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, September 8th, 2026 
In-person/hybrid meeting, 10am

Lori Breslauer, “Weaving through the Andes: 25th Anniversary Peruvian Artist Tour”

September’s program focuses on a region of the world where artisans create beautiful and functional objects using Wool. Join us as Guild member and past President Lori Breslauer discusses her travels in Peru from Lima to Cusco, including museums, workshops, and weaving communities.

The meeting will include a breakout session of small groups to review our summer reads and report back to the membership on their assigned topics in one of the following two books:

• “Fabric – the Hidden History of the Material World” by Victoria Finlay
  
  – or –
  
• “Worn – A People’s History of Clothing” by Sofi Thanhauser

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.