Raw Felted Fleece Class with Becky Utecht

Turn raw fleece into a “sheepskin” chair pad or small rug by wet felting the back. Also known as humane sheepskin, or living pelts, the beauty of this process is that the sheep is still alive and growing more fleece. Plus felted fleece is completely hand washable. The techniques learned in this class can be applied at home later on a full fleece to create larger blankets or rugs. Students will have the opportunity to  personalize their work by adding colorful prefelted motifs to the back of their pieces. Becky Utecht lives in rural Ogilvie, Minnesota. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has been raising sheep since 2001 and uses their wool in her felted fleeces, skinnfell, and other fiber art projects. She is passionate about fiber arts and promoting humane, sustainable sheep and wool production. Her work has won awards in fine art shows and wool festivals and has been included in national publications such as The New York Times and Lark Books. She has taught hundreds of students the magic of fiber arts both regionally and nationally. As a 2025 American Scandinavian Foundation Folk Art and Cultural Traditions In the Upper Midwest fellow, she traveled to Norway in summer of 2025 to study advanced skinnfell techniques at Raulands Akademiet and visit the studio of fiber artist Britt Solhiem.Vesterheim offers a 60% discount for in-person class tuition on a space-available standby basis to any year-round resident living within 50 miles of Vesterheim. Students will be notified about the availability of an opening in the class 21 days before the starting date of the class period. Discounts do not include materials fees. If local area residents want a guaranteed place in a class, they must pay regular class tuition.The local standby option is supported by Decorah’s Depot Outlet.