Workshops

Courses

Workshops

Learn. Make. Take it home. Textile arts workshops in Cercal do Alentejo — for all levels, in small groups.

Hands at work

A place for learning

Alma Mater is not just a place for making — it is a place for learning. Our workshops are hands-on, welcoming and inspiring experiences, open to those who have never touched a loom and to those whose hands are already calloused from spinning. There are no prerequisites: only the will to make things with your hands.

Beyond weaving and sewing, we invite artisans from across Portugal to come and show and teach their craft in textile workshops — from learning to handle needles, felting with water and soap or with needles, dyeing with onion skins, or mending your own clothes. There is no limit to what can be made.

Workshops at the studio · Cercal do Alentejo

Cloth taking shape on the loom, shuttles at rest Creative sewing at a studio workshop Arraiolos stitch — traditional Portuguese embroidery

The courses

Handloom WeavingThe gestures of the loom, from warp to weft.
SpinningTurning fibre into yarn, by distaff and spindle.
Creative SewingGiving fabric new life with needle and thread.
FeltingTurning wool into surface, with water and hands.
Natural DyeingColour from plants, roots and flowers.
Arraiolos StitchTraditional Portuguese embroidery, stitch by stitch.
CrochetFrom the first loop to pieces you can wear.
KnittingTwo-needle knitting, stitch by stitch, at the rhythm of the hands.
Workshop at the studio — hands at work
Weaving with upcycled materials
Wet felting with water and soap
Needle felting
Participants and pieces at a workshop
Detail from a workshop at the studio

— Open dates

Upcoming workshops

Bookings

Come make with your hands

In small groups, at each person’s own pace. Book your session or a private workshop — one-to-one or as a group.

Book or find out more