Natural Dyeing with Alice Herring

About

During this fun, hands on class, you will gain an understanding of how to work with natural dyes. You will learn how to prepare fabric using mordants and how to extract colour from plants. You’ll discover the wizardry when we play with acidic and alkaline modifiers as well as metallic salts. This will show you how you can shift tone and expand the colour palette into even more enticing shades.

We will spend the final section of the day having a go at the wonderful technique of Bundle Dyeing. This method creates beautiful abstract patterns with a scattering of harmonious colour. It requires letting go of preconceived ideas around outcome - leave that to nature.

You’ll depart the workshop with a dyer’s manual to remind you of the processes so you can do it at home, your colour samples to begin your dye recipe book  and your own bundle dyed tote bag. Whether you’re a keen textile enthusiast, studying textiles at school, college or university, have a keen interest in sustainability or are simply just curious to learn, everyone is welcome.