Learn to weave at Graffiti & Silk

Traffic. News reports. Interest rates. Deadlines. Social media. Data centers. Stress. If you have ever wanted to just get away from the hectic world and recharge in a simple and creative way, here’s your chance: Try weaving.

Free weaving lessons are offered on most Saturdays and on one Thursday each month at Graffiti & Silk thrift store at 860 E Main St, Purcellville. It’s even possible to show up at Graffiti & Silk between 1 and 3 p.m. on a Saturday and ask the weaver to have a go. It’s just that simple—and it’s free.

Check out the QR code below. With one click you will be directed to the Sign-Up Genius on the Fiber Guild of the Blue Ridge website. Look for open lesson dates. You will be so glad you tried something new.  

These free weaving lessons are part of the Community Weaving Project. The Community Weaving Project is one piece of a partnership between two non-profits, Fiber Guild of the Blue Ridge (FGBR) and Mobile Hope. 

Mobile Hope supports local at-risk youth and is housed at Graffiti & Silk, a funky, Bohemian- style thrift shop. Graffiti & Silk houses a 45” Schacht Standard loom on which artistic rugs are woven by the FGBR weavers— hopefully with a student seated right there, too. 

Recycle and reuse is Graffiti & Silk’s mantra. They weigh every article sold to track how much they’ve kept out of the landfill. The total in just 2025 is a staggering 10,400 pounds.

When donated blue jeans arrive at the store in conditions unsuitable for sale, Graffiti & Silk passes it forward to FGBR. Guild members cut the jeans into strips, sew the strips together, iron the long band in half, and roll the product into balls. This product, lovingly called “darn” (denim + yarn = darn), is then woven into rugs. Proceeds for these rugs go directly to Mobile Hope, to be used for shelter services and programs that empower young people at risk.

The Community Weaving Project checks every box: Refuse is diverted away from landfills, utilitarian artwork is created and sold, and the public is exposed to—and can even have a chance to try—the age-old craft of weaving. 

If weaving isn’t your gig, but you still love handmade items, you’re in luck. Various locally woven products
will be available for sale at the Bluemont Fair, scheduled for Sept. 20-21. Look for the booth with the looms and spinning wheels. Stop by and chat with the artisans to learn more about their art.