I feel weird writing a review, as I took one class here (millinery), and they do so much. You can…read moremake brooms, felt a custom pair of slippers, do blacksmithing, even make a longbow. (Or you can do more typical crafty things like ceramics, or learn to use your sewing machine.) They're part of the county park district, and the breadth of classes they offer is amazing. Prices are reasonable and supplies are included.
The mission (from their website) is: "The Michigan Folk School is committed to creating a community engaged in authentic, hands-on experiences through the teaching and sharing of traditional folk arts, crafts, music, and skills in an inspiring natural setting and to promote the preservation of forest and farmland."
They do, and how.
Anyway, I crossed two state lines to take a one-day millinery class (hatmaking), offered a couple of times a year either as two evenings or a full day. There aren't a lot of places that teach millinery, and while it was more basic than a class I took elsewhere, that other location has moved to Kentucky, and beggars can't be choosers. If I hadn't taken that other class I wouldn't have known about some things that were simplified (we didn't apply sizing; the brim edges weren't stitched; barbed elastic cord wasn't available; I don't think we curved the petersham ribbon for the sweatbands; no one made a hat with a separate brim and crown...). Everyone, including me, left with a felt hat we'd made ourselves that we were happy with, including people who knew zilch about hatmaking when they came in.
Teacher was very helpful, sending out suggestions ahead of time and instructions on how to measure our heads in additon to asking what color and type of hat we wanted to make so she could bring it. She provided a good introduction, an idea book, and had enough tools to keep us all productive and happy, and was super patient. Bringing your own sewing supplies is helpful but not required - I was happy to have a couple of needles, a needle threader and scissors just so I didn't have to wait for them. There's time for lunch while your hat dries (they're formed with steam); honestly, the two-evening class is probably a better option if you're local.
Nice selection of hat blocks; do some research and do some thinking ahead of time. You may want to bring your own trim if you have something specific in mind (feathers? a particular type of ribbon or floral trim?), since the teacher brought some but the stock isn't deep and is brought in special. I made a pillbox hat and if I were doing this again, I would have asked about elastic or googled "barbed elastic cord for hats" and spent $5 on some before coming. The teacher suggested I braid thin elastics which works but having taken the other class I know "there's an app for that" and wish I'd planned ahead.
The directions about where to go onsite which they provided ahead of time were helpful, but do allow extra time to get here if you haven't been before; it's outside of town, located on a farm.
