ThreadWritten Tours
Creative, Cultural, Textile Tours
Embroider a creative piece inspired by a place and tradition, Learn from local professional artisans, Visit World Heritage cities and villages from another era, Taste wine and local cuisine, Find new inspiration in the beauty of another culture.
ThreadWritten retreats balance sightseeing, studio visits, and hands-on workshops with plenty of time to embroider and relax. Experience another culture and its textile traditions, create, and take a break from your normal pace of life.
Even if you’ve never picked up a needle and thread, you are welcome. Advanced embroiderers will enjoy learning different stitches and patterns specific to the traditional clothing and linens of the region. Non-stitchers have enjoyed the tours for cultural immersion, great food, art, and architecture. We do our best to tailor additional activities for non-stitching husbands and partners. This year, golfing is an alternative in the Viana do Castelo tour.
2025 Tours are now open for registration!
I thank you with all my heart for what you shared and provided for us. For me it was an incredible experience that I will treasure always. You went above and beyond what I would have expected and I am most grateful. -Deborah F.
Portuguese Embroidery: VIANA DO CASTELO, PORTUGAL
August 9 - 16, 2025
Soak in the color and traditions of the lavradeira, the1800s farm girl of the Minho region of Portugal. Create an embroidery inspired by the clothing of the region, learn from a professional embroiderer and visit artisan and weavers’ studios. Spend a day in Porto or lounge at our resort hotel and stitch the day away. Our week culminates with a parade in the Romaria d’Agonia festival, honoring the patron saint of fisherman and the city of Viana do Castelo. Join us and witness a living heritage display of over 600 women in traditional dress walking through the streets!
After a week in the north, you won’t want to leave the country! Join both tours: Viana do Castelo + Porto and Évora, Arraiolos + Lisbon consecutively, with a discount available for both weeks and a complimentary night in Lisbon. Select Both Tours when you register.
Hungarian Written Embroidery: TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA + BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
June 10 - 19 and October 7 - 16, 2025
Rustic village life where Hungarian meets Romanian meets Saxon: practice Hungarian written embroidery (írásos) where it originated, experience traditional culture in the lesser-traveled shadows of the Carpathian mountains. We’ll start the week in Budapest and then take a private bus to Kalotaszeg region of Transylvania to embroider. We’ll visit markets and private textile collections and round out the experience with a couple days in a Saxon region known for its historic medieval city (June). Instead of the Saxon region, the October tour will conclude in historic Maramures, known for its wooden churches and village life in the Carpathians.
Arraiolos Stitched Carpets: ÉVORA + LISBON, PORTUGAL
August 17 - 25, 2025
Spend 7 nights in UNESCO World Heritage City Évora and learn to stitch Arraiolos, a special embroidery stitch used in rug-making since the 1600s. Embroider a pillow in this meditative style, with artisans in the town that bears the tradition’s name, visit local weavers of the Alentejo region, and tour an incredible contemporary tapestry museum. We’ll begin our trip in Lisbon, visiting textile collections and tile-filled streets to give context to our week.
Get to know the country well by joining us for both weeks in Portugal: Viana do Castelo + Évora and receive a discount and a complimentary night in Lisbon between the tours.
Arraiolos and contemporary practice: LISBON, SINTRA + ÉVORA, PORTUGAL
September 25 - October 4, 2025
Begin the trip in Lisbon, visiting an incredible palace and the Gulbenkian Museum followed by a day in the palaces and gardens of Sintra. Then travel to the Alentejo region near Évora for Arraiolos rug stitching, weaving studio visits, and a gem of a tapestry museum with time and space for making a creative stitched piece with ThreadWritten founder Sarah or finishing your Arraiolos counted thread work. Walk the property, relax, and swim in the pool at an herdade - turned artists’ residency property in the countryside.
Textiles of Lagartera: MADRID, TOLEDO, + LAGARTERA, SPAIN
Late May- early June 2026 (Email me for more information!)
Immerse yourself in Spanish culture, art, and the textile traditions of the village of Lagartera. We’ll begin with sightseeing and museum visits in Madrid, including the Museo del Traje, and a textile- and fashion-focused tour of the Prado. We’ll then spend a couple days in Toledo, taking in the Moorish architecture, the world of El Greco, and the incredible 13th-century cathedral, considered by some historians to be the best example of high Gothic architecture. In Lagartera, we’ll learn to stitch with two sisters who restore clothing and are revered for preserving their family’s traditions. The highlight of the week will be attending the Corpus Christi festivities with the locals and the village itself adorned with embroidery, trim, lace, and nearly every technique you can imagine!
Travel with ThreadWritten and…
Running into one of our instructors in Viana do Castelo, PT.
RELEASE THE DIGITAL WORLD —
trade your computer for a needle and thread, pencil and sketchbook
BOND WITH NEW FRIENDS over stitch diagrams and heirloom linens
PRONOUNCE OBRIGADO, köszönöm, and multumesc like you live there
EXPLORE HIDDEN WALKING TRAILS, towns that date back to the Romans, and bustling city streets
LEARN TEXTILE TECHNIQUES from locals with over 30 years of experience
RETURN HOME REFRESHED and inspired, infused with the colors, patterns, and tastes of another culture
I am still reeling with enthusiasm from our trip. It was such a rich and full experience. I have adopted a new practice [of embroidering every morning], thanks to you…. Richer and fuller each day, as was our trip. -Mary P.
Women dressed for the parade, Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Retreat Embroidery by past participants:
