Welcome to the Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild!
The Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild is an association of weavers, fiber, and textile artists who teach, encourage and inspire each other, sharing their experience, knowledge, and resources. We began as the Joliet Weavers Guild in January 1949, and, as we grew and changed locations, we renamed ourselves the Illinois Prairie Weavers in 1994. Our guild is a very active one, with a large library and an assortment of looms and equipment available by loan to members. We meet in the western suburbs of Chicago monthly, from September through June. Most of our meetings are hybrid, meaning you can attend in-person or online via Zoom. Some meetings are online only via Zoom, and those will be indicated in the program information for those meetings. Our meetings are open to anyone with an interest in weaving.
Our guild membership includes highly accomplished weavers who own weaving businesses, teach weaving or have been published or honored by the greater weaving community. We also bring in nationally known speakers for programs and workshops. If you are a beginning or novice weaver, we welcome you to come to learn and be inspired. Our members weave on a variety of loom types, from 32 harnesses to finger weaving and everything in between. So, no matter what your skill level, we invite you to join us at one of our meetings and be welcomed into our weaving community.
Large photo: Garment yardage woven by Billie M.
Show and Tell Photos button photo: Fabric woven by Phyllis S.
Photos © Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild. All rights reserved. You may not copy or reuse these or any other images on this site without express written permission.
Next Meeting
Tuesday, April 14th, 2026 – In-person/hybrid meeting, 10am
Dagmar Klos, “Sheep Talk“
Turning fiber into string (thread) is one of the oldest accomplishments in the history of the world. One of those fibers is wool – sheep wool. There are hundreds and hundreds of different breeds of sheep. In this presentation we will talk about the breeds that include fine wools, long wools, crossbred wools, down-type wools (think natural super wash), and feral/primitive wools. Different wools, different textiles, and uses. It’s more than just merino.
Dagmar Klos is a dye master, fiber artist and teacher living in Chicago. Locally, she has taught at many of our weaving guilds and at Fine Line Creative Arts Center. She has also published articles in Piecework and SpinOff (where she was also a technical editor), was an editor for the Turkey Red Journal and author of “The Dyers Companion.” Dagmar achieved the Certificate of Excellence in Dyeing from the Handweavers Guild of America.
Guild members will receive a Zoom link for the Membership Meeting and Show & Tell via e-mail. Non-members, please complete our Visitor Registration Form to participate at least 48 hours prior to meeting start.
Meeting Location
Congregation Etz Chaim
1710 S. Highland Ave
Lombard, IL 60148
© Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild.
You may not copy or reuse content from this site without express written permission.
Illinois Prairie Weavers Guild 