Join us for a wool-filled adventure at the Swiss Yarn Festival—and travel alongside Irina Shaar, host of the beloved Fiberchats podcast, whose conversations knit together makers and dreamers across the fiber world. Together we’ll explore the festival, taste Swiss chocolate, mingle with designers, dine over fondue, and laugh our way through a week full of yarny delight.

With needles in hand, curiosity in spirit, and an appetite for discovery, you’ll return home with unforgettable experiences—and perhaps some delightful new additions to your stash.

A non-refundable $1,000 deposit secures your spot on the tour. Registration and payment are completed together online—once your checkout is processed, you’re officially part of the adventure! Please review our Terms & Conditions.

Have questions? Contact us at info@rowantreetravel.com

This tour has been announced as a "Go!" Unless otherwise stated, our regular Terms & Conditions apply to this trip and for any cancellations.

We would describe this tours activity level as a Woolly Wander with a mobility comfort level of 2+. Expect to be walking through the festival as well as through town, and standing for periods of time.

Review our Tour Activity and Mobility Comfort Levels HERE.

Rowan Tree Travel highly recommends purchasing travel insurance. You may purchase through our preferred partner Arch RoamRight HERE or through your own provider.  

(Arch RoamRight is an affiliate of RTTF, and we receive a small commission for policies purchased through the provided link.)

In order to gather easily for the tour, we provide an arrival and departure "window" at a major transportation hub - typically an international airport at your destination country. Flights scheduled outside the provided windows may result in additional transportation costs and/or missed tour activities. For this reason, we greatly appreciate your cooperation in booking travel that accommodates our specifications. Please do not purchase airfare until the tour is guaranteed by RTTF to go forward.

Please Note

Rowan Tree Travel reserves the right to alter any part of this itinerary in order to address weather conditions, unforeseen circumstances or to improve the participant experience.

WILLKOMMEN TO ZURICH!

Welcome to Zurich! We’ll start our journey with a little indulgence at a chocolate wonderland (because every good knitting trip begins with chocolate). A behind-the-scenes workshop reveals how Switzerland became synonymous with sweet perfection. Don’t worry—there will be tasting, and yes, a shop for “just one more bar.”

From there, we’ll enjoy a cozy Swiss lunch before making a quick foray across the border into Germany to visit a very special yarn studio. The owner champions the beauty of German sheep’s wool, and her shelves brim with breed-specific yarns full of character and story. You'll have time to browse, squish, and perhaps adopt a skein or two (or ten). By evening, we’ll return to Zurich, where our hotel awaits and we can rest up for the festival excitement ahead.

SWISS YARN FESTIVAL!

This morning, we head straight for the Swiss Yarn Festival, where we’ll collect our tickets and dive into a weekend of woolly wonders.

Here’s where it gets extra fun: we’ll be staying at the same hotel as the festival designers, giving you the unique chance to mingle and share conversations beyond the booths. Even better, we’ve been invited to join their welcome dinner and bowling party on Friday night - a relaxed, laughter-filled way to connect with some of the creative minds you admire.

And remember, you’ll be experiencing all of this alongside Irina Shaar, who will be sharing her warmth, insights, and fiber-world connections every step of the way.

You'll have three days to wander the stalls, meet indie dyers and designers, take a class if you like, or simply bask in the company of fellow yarn lovers from around the globe.

Rowan Tree Bonus! As part of your tour, you’ll be able to sign up for two festival workshops—on the house! This is your chance to learn directly from designers, expand your skills, and bring home new techniques (alongside your yarn treasures).

GLATTFELDEN & HUTTWIL

After the festival glow, we’ll venture into the Swiss countryside for a visit to a family-run wool hub dedicated to all things fiber. Here, sheep and other animals are part of daily life, and you’ll see how raw fleece becomes yarn, fabric, and more. The workshops and shop offer everything from knitting yarns to spinning fibers, felting supplies, and cozy woolens.

We’ll pause for a hearty serving of house strudel before continuing on to a nearby cheese dairy to discover how Switzerland’s famous wheels are made. The highlight? A fondue lunch—because some things really are worth melting for. We’ll return to our hotel full of cheese, yarn, and happiness.

DEPARTURE

With bags full of yarn and hearts full of memories, we’ll say auf Wiedersehen to Switzerland and head for the airport. Safe travels home—until our next adventure together!

Sydney is a knitter, spinner, crocheter, dyer, and felter. She loves to explore how different local cultures work with fiber.  At one time Sydney managed Quail Hill Farm including sheep for fiber and meat as well as pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, too many cats and dogs, plus various types of poultry. She took her sheep wool from shearing to dying, using her own dye plants, to spinning to knitted garments.  Sydney grew up in NYC and Switzerland and is fluent in French, Italian, and German. She worked for many years as a French teacher and mentor in Waldorf Schools. Before that she worked as a financier on Wall Street and she now uses those skills for strategic planning at Rowan Tree.

Irina Shaar is a passionate knitter and the creator and host of Fiberchats, a YouTube channel dedicated to celebrating the global fiber arts community. Through her engaging video interviews, she spotlights knitters, crocheters, and designers from around the world, exploring their stories, techniques, and inspirations.