Tour de Fleece

Spin with Team FSWG 2026 for Tour de Fleece! 

What, where, and when is Tour de Fleece?

Tour de Fleece is a worldwide celebration of all things spinning that takes place during the Tour de France (July 4 – July 26, 2026.) It’s not a competition! You join a team for camaraderie and encouragement. You set your own personal goals and challenges for the event.

The main goal is to spin every day that the cyclists are riding.* On their rest days (July 13 and 20), you can take the day off. And on Challenge days—the toughest, most mountainous days of the bicycle race—you set yourself an additional challenge, like learning a new technique or spinning longer than your usual days. (Or not; it’s up to you!)

Don’t worry—you’ve got this! Whether you’re a novice or a spinning pro, we’d love to see your Tour de Fleece projects. Spin at your own pace and have fun! By spinning at least 15 minutes every day, you spend time practicing your skills. We find that every year we participate in, we become better spinners.

*You don’t have to be interested in bike racing or the Tour de France to participate in Tour de Fleece. Just look at it as a chance to focus on your spinning for three weeks!

Join Team FSWG 2026 to:

• Get encouragement and support from your fellow spinners!
• Post pictures of your progress, ask questions, and chat on our Ravelry forum. 
• Attend in-person and virtual meet-ups to spin together. These are optional, but a great way to enjoy spinning together! 
• Win prizes at the end of the event, awarded by random drawing!

Meet-ups

• Saturday, July 4,2:00 pm at Port Royal and on Zoom – Kick-off event! 
• Sunday, July 12, 3:00 pm in the Guild studio
• Wednesday, July 15, 2:00 pm in the Guild studio
• Saturday, July 18, 7:00 pm on Zoom (virtual event)
• Sunday, July 26, 3:00 pm in the Guild studio and on Zoom – Closing event and prize drawing

Participation is open to all Guild members, as well as non-members from the our general geographic area. Beginner to expert, spindler, wheel spinner, or electric wheel user—everyone is welcome!

Signing Up

The official sign-up list is on Ravelry. We will use the same forum thread for sign-ups and for chatting online and posting our photos during Tour de Fleece. You’ll need a free Ravelry account to sign up. (Need help getting started on Ravelry? We can help with that, too.) 

Sign-up link: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/fredericksburg-spinners-and-weavers-guild-fswg/topics/4408680  

Questions? 

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Snellings, Karen Perry, or Kara Pekar, or use the Contact Us form on this website and someone will forward your question to us.

What is Tour de Fleece

Dear Fiber Enthusiasts,

As the days grow longer and summer approaches, we’re thrilled to announce the dates for one of our favorite annual traditions in the fiber arts world: Tour de Fleece 2026!

July 4 – July 26, 2026. That’s right—challenge yourself to spin every day that the Tour de France cyclists hit the road and race through breathtaking stages!

Just like the cyclists pushing their limits from the Grand Départ in Barcelona to the triumphant finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, we’ll be pedaling our wheels (or twirling our spindles) to create beautiful handspun yarn. The Tour de France 2026 promises epic climbs, sprints, and drama—perfect inspiration for us to tackle our own fiber goals.

Whether you’re aiming to empty your stash, master a new technique like longdraw or art yarn, spin a sweater’s worth of yarn, or simply enjoy daily time at your wheel, Tour de Fleece is all about personal challenge, community encouragement, and the joy of transforming fleece into fabulous yarn.

Rest days? Take them when the cyclists do (July 13 and July 20 this year). Challenge days? Go big on those mountain stages!

Stay tuned for future newsletters where we’ll share more details on our guild’s very own FSWG Tour de Fleece team, prizes, virtual spin-ins, and ways to connect with fellow members as we cheer each other on.

Dust off your spinning wheel, charge your e-spinner, or grab your favorite drop spindle—it’s time to get that fiber flowing!

Happy spinning, Your Friends at FSWGuild