned into a “Paris shawl”, a “Prague scarf”, an “Amsterdam shawl”, and so on. Each time she wears these items, it brings back wonderful memories of those past adventures.

Pam has won multiple awards for her knitting at the Chesterfield County Fair and the Virginia State Fair, including Best In Show, 10 First Place ribbons, 5 Second Place ribbons, and 1 Third Place ribbon.

Pam has taught many friends and family members to knit throughout the years. She is a Craft Yarn Council Certified Knitting Instructor and truly enjoys sharing her love of knitting with everyone who wants to learn. Be sure to join one of her classes so she can share her excitement for knitting with you!


Penelope Maurakis

Penelope’s grandmother (Yiayia) crocheted every day and taught her how to crochet when she was young.  Many years ago, Penelope inherited her Yiayia’s crochet hooks.  With these “Yiayia’s Hooks,” she renewed her interest in yarn art.  Crocheting and knitting are like meditating for her - a great way to relax.  Penelope enjoys making gifts for friends and family and updating her wardrobe with new handmade items.  She enjoys challenging herself with new techniques and stitches. 

 

Over the years, Penelope has taught crochet to adults and children.  Her goal in teaching crochet is to make it easy, accessible, and fun for all who wish to learn.   Take a class with Penelope and discover how exciting, relaxing, and fulfilling it is to create your own crochet yarn art!




Ute Grzanna

We feel so fortunate at Dances to welcome this talented and passionate knitter and crocheter to our teaching staff. She is one of the former owners of the Knitting Basket on Grove Avenue in Richmond and currently works in IT. She has been doing handwork for decades and enjoys sharing her love of knitting and crocheting through her teaching.


Nicole Bunting

Fiber art has been a part of Nicole’s life since she was a kid growing up on the eastern shore of Maryland. When she was about 10 years old her grandmother taught her how to sew as part of a 4-H group and she taught herself how to crochet as a teenager, but it wasn’t until she was looking to transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011 that she first discovered weaving. When she walked into the loom room she knew that she had to learn how to weave! It turns out that weaving was exactly what she was looking for and Nicole graduated from VCU in 2014 with a BFA in Craft/ Material Studies with a concentration in Fibers.

She has been teaching various weaving classes at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond since 2015 and taught Introduction to Textiles and Tapestry Weaving as an adjunct faculty member at VCU in the spring of 2019. Her favorite thing about teaching weaving is the passion that she sees in students when they discover just how amazing weaving can be.

Nicole is a full-time artist whose work is inspired by the correlation between how weavings are created, the formation of natural patterns, and the practice of storytelling. Her weaving style is rooted in traditional techniques with a strong focus on experimentation.


 

Keyser Glancy

Keyser considers herself a lifelong maker. As a child she was happiest surrounded by potholder loops, crayons and glue sticks. Both of her grandmothers were makers and taught her to knit, needlepoint and counted crossstitch. As an adult she dabbled in scrapbooking, watercolor painting, and ceramics.

About 15 years ago, inspired by a fellow playgroup mom, she picked up her knitting needles again. Head over heels for fiber she taught herself how to crochet, and when the world shut down for Covid she learned how to weave.

Keyser is looking forward to sharing her passion for color and texture with both shoppers and with her weaving students.










Jeff Suho

Jeff has been creating things his whole life.  From helping his family build their house when he was 12 to his current obsession, dyeing up bold, bright yarns, he is always working on something.  In fact, his high school classmates saw his creative potential and predicted that he would be living in New York City and selling his own brand of T-Shirts.  He much prefers living in Richmond and dyeing up yarn though.


For those that don’t know, Jeff is one of the dyers behind the Dances with Wool shop yarn, Rich Hill Yarn.  His wife Abbie, Storied Fiber Art, was his inspiration for joining the yarn dyeing community.  They remain happily married even though they have very different styles when it comes to color combinations.


An elementary teacher by trade, he enjoys helping others learn new things and has an uncanny amount of patience for all of his students.  He cannot wait to show you how much fun it is to dye yarn.



 

 

Erin Lowery
Erin didn't have a grandmother, mother, or anyone else teach her to knit as a child. She didn't pick up her first set of needles until her early 20s when she purchased a “Learn To Knit” kit at a big-box craft store on a whim. The yarn wasn’t the best quality, one of the aluminum needles was a little bent, and the book’s pictures were terrible. (Fun fact: For the first couple of years she twisted all her knit stitches without realizing!) But something about the hobby just captured her.

Twenty years later, she refers to her knitting as a “lifestyle” and is never without multiple projects on the needles. Several years ago another kit introduced her to spinning yarn, which quickly built into another beloved hobby. Now entire sheep fleece follow her home from festivals, and she adores all aspects of the fiber world! 



  Barbara Drake

 

Barbara loves to knit and spin. After teaching herself to knit from a book in 2006, she took a class at a big box store only to be told by the instructor since she knit left handed, never to try knitting socks. That strengthened her resolve and a few weeks later returned to show the instructor her beautifully finished hand knit socks!

Lifelong learning has always stuck with her, and circular sock machines have intrigued her for years. She purchased one in 2019, and cranks sock tubes as a service to our customers here at Dances.

The pandemic hit right after she received the machine, so she taught herself to use it and jumped over the learning curve through online videos and zoom events. In 2022 she attended a weeklong class at the John C. Campbell Folk School to learn even more.

She loves wool socks and thinks everyone should have warm feet

 

 



Kimberlee first learned how to crochet from her 80+ year old German-American babysitter in the late 1980s.  She was given doilies and other lace work and learned how to visually transcribe the patterns into diagrams.  Always active in a variety of arts and crafts since childhood, she sold her handmade items at local craft shows from elementary school through high school.  She was a beta tester for the crafty online marketplace, Etsy, where she began in 2010 and continues to sell vintage ephemera and handmade items.  She first learned to knit at Atelier Yarns, the oldest yarn store in San Francisco, in 2015.  She worked as a shop manager, knit and crochet teacher, tech editor, and sample knitter at Atelier for 3 years prior to moving (back) to Richmond, VA in 2023.  She is also a professional philatelist and continues to actively work and volunteer within organized philately. 

Order Today 1-(804) 594-5849
Social Stitch Groups:
Tuesday Morning 9-11
Thursday Evening 6-8