2026 UK Retreats & Workshops
SEWING & QUILTING
Welcome to our 2026 Sewing & Quilting Weekend Craft Retreat page!
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An increasing amount of people tell us they are wanting to 'book ahead' regardless of the final line-up of craft experts who'll be teaching in September 2026, so we're absolutely delighted to announce that our 2026 UK Weekend Crafting Retreat at Rutland Hall Hotel - taking place over the weekend of Friday 25 September, Saturday 26 September and Sunday 27 September 2026 - is now available to book. After all, there's nothing like getting in early!...
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Places will be limited so please be sure to book & reserve your 2026 place in plenty of time!...
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25-27.09.26
Class times on
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27
09.30-16.30 (BST)
(with lots of treats in-between!)
Weekend Craft Retreat!
Rutland Hall Hotel
near Oakham, Rutland
Sewing & Quilting with
Nicholas Ball
Miesje Chafer
Sarah Spencer
Svetlana Sotak
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2026 Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat
Friday 25, Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 September 2026
Near Oakham, Rutland, LE15 8AB, United Kingdom
So, what do we have planned for you in 2026?!
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The 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat will feature more luminaries of the crafting world who will need little introduction to you. We can now confirm that long-standing CraftyMonkies fan-faves Nicholas Ball & Svetlana Sotak will be featuring at Rutland, along with two NEW talents to the CraftyMonkies stable, Miesje Chafer & Sarah Spencer! And don't forget that you get to work directly with each of these four wonderfully talented and celebrated tutors!
We'll have a welcome drink, raffle and shop on the Friday evening and all your refreshments, overnight stay, lunches and delicious 3 course dinners (inc a glass of wine) are included for your WHOLE stay!
Read on for more detail, and watch the video below to hear what our students think of our retreat!
We very much hope you'll join us in September 2026 at the sumptuous Rutland Hall Hotel in the beautiful county of Rutland for a truly fabulous weekend of crafting, trunk shows, relaxing spa-time, socialising, scrumptious food and... lots of FUN!
The wonderful Rutland Hall Hotel in Rutland, very close to the equally lovely Leicestershire, is located just a few miles off the A1 (you need the A606 turn between Oakham and Stamford). The Weekend Craft Retreat ticket will see you welcomed by us with a drinks reception from 5.00pm on the evening of Friday 25 September 2026, have a 9.30am start for craft classes on Saturday 26 September 2026 and Sunday 27 September 2026 to work with each of the four CraftyMonkies tutors for a morning and afternoon session, a two-night stay in a luxurious room within Rutland Hall Hotel - did we also mention you'll also have use of the beautiful Rutland Hall Hotel pool should you so desire?! - have a three-course dinner on the Friday AND Saturday night including a glass of wine each night, a cooked breakfast on both Saturday & Sunday mornings (lighter options are also available, as are meals for those with special dietary requirements, if needed). Lunch & light refreshments will be served on both days (again, all dietary requirements can be catered for) and you will walk away with some goodies too!
Rutland Hall Hotel fits within our CraftyMonkies Weekend/Midweek Craft Retreat ethos: luxury, quality, attentive service, beautiful views and a stunning environment in which to learn, focus, relax, make friends, enjoy terrific food, (including cake!), and learn new invaluable skills. (Please note that any treatments in the newly refurbished Rutland Hall Hotel Spa are payable in addition to our core course fees and payment for such must be made direct to the hotel. Please also note that any treatments would also have to be pre-booked directly with the hotel prior to you arriving on the course)
Nicholas Ball
Saturday 26/Sunday 27 September 2026
"Hi! I’m Nicholas Ball and I’m really excited about working with you and alongside Rachel once again in 2026 - it sounds like a long way off right now, as I write this, but believe me 2025 will soon be a distant memory and we'll be fast-tracking through 2026. Rachel and I first worked together back in 2020, not long after she launched CraftyMonkies, and it's fair to say that we've enjoyed a fabulous collaboration ever since where I've taught a host of classes to her varied and ever-expanding client base. Whether collaborating on a three-hour Zoom class or being one of the tutors in a live, in-person Craft Retreat (our first American collaboration in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA in June 2026 was simply fabulous!), our mutual commitment & passion to deliver the best event possible makes us a winning combo!"​
​The Class!
Full details of what Nicholas will be teaching in 2026 will appear here soon...
(Please Note: The samples of the artist's work, shown above, are not necessarily representative of what they will be teaching on the 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat)
Miesje Chafer
Saturday 26/Sunday 27 September 2026
Just as soon as we've confirmed her content for the 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat, we'll be populating this area with some background info on Meisje, their introduction to themselves & their work and what they intend to teach you in 2026!
​The Class!​
Full details of what Miesje will be teaching in 2026 will appear here soon!...
(Please Note: The samples of the artist's work, shown above, are not necessarily representative of what they will be teaching on the 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat)
Sarah Spencer
Saturday 26/Sunday 27 September 2026
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​The Class!​
Portrait Masterclass with Sarah Spencer
I'm very excited to share this masterclass with you! For the first time EVER, I'll be sharing the many techniques I use to create my award-winning portrait art quilts.
