It’s all about Majacraft Camps 2026!
Yes thats right! TWO camps coming up for 2026! First in Australia and then in New Zealand! Read on for all the details and our tutor features. Scroll to the end of the page to find the registration links.
We have two Camps in 2026, one in Australia (1 May – 3 May)
and then another in New Zealand (8 May – 10 May)
We have some fabulous tutors and classes, and in this post we have an overview for you of all the fun fibre learning we have lined up.
Tutors for Camp Australia are: Debbie Held (USA), Sue Macniven (UK), Pat Old (NZ) and Janet Day (Australia).
In New Zealand also have Debbie, Sue, Pat, and for this Camp we have Suzy Brown (NZ).
Debbie Held
Debbie Held is a freelance writer and international fibre arts educator who almost always has a spindle in hand. She’s a recurring contributor to Spin Off magazine, PLY, Schacht Spindle Company, and more, and she’s the writer behind the Interweave column, Her Handspun Habit. A truly contented spinster, Debbie lives on an urban farm in Atlanta, Georgia where she enjoys watching the spinner’s flock of Shetland sheep living in the yard below the windows. You can find Debbie online at www.debbieheld.com.
Debbie joins us at Camp to share her great depth of knowledge gained over her years of hands-on fibre arts, expanded even further during the development of her book ; The Spinner’s Blending Board Bible: ‘From Woollen to (Nearly!) Worsted and Everything in Between.’ This is an excellent book that covers everything about blending boards, from their construction, the materials used in them and the differences between them, and all the ways you can use a blending board to prepare fibre for spinning. Her approach is inspirational, and includes step by step tutorials, blending board best practices, and troubleshooting. This is a book for spinners from beginner to advanced.
Debbie’s classes for Camp in both Australia and New Zealand will explore unexpected ways to utilise your blending board to its fullest potential. This class is based on Debbie’s book, and will show you some of the innovative ways you can use your blending boards and inspire you to make this one of your most favourite fibre prep tools!
Sue Macniven
Sue has been spinning since first learning in 1985 at an evening class. In 1990 Sue completed the Open College Of Art “A Creative Approach to Textiles” Course, and in 1999 she broke the World Record “longest Thread” in Tasmania – then again in 2001.
Sue taught hand spinning and dyeing at Berkshire college of Agriculture for 5 years, has also provided workshops and given talks and demonstrations to many guilds in England, Scotland, Ireland and Majacraft Camp in New Zealand and Australia. Sue has also have exhibited in local and National exhibitions run by the Association of Guilds.
Sue lives in Scotland and has set up a workshop in at her home in Twynholm where she offers 1,2, and 4 day workshops in all aspects of hand spinning, as well continuing to run classes for many guilds around the UK . Specialising in exotic fibres and fine spinning, Sues design inspiration also comes from colour, with the characteristics of a fibre dictating how it should be spun and what the finished product could be.
Sue has developed her own way of spinning and teaching which allows students to spin quality yarns from the start, avoiding lumps and uneven twist and thickness. She loves the technical aspects of fibre preparation for long draw and worsted yarns. Her classes at Camp Australia and New Zealand 2026 will bring you simple but effective spinning techniques to even out your singles and create beautifully balanced, plied yarns. You will love your results from this class!
You can find Sue on Ravelry and Youtube under the name ‘chicksinrubber’ and her website is www.handspun-exotics.co.uk
Pat Old
Pat is well known throughout New Zealand as one of our most knowledgable and experienced spinners and teachers – a self-confessed, slightly obsessive “yarn nerd”! She tutored the Creative Fibre NZ Hand spinners Certificate, and has authored the book ‘In A Spin’, a very comprehensive must-have book for spinners, that takes from fleece to finished with an in depth explanation of each step.
At camp Australia and New Zealand Pat will pass on her thoughts on yarn design and construction, from analysing your own hand spun skein (grist, wraps, twist and more!) to deconstructing a commercial yarn in such a way that you can reconstruct it using your own unique interpretation ideas.
There is so much to be learned from this kind of detailed investigation into yarn construction!
We are sure you will thoroughly enjoy this class and be excited about applying what you learn to your spinning. There is nothing more satisfying than creating exactly the yarn you need!
Janet Day
Always one of our favourite Camp teachers, Janet brings joy and innovation to all her classes. She is a well known on both sides of the Tasman, and has taught internationally and locally for many years. Janet has a fantastic eye for colour and a very wide range of spinning skills to share. This year Janet will be teaching her ’Stupendous Singles’ class, at Australia Camp.
Commercial yarn producers are embracing single-spun yarns in new and unexpected ways, from airy low-twist strands to intriguing tubular constructions that mimic miniature knitted cords. This class is an opportunity to explore what makes these yarns feel soft, drape beautifully, or hold up to wear—and why some commercial singles lack the energy and resilience of handspun. During the class you will investigate twist, balance, loft, and durability, and learn how to spin singles that have these qualities: softness, strength, and long-lasting performance. Whether you’re a devoted singles spinner or simply curious, this session will expand the creative possibilities of your hand spun yarn.
Suzy Brown
Suzy is the Publisher of tinyStudio magazine, an international publication that showcases fibre artists around the world. She also has many years of teaching experience both online and offline, in NZ and internationally, and also tutors the Creative Fibre NZ ‘Designer Yarns’ Certificate. Her passion is for colour and texture, and the use of fibre preparation tools and techniques to make the most of them! Following this passion she has co-authored the Big Book of Fibery Colour’ which contains everything you need to know for working with multi-coloured fibres, and also wrote ‘Fun With Spikes: How to Use a Hackle to Design Unique Yarns’.
For Camp this year Suzy’s class has both prep and spinning as she will be bringing a class set of her mini carding tool, the ‘Baby Dragon Board’ which we will use to create a whole ‘Chocolate Box’ of mini fibre preps, playing with colours and effect fibres. The ‘candies’ are so much fun to make and collect, but rather than create a dragon hoard, we will add them in to a big lofty bulky yarn for a fast and fun spin, learning techniques along the way to make your super-sized yarn airy light.
REGISTRATION
To register for Camp Australia
Go to: www.virginiafarmwoolworks.com.au
Or for further enquiries, email or call:
Wendy Campbell +61 0448 866 789
camp@virginiafarmwoolworks.com.au
To register for Camp New Zealand
Fill in the Registration form here: https://forms.gle/Az6c5kZdMqgF4Nxr5
or email or call support@majacraft.co.nz
ph Ph: +64 07 543-3618