In this workshop, you will embroider a colorful bird head that you can wear as a brooch. A bird with real character. You will use many different materials such as beads, sequins, stones, and threads. You will also apply several techniques, making this a varied introduction to embroidery. Even if you have never embroidered before, you can join. However, it is helpful if you know that you are comfortable working with fine materials.
We will create the embroidery on felt, which allows for a relatively quick finish. In addition to all materials, a needle, and an embroidery hoop, you will receive instructions with text and photos to take home so you can finish it there. Afterwards, you can pin your handmade bird onto your coat or bag.
Embroidery has existed for thousands of years. It is a collective term for various techniques used to decorate fabric with needle and thread. It adds color, draws attention, creates wonder, and has a unique appearance. Embroidery is very versatile. You can work with traditional materials or with unusual ones. It can be extremely small or very large. You can follow an existing design or create something that comes straight from the heart.
Eva van den Top is the founder of Eevees. After studying Fashion Design in Rotterdam, she gradually returned over the years to the embroidery she learned from her grandmothers. She loves exploring techniques, understanding every detail, and adding her own twist to them. Material combinations in which she intentionally seeks a touch of dissonance create a strong drive to keep pushing the boundaries of her creativity. In this craft, focus and an eye for the smallest details are essential. Through her embroidery, Eva aims to bring more attention to honest craftsmanship and contribute to a future in which fair clothing is the norm.
Bring your favorite stuffed animal to the free walk-in consultation for stuffed animals and dolls that need some extra care. Femke is happy to repair holes, reattach loose limbs, provide extra stuffing, and replace eyes or noses.
Femke Wijman is the maker behind Mama Poppendokter and specializes in restoring and repairing beloved stuffed animals and dolls. From a child’s favorite stuffed animal to a birth teddy bear over 100 years old, or a doll that has been in the family for generations: each piece requires attention, craftsmanship, and respect for its original character. Restoration includes repairing damaged fabric, fixing seams, tears, and loose parts, renewing stuffing, cleaning delicate materials, and carrying out careful restorations. It is not only about technique, but also about preservation: of shape, appearance, signs of use, and emotional value. In this way, stuffed animals and dolls are given a second life, without losing their own character.
The materials are sponsored by De Rechte Steek.
The family business Hawar Textielinstituut (Hawar Textile Institute) is a paradise for textile enthusiasts. Teachers from the Netherlands and abroad share their knowledge and skills in the large, cozy workshop in Oldeberkoop (Friesland). In addition, there is a well-stocked shop and an inspiring gallery, making it a hub where both new and traditional materials and textile techniques are (re)discovered.
During the festival, Hawar will sell various materials and tools for textile enthusiasts, and you can join the workshop Experimenting with Plant Dye Printing. At the Hawar stand, you can also purchase the magazine Vezel.
In Vezel, you can read personal textile adventures and will be inspired by the enthusiasm of others. Knowledge, skills and experience are shared. Discover new techniques and materials, or innovative applications of already existing techniques and materials. What could be more enjoyable than getting started with them yourself afterwards? Vezel inspires you to dream, imagine and experiment!
What started over 40 years ago as a newsletter about spinning and dyeing has grown over the years into a broad and practical textile magazine, still published by the Spin- & Verfkrant Foundation; a group of volunteers who believe it is important that knowledge of materials and techniques is shared in today’s world, keeping the craft alive.
‘Networking’ is often seen as a way to get ahead: meeting the right people and opening doors for yourself. In this workshop, we invite participants to rethink this idea through collective weaving. Together, we build an ever-growing woven structure, a network that symbolises connection. As the work evolves, an oberih takes shape, a Ukrainian word for a protective object. You will learn simple weaving techniques and work with a variety of textile materials. Everyone contributes to a collective artwork and experiences how individual actions come together to create a larger whole. The process will be documented in a time-lapse video, making the growth of the work visible.
