Member Masterclass: Rags to Rope (Afternoon)

A coil of rope made from two old and differently-coloured textiles twisted together.

Discover the hidden treasures nestled in your wardrobe and turn rags into riches in this hands-on rope making masterclass. Textile artist Rachael Matthews gives you permission to cut up your old fabrics and make liberating decisions about the end of life of a garment. Whether your discarded pair of tights is 'Worn Out Emotional' or 'Brand New and Guilty', under Rachael's tutelage they become a useful resource. Together you will consider the complex mixed fibres mounting up in our landfills, twisting and manipulating these to explore the aesthetic and scientific qualities of unloved clothes.

Rachael Matthews is a textile artist and the author of Rag Manifesto, a book exploring making, folklore and community. Rachael takes a philosophical standpoint; Thrutopia is a new term to imagine getting through a perma crisis responsibly, transformatively, in the best way we can. This Thrutopian workshop is about finding value in all wasted materials, whether it be for their colour and texture spectrums, as a way into storytelling or for simply pulling each other together.

What should I bring?

Lightweight unloved clothing or textiles. We'll be using cord twisters which are not designed to take heavy weights so bring lighter materials with interesting textures.

Important information about our ticket ballot for this event:

We are using a ballot system to book tickets for these masterclasses.

The ballot is open for a limited time: from Thursday 7th November until 23:59pm on Sunday 17th November.

Entering the ballot means that you've entered into a draw for the opportunity to book a ticket. From Monday 18th onwards, successful entrants will be automatically booked onto the event and sent an event confirmation email. If you can no longer attend please cancel your place so someone else can be booked on.

Unfortunately, the ballot may be oversubscribed, so entering it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be offered tickets.

Once tickets are fully booked, we will notify everyone and offer the opportunity to join the waiting list.

Event location

Institute of Making Stratford
UCL Marshgate Building
7 Sidings Street
London
E20 2AE

More details about Stratford

Attendee information

What should I bring?

Lightweight unloved clothing or textiles, nothing too heavy. A trip to the charity shop to buy something you wouldn't wear but enjoy the texture of often brings unexpected and interesting results!

Do you have specific access requirements?

We would like to make sure that everyone can access our spaces and use our website as easily as possible. Please message us if you need any particular support while attending our activities or using our platforms, and we will make arrangements.

We are also always interested in feedback to help us improve access to our activities. Contact Liza on events@instituteofmaking.org.uk.