Our 3-hours together will be split into two 1.5 hour blocks: During the first half, I will show you how I create a portrait pattern by first drawing a subject, defining the light, medium, and dark areas to create a 3D illusion in fabric. I will then reveal how I take a small drawing I've created, and turn it into a pattern of any size. During this part of the class, you will be given time to begin a portrait of your choosing with support from me.
During the second half of the workshop, you will learn the methods I use to piece my show quilts. The technique involves sewing the fabric together with 1/4" seams leaving no raw edges. Using a pattern I've created especially for this workshop, you will piece a small image in fabric that will give you the skills to piece your own designs after the workshop. This class will give you all the tools you need to go from concept --> pattern --> pieced quilt top.
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I am so excited to be bringing these techniques to you in person in 2026. There were several reasons I couldn't teach the techniques, but now those gateways have been opened, and it's going to be wonderful to share them with you!
Svetlana Sotak
Saturday 26/Sunday 27 September 2026
​The Class!​
Hey! I haven't taught for such a long time in person and so I'm super excited about traveling to England and meeting you all! I love teaching in person. I know so many of us had fun together online with CraftyMonkies and it will be so wonderful to meet you in person. Now, as I know so many of you are incredible quilters I wanted to teach something quilting related (I too was a Quilter for many years before I became known for my Bags!) But I know so many of you would like me to teach a bag! Three hours is not a huge amount of time and so I thought about combining two different techniques: quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) and a patchwork pouch!
We'd first work on our patchwork slabs and then turn them into cute zipper pouches. How much fun is that?
We'd work with nylon zippers (either standard ones or zippers by the foot/meter) and go over how to cut the zipper to size and add fabric tabs to each end for a neat finish.
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I really can't wait for our adventure to begin together!
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Here's what you will need for your CraftyMonkies 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat:-
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Your own fabric you would like to sew with (more details to follow but it will simply be from your own stash, no need to buy anything fancy!)
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Sewing machine in good working order – with manual, and standard sewing machine feet. If you are unfamiliar with your machine, please take a few minutes to practice stitching in a straight line. You will need no further skills than that!
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Sewing threads in neutral colours (cream, ecru, greys – bring what you have!) and coloured swing machine threads for embroidery stitches.
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Rotary Cutter (45mm rotary cutter is the best size) and mat (18” x 24 approx so a fat 1ÂŽ4 fits on it easily) – please check that the cutting blade is sharp. I will have some spare bits of equipment, but it means you may have to share!
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Rulers – Easy Rule 2 (long ruler) and any square rulers you have hidden away will be useful.
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General sewing kit (pins, scissors, stitch ripper, etc).
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Optional items – craft iron and ironing mat (so you don’t have to queue!). There is an ironing station planned with domestic irons, so only bring small irons and don’t worry if you don’t have one – it’s not vital.
Rachel and all our tutors really are the most warm, engaging of souls and our total focus is on ensuring that you have an experience to remember - trying anything new is always a wee bit scary but don't be put off; jump in - you're going to love it!!!...We've curated a selection of teachers who can all teach something quite different across the weekend, traditional quilting, improv quilting and some mixed media/art! We aim to inspire you and gve you a lot of fun at the same time!
Ticketing
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For the 2026 UK Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat we are offering TWO ticket options:-
Single Occupancy
For the all-inclusive price (please note that any Spa treatments are NOT included) of £695.00, you are guaranteed your own en-suite room within Rutland Hall Hotel.
Shared Occupancy
For the all-inclusive price (please note that any Spa treatments are NOT included) of £595.00, you are guaranteed a SHARED en-suite room within Rutland Hall Hotel. If you decide on this option, once you have booked your place we will contact you via email to see whether you would like to share with a friend or family member who is also attending the Weekend Retreat or are happy to be placed with one of your fellow attendees who is not previously known to you.
IMPORTANT: Due to the nature of advance bookings & payments needed to secure the tutors, hotel, food and facilities we operate a strict Non-Refund Policy; you are however free to assign another person to take your place on the Retreat, should you be unable to attend for any unforeseen reason. All we ask in that instance is that you give us due advance notice of such an arrangement, should it be necessary.
Paying in Full
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For those of you wishing to pay in full, simply go to our Pay Online page, find the Rutland Hall Hotel Weekend Craft Retreat 2026 graphic and follow the prompts.
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Paying via Instalments
For those of you interested in paying via two monthly instalments, the first payment is a deposit of £200.00. Just click on the £200 deposit button in the ticket area and we'll be in touch to arrange the instalments via PayPal!
All being well, we've covered any questions/queries you might have about this exciting 2026 UK Rutland Hall Weekend Craft Retreat but if there is anything else you'd like to know, please don't hesitate to contact us via email: hello@craftymonkies.com.
Looking for a birthday surprise, marking a special occasion or a treat for someone special? A timely reminder that CraftyMonkies Gift Vouchers, in a variety of denominations, are available all year round - could be just the ticket for your crafty loved one!...