Collect4Ukraine is an Amsterdam-based grassroots network that emerged in 2022 as a direct response to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. A group of friends brought together art, academic expertise, and existing networks to support people and animals affected by the war. Collect4Ukraine sees art as something rooted in collective engagement; works are created through the participation of many, rather than by a single individual maker. Through workshops in drawing, weaving, sewing, and cooking, they connect displaced people and the wider Amsterdam community. These mediums require no training or shared language, serving as a form of embodied communication. In this way, they connect to long-standing traditions of collective, often women-led artistic production, in which textile work has served as both a survival strategy and a form of resistance.
Photo: Christopher Pugmire
Regular
€10.00 pre-sale online
€12.50 at the door
CJP
€7.50 pre-sale online
€10.00 at the door
Children up to 12 years
Free entrance (with entrance ticket < 13 years).
Stadspas
Free entrance (only at the door upon presentation of your Stadspass, cannot be reserved online).
The prices mentioned include: VAT & service costs.
Please note: everyone who visits the festival needs an entrance ticket, even if you are going to attend a workshop or masterclass.
Bring your favorite old sweater, worn-out jeans, or grandma’s scarf and transform it into a unique and personal garment during this alterations workshop.
The students in the Basic Fashion Associate program at ROC van Amsterdam/Flevoland are experts in applying alterations and repair techniques.
For the Oceanista exhibition at The National Maritime Museum, they created beautiful designs that showcase these techniques. During the Ambacht in Beeld Festival, these students will give workshops in various techniques, such as darning, crochet, and appliqué. You’ll learn how to perform and apply these techniques to give your own clothing and textiles a new lease on life.
Oceanista
From Chanel to Jean Paul Gaultier and from streetwear to haute couture: the influences of the sea and life on the water are reflected in many wardrobes.
Starting October 10, 2025, the temporary exhibition “Oceanista” will be on display at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam: a multifaceted and stimulating fashion exhibition that captivatingly connects the maritime past, contemporary fashion, and the sustainable future of clothing.
“Oceanista” will take visitors on a journey through maritime-inspired designs by international giants such as Chanel, Maison Margiela, Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thom Browne, Balmain, Off-White/Virgil Abloh, and Moncler, as well as by Dutch designers making a name for themselves with sustainable and distinctive designs. Think of Iris van Herpen, Duran Lantink, Botter, Martan, Camiel Fortgens, Niño Divino (Darwin Winklaar), and Yousra Razine Mahrah.
The exhibition, divided into nine diverse themes, explores how the maritime world leaves its mark on fashion through materials, silhouettes, and prints, and demonstrates how designers use these influences to highlight topics such as sustainability, heritage, and identity. Oceanista also offers space for a broader social conversation: about what sustainable fashion actually is, and how we can reconcile our need for expression with a cleaner planet.
A special feature of the exhibition is the Oceanista Atelier, developed in collaboration with students from the Basic Fashion Associate program at ROC Amsterdam. Here, the focus is on slow fashion: designing timeless, repairable clothing with a minimal ecological footprint. Students will showcase their own designs and provide tutorials on traditional crafting techniques. Visitors can sketch their own sustainable garment.
Practical information
In the screen printing workshop Cut & Play, you’ll explore shape, color, and layering by cutting forms from paper and using tape to create your own playful design. From this design, you’ll make a silkscreen print directly onto your own shirt or sweater.
You’ll head home with a series of experimental prints you created yourself, plus a goodie bag.
Screen printing is a graphic stencil technique suitable for printing on a wide variety of materials such as textiles, paper, cardboard, glass, wood, and plastics. A handmade stencil or light-sensitive emulsion is applied to a mesh screen. Ink is then pressed through the stencil with a squeegee onto the chosen surface.
Michael van Kekem works as an illustrative designer and printmaker. Within the fields of illustration, graphic design, and printmaking, he creates editorial illustrations, prints, visual identities, zines, and a range of other products. He regularly gives printmaking workshops (screen printing, etching, and linocut) at events, for companies, and for private individuals of all ages. Michael also frequently exhibits his personal work.
