Fiber and yarn festivals in Oregon & Washington - Updated for 2023!
Buy wool fiber and yarn from local farms and scratch a sheep under the chin (spoiler: it’s warm and soft!). Here’s a round-up of yarn and fiber festivals in Oregon and Washington in 2023.
Behold, the fiber festival!! A place where you can watch a kid blow dry a rabbit with a shop vac (pictured above), meet llamas and alpacas, shop for felting fiber and yarn, or take a workshop in fiber arts and animal husbandry. A highlight of these events are the unpretentious and highly skilled people who love these animals and are very often wearing a hand-knit shawl. Load up the kids, stop at the ATM on the way, and don’t miss the goat obstacle course!
Do you have a tip for a great event that’s not listed? Send it to me.
2023 Guide to Fiber Festivals in the Pacific Northwest
February 11, 2023 11th Annual Winter Wool Sale & Spin-in (Hillsboro, OR)
Attn: Handspinners and Felters! Huge wool stash in a wide range of natural colors - many at clearance prices! Bring along your spinning wheel, knitting, or current project, and a sack lunch and join us for the day.
March 18, 2023 Abernethy Spring Fiber Sale (Abernethy Grange)
Fleeces, carders, hand-knit socks, yarn! A small, sweet event.
April 23, 2023 High Desert Wool Growers Market Day (Deschutes County Fair + Expo Center, Redmond, OR)
Farm-direct fiber, yarn and tools.
May 20-21, 2023 Fat Lamb Fiber Festival (Centennial Elementary Gymnasium, Scio, OR)
Held in conjunction with the Linn County Lamb & Wool Fair in Scio, OR.
June 3-4, 2023 Fiber Fusion NW (Evergreen State Fairgrounds)
70+ fiber-related vendors, spin-in, live animal demonstrations.
June 23-25, 2023 Black Sheep Gathering (Linn County Expo Center, Albany, OR)
This long-running event takes place on the 4th weekend in June. Very well attended with lots of activities including fiber arts expo, animal judging, workshops, and sheep to shawl event.
July 29-30, 2023 Prairie City Fiber Festival (Prairie City, OR)
Prairie City is picturesque Eastern Oregon town with a view of the Strawberry Mountains. This small fiber fest feels personal and has a great selection of yarn and fiber. Workshops may take place in the organizer’s back yard under the shade of a tree. Heaven!
Oct. 7, 2023 Quilcene Fiber Festival: From Sheep to Shawl (Worthington Park Quilcene, WA)
From an 1800's walking spinning wheel to today’s e-spinner, created locally. From a beautiful Gaelic tradition of Wool Waulking with song and cloth fulling to felting your own dryer balls. See a sheep being shorn, learn to knit, weave and felt, visit with local hand dyers, spinners, knitters and their beautiful wares.
Oct. 14-15, 2023 Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (Linn County Expo Center, Albany, OR)
The biggest fiber festival in the PNW, with 14,000 attendees annually. The high-quality workshops fill quickly, so register early! Pssst. GOAT OBSTACLE COURSE IS ON SATURDAY AT 4PM. See you there!
Unconfirmed for 2023
Events from 2022 with no information yet about this year. If you know more info, email me and I will update the confirmed events list.
Wahkiakum Fairgrounds Flock and Fiber Show (Skamokowa, WA)