The Experience
A Week of Color in the Dunes
Maaike van Geijn invites a group of knitters to her home ground. Maaike lives in the area of Bergen, a small town bordered by the sea, dunes, and the woods in the North of Holland. For this retreat, Maaike has developed a brand-new workshop program focused on stranded colorwork, in which we will work on an exclusive design inspired by the beautiful landscape surrounding her.
For a week, the group walks with Maaike through the dunes, woods, and along the beach, collecting colors and motifs and working together on the design of the retreat.
You will choose your own nature inspired color palette and knit on the project during the retreat. For adventurous knitters, Maaike offers a version of the project that lets you customize it further using your own creative skills. The design is exclusive to the retreat, and you will see it come to life in the place that inspired it.
You walk first. The knitting follows.
The Timetable
Dates & Duration
- Dates — 19–25 September 2027
- Season — early autumn
- Duration — 7 Days / 6 Nights
- Group Size — 10 guests
The Creation
What You’ll Carry Home
Maaike has built a new workshop programme for this retreat, and an exclusive design to go with it. The palette comes from the walk, the greens of the woods, the greys and golds of the dunes, the North Sea light, and the flat fields beyond.
- Six workshops in stranded colorwork with Maaike
- A yarn kit for the retreat design, included
- An exclusive pattern made for this week and this landscape
- Guided walks through dunes, woods and beach, collecting color as you go
How it works: The group gathers photographs, notes, sketches, and found objects, then translates them into color and motif before casting on.
The Sanctuary
Where You’ll Stay
Blooming is a hotel inside a nature reserve outside Bergen, North Holland, with woods on all sides. It began more than 70 years ago as a folk high school. The sea is 15 minutes away by bike, and you can walk to the coast through the dunes.
Our group stays in two buildings on the same property. 5 of our rooms are in the Blooming Villa, a house in the forest where each bedroom has a private bathroom, and the other rooms are in the hotel. The Villa stands on the hotel grounds and the two are connected, so the whole group is together all week.
The kitchen cooks with produce from the hotel’s own garden. Between workshops you can use the indoor pool and the sauna, and you can book a massage at the hotel salon at your own cost.
- Region — Bergen, North Holland
- Rooms — a room of your own, or one shared with a friend
- Dining — all meals included
- Getting there — one hour from Amsterdam
Guided by People Who Care
Maaike van Geijn – Knitwear Designer
Maaike is a Dutch knitwear designer and teacher based in Schoorl, on the Dutch coast. Color is her specialism: stranded colorwork, marled knitting and textured stitches, translating traditional techniques in a contemporary way. She has taught in yarn shops and festivals across seven countries, her work published in Laine Magazine and La Bien Aimée, and this retreat takes place on her home ground: the woods, dunes and coast she walks and designs from.
Hosted by TerraGo. Our retreats are fully curated with dedicated concierge hosts on site, taking care of all scheduling details, food setups, and translation support.
Inclusions
What the knitting retreat in the Netherlands includes
Included
- Six nights at Blooming, in a shared or private room, breakfast each morning
- Six half-day workshops with Maaike, plus guided walks in dunes, woods and beach
- All meals included;
- The yarn kit for the retreat design, and the exclusive pattern
- An outing to Alkmaar, and visits to some of Maaike’s favorite spots around Bergen
- Dedicated TerraGo concierge support
Not included
- Travel to and from Bergen
- Comprehensive personal travel insurance
- Your knitting needles
- Drinks outside meals
The Journey
The Rhythm of The Week
Each day starts with breakfast at Blooming. Some days the workshop with Maaike is in the morning and you have the afternoon free to practice. Other days the morning is yours and the workshop is in the afternoon. We share fresh food every day, with lunch served between the workshops and dinner together in the evening.
Maaike also leads guided walks to her favorite places around Bergen, weather permitting, and the week includes an outing to the nearby town of Alkmaar. In your free time you can swim in the pool and warm up in the sauna, then settle into the jacuzzi or the hotel bar. Blooming is an easy place to switch off, so bring your swimsuit.
- Workshops — With Maaike every day, on stranded colorwork and the retreat design.
- Free time — To knit and practice at Blooming, or enjoy the spa.
- Dinners — Together every evening.
You arrive on Sunday 19 September. The detailed schedule reaches you a few days before the retreat starts.
Pricing
Pricing & Payment
- Price — from €3,150 per person for a shared room, available only to friends booking together, or €3,650 for a private room. Both include the room, meals, workshops and the yarn kit
- Deposit — a deposit holds your place, with the balance closer to the date
- Places — up to ten knitters, so the week fills quickly
- Final balance — payable 90 days before the retreat start date
Further Reading
Before You Come
- What Actually Happens at a Knitting Retreat • The shape of the week, from the first morning to the last evening.
- Knitting Retreats Near Me, and When to Get on a Plane Instead • How to decide whether a week abroad earns the flight.
- Every Knitting Retreat Worth Booking in 2027 • What else is running next year, and how this week compares.
- Craft Retreats in Europe in 2027 for Makers Traveling from the US • What the trip looks like if you are flying in from the US.
Other Retreats
- Colorwork Knitting in Algarve, Portugal • Stranded colorwork socks above the dunes at Carrapateira, May 2027.
Before You Book
What to Know First
The design for the week is stranded colorwork, and it is built for advanced knitters. If you are still finding your way around charts, the Algarve week is the better fit.
- Experience — Advanced knitters. The design is stranded colorwork, and the week moves at the pace of someone who has knitted a few of them.
- What you make — A piece in the exclusive design Maaike made for this retreat, in the colors you gather during the week.
- On your feet — Optional walks in the woods and the dunes, on sand and uneven paths, and an optional morning on a bike to the coast.
- Getting there — The easiest way is to fly into Amsterdam Schiphol. From the train station inside the airport, a train takes you to Alkmaar in around 45 minutes. Alkmaar is the closest station to the hotel, and from there a taxi gets you to the door in about 15 minutes for approximately €20 to €30.
- What to bring — Your own knitting needles. We will let you know which ones to pack closer to the start date.
- Rooms — A room of your own, or one shared with a friend.
Not sure the level is right? Send us a photo of something you have knitted and we will tell you.