Practical information
In the screen printing workshop Draw & Print, you’ll playfully dive into creating your own design — either on A4 format or in two layers on A5 format. You’ll draw directly onto a blank silkscreen frame. Using a special emulsion layer, your design is rinsed out with water, opening up the stencil in the screen. This allows you to print your design in, for example, two layers of ink on paper and/or textiles. If you like, you can even bring your own shirt or sweater to print on.
You’ll go home with a series of experimental prints of your own creation, plus a goodie bag.
Screen printing is a graphic stencil technique suitable for printing on a wide range of materials including textiles, paper, cardboard, glass, wood, and plastics. A handmade stencil or light-sensitive emulsion is transferred onto a mesh screen. Ink is then pressed through the stencil onto the chosen surface using a squeegee.
Michael van Kekem works as an illustrative designer and printmaker. Within the fields of illustration, graphic design, and printmaking, he creates editorial illustrations, prints, visual identities, zines, and a variety of other products. He regularly teaches workshops in printmaking (screen printing, etching, and linocut) at events, for companies, and for individuals of all ages. Michael also frequently exhibits his personal work.
Practical information
In this workshop, you will playfully explore weaving patterns. These can be real patterns or false patterns, designs that emerge through experimenting with colours, creating the illusion of a pattern in the fabric.
You’ll discover endless possibilities through playful experimentation. A table loom will be pre-threaded and ready for you!
You’ll go home with your own woven creation.
Het Ambachtshuis Brabant is a leading educational organization offering hands-on training in traditional crafts. Their programme follows a modern master–apprentice model, placing practical learning at its core. Craftspeople are the teachers, and all (young) adults who want to work with head, heart, and hands are welcome. Students can discover and further develop their passion for craftsmanship through specialised skills training.
One of the crafts you can learn at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant is weaving. In their year-long programme, you can transform a simple collection of yarn into a colourful pattern, a warm scarf, or another artistic creation using your hands and a loom. It’s not only a technical skill but also a meditative, creative process that lets you experiment with colour, pattern, and material.
Jacqueline Looijen has been active as a weaver for over 25 years and continues to learn new techniques. She has volunteered for many years with the Weefnetwerk weaving association, making her a passionate ambassador for the craft. She also teaches workshops and courses independently and at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant. Her heartfelt approach makes her a warm and enthusiastic instructor.
Practical information
In this workshop, you’ll explore weaving “waffles” patterns with a beautiful 3D texture that invite experimentation. What effects can you create with different colours and materials? Can you achieve optical illusions?
Through playful discovery, you’ll explore the many possibilities. A table loom will be pre-threaded and ready for you!
You’ll go home with your own woven creation.
Het Ambachtshuis Brabant is a leading educational organization offering practical training in traditional crafts. Their programme follows a modern master–apprentice model, with learning-by-doing at its core. Craftspeople are the teachers, and all (young) adults who want to work with head, heart, and hands are welcome. Participants can discover and further develop their passion for craftsmanship through practical skills training.
One of the crafts you can learn at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant is weaving. In their year-long programme, you can transform a simple collection of yarn into a colourful pattern, a warm scarf, or another artistic creation using your hands and a loom. Weaving is not only a technical skill but also a meditative, creative experience that allows you to experiment with colour, pattern, and material.
Jacqueline Looijen has been weaving for over 25 years and continues to learn new techniques. She has volunteered for many years with the Weefnetwerk weaving association, making her a passionate ambassador for the craft. She teaches workshops and courses both independently and at Het Ambachtshuis Brabant, sharing the craft from the heart—making her a warm and enthusiastic instructor.
Practical information
Festival address:
NDSM Loods
NDSM-Plein 85
1033 WC Amsterdam
Postal address:
Stichting Ambacht in Beeld
Kalf 158
1509AH Zaandam
The Netherlands
