The Tukums Weaving Workshop is a place where pupils, families, and other interested visitors can learn about traditional weaving skills, Latvian ethnographic traditions, and contemporary textile art. The workshop features more than 40 looms, including historical weaving equipment, and visitors can participate in educational classes to learn about the fabric-making process and engage in creative activities themselves.
🧶 About the Tukums Weaving Workshop
The Tukums Weaving Workshop is a place for active and creative people who want to learn and develop weaving skills and other types of handicrafts, explore ethnographic traditions, the process of textile creation, learn the nuances of making and wearing folk costumes, and express themselves creatively by making their own folk costume or other textile items.
More than 40 looms are on display, including 19th-century mechanical looms—lever and three-shaft looms—and early 20th-century semi-automatic looms, also known as Vilumson looms.
The Tukums Folk Applied Arts Studio “Durbe” operates under the auspices of the Weaving Workshop. The participants focus particularly on researching and crafting folk costumes, creating collections of ethnographic garments for the Tukums Museum’s collection, as well as weaving blankets, scarves, tablecloths, table runners, rugs, and other items.
🖼️ Exhibition “From Wool to Fabric”
This interactive exhibition illustrates the process of fabric production: the selection of materials, colors, and patterns; warping the loom; and weaving.
Visitors can learn about weaving traditions and try their hand at the looms to master one of the weaving techniques.
🎓 Educational Programs for Pupils
During the class, pupils learn about the Tukums Weaving Workshop, its permanent collection, and the current exhibition.
Accompanied by the class instructor, students discuss modern textile art technologies and innovative methods in comparison to traditional weaving.
Encouraged by the instructor, pupils create their own artistic works using yarn, paper, polyethylene, and other materials, employing alternative techniques to weaving—such as appliqué, braiding, and printing.
The design of the projects is tailored to the pupils’ understanding, age group, curriculum, knowledge, and skills.
Age group: 5th–9th grade pupils.
Through storytelling and demonstrations, the instructor introduces pupils to the Tukums Weaving Workshop, its cultural and historical traditions, traditional weaving materials and dyes, as well as Latvian patterns in ethnography.
By examining samples of wool and linen, pupils explore the properties of these materials—the respective animal and plant-based products, their extraction, processing, and uses. For pupils, dyes and plants are introduced, and they learn about the components and tools of a loom, as well as their names and uses.
In this lesson, pupils learn to calculate fabric requirements, create technical drawings, and design their own fabric—calculating and preparing the materials needed for weaving.
Age group: 5th–9th grade pupils.
Latvian School Bag: yes.
🎟️ Prices
Admission fee
- Forpupils – free of charge
- Adults – 1.50 EUR
- Preschoolers and chaperones accompanying school groups (up to two) – free
Museum tours
Guided tour for up to 20 people (1 hour):
- In Latvian – 20.00 EUR
- In a foreign language – 22.00 EUR
Themed tour for up to 20 people (1 hour):
- In Latvian – 24.00 EUR