EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN
Discover all the fiber the
world has to offer.
Adventure, connection, and transformation await on every curated TRIP.
Join us!
2026 tours
Each of our trips is designed with knitters, spinners, and fiber artists in mind. Our destinations are carefully selected to marry a sense of adventure with a love of learning and hands-on experiences with textiles and local nature and culture:
Scotland - including three-day Gansey (and more) intensive with Di Gilpin and followed by five-day Orkney Islands exploration.
September 13-23.
SOLD OUT
Northern Ireland - Including Donegal and Derry, National Parks, sheep farms, spa days, and knitting classes.
October 5-14.
SOLD OUT
Discover your next adventure
BIG NEWS
Coming in 2027 -
Registration now open!
March 30 - April 8, 2027
with optional three-day Paris add-on
Testimonials
What our guests say
Real stories from real travelers
This was my first knitting trip and I really enjoyed it. There was the right balance between knitting and excursions to get to see local sights. We had plenty of time to go and explore things on our own and our guide was terrific. Loved visiting smaller towns along the way from Barcelona to Madrid and visiting the working woolen mill was a personal highlight. Met some delightful new friends and exposed me to a taste of Spain. Can't wait to go and see more of this beautiful, vibrant county.
What fun!! The tour was well-designed and well-executed. Good accommodations, great food, a terrific itinerary and congenial travel companions with shared interests. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
It is lovely to have a curated trip with our particular interests taken into account-- along with seeing not-to-be-missed sights in places new to us. Top it off with delicious food and gorgeous accommodations, traveling with folks we love -- what's not to like?
This was my 7th trip with MJ. I always enjoy having Andrew as our guide. This year my daughter accompanied me. We renewed old “travel friendships” and met new like minded fiber fanatics. The time we had available to explore Stockholm was fantastic. I do wish we had an equal amount of time to explore Helsinki as well. These countries are beautiful. The people we met were kind, helpful, and always interested in hearing where we were from and why we were visiting. All in all I would say that both cities are people oriented rather than the western, “gotta get there” mindset. I have Celiac disease and felt very well cared for by Andrew specifically and the restaurant servers. Celiac disease is more widely understood in Europe. I have very few concerns about my diet when traveling. I really can’t say enough about the Battenkill Fiber Tours. They are always interesting and challenging, in a good way. I will continue to travel with this group for as long as I am able.
MJ and Andrew put together another amazing tour. The accommodations were all great and the meals delicious. The workshops were interesting and diverse as well as fun. There was enough free time to explore our own interests in the area and the others on the tour were friendly and fun. I can not wait for the next tour!!!!!!
Our Travel Archive
Looking for one of our past trips?
“I have made lifelong friends while learning about knitting and weaving
in beautiful places. What could be
better than that?"
— Laurel Q., Delaware
Guiding Your Experience
Meet your host
Mary Jeanne Packer, the founder of Battenkill Textile Tours LLC, has been leading groups of knitters and fiber enthusiasts on trips around the world (and around the corner) since 2006 when she put a small ad in the national knitting magazines to see if anyone might want to come and spend a few days knitting at her yarn shop, wine-tasting, and visiting fiber farms in the Finger Lakes; and 20 people signed up! Those first 20 said they would "like to go to Ireland sometime"; and the rest is history.
Mary Jeanne is the founder and co-owner of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill in Greenwich, NY. Before that, she worked for many years at the US Forest Service and then later as a nature tourism consultant and interpretative planner. Because of Mary Jeanne's background, all Battenkill Textile Tours' experiences focus on the ways in which local nature and history have informed culture and textile arts in a destination.
“I love going on these tours! Experiencing new places, sharing knitting techniques and projects with no judgements, laughing, eating and celebrating our shared love of textiles"
— Lisa K., California
Past Journeys
Previous Textile Destinations
- Ireland
- Scotland
- Shetland
- Estonia/Latvia
- Norway
- Nova Scotia
- Paris
- Iceland
- Denmark
- Seattle
- New Mexico
- Germany
- Sweden/Finland
“The trip to Norway with fellow knitters was above and beyond my expectations. The hotels were beautiful and comfortable. Food was all amazing… especially the local delicacies. Absolutely nothing went wrong. Thank you for the perfect vacation!"
— Margaret N., North Carolina