Join horticulturist and plant dyer Julia Billings for a 3-day intensive on transferring the colours found in plants onto yarn and fabric… Set outside at Gartur Stitch Farm and full of practical skill-building and joyful exploration, it should give you the skills and confidance to develop your own dye practice! The workshop will be non-residential and will take place from 12-5 on Friday and from 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday.
We’ll cover all the steps involved in dyeing; exploring the potential of the flora found in our landscape and our pantries and sourcing exotic, traditional dyestuffs; preparing and mordanting fibre; setting up and working with both a dyebath and an indigo vat; overdyeing to create complex colours; keeping records of dye experiments; useful dye resources; safe dyeing practice and other tips for dyeing with plants and other natural materials.
Day One:
Beginning on Friday at 12pm, we’ll meet as a group for a shared lunch and get our bearings around the farm. We’ll then spend the afternoon looking at fibre selection and preparation, setting up mordant baths to prepare yarn and fabric for dyeing and head out to collect local dyeplants around the farm for our dyebaths.
Day Two:
On Saturday, we’ll fire up the dyepots and work with numerous dyebaths made from local and imported raw material to dye a range of colours and, using the first and subsequent baths, a range of shades. We’ll also explore overdyeing and the use of modifying agents to expand our range.
Day Three:
Sunday will be focused on indigo- we’ll follow the steps involved in creating an indigo vat and, while it rests, look into the history of this old and venerated dyestuff and explore methods of folding, clamping, binding and stitching fabric to create patterning. We’ll dip our fibres multiple times to achieve a good depth of colour and overdye shades dyed on Saturday to make greens, teals, purples and other complex colours.
Level: Beginner
Skills required: None
Included: Lunch, snacks and drinks, a set of the shades dyed in the workshop on yarn mini-skeins and fabric samples and comprehensive notes on everything covered.
Please bring: A pen, notepad, closed shoes suitable for walks around the farm and plenty of layers- most of the workshop will take place outside and Scotland can be cool and rainy, even in midsummer. Some natural dyes stain so please bring an apron or wear clothes that can handle a few splashes.
Please note that the retreat is held on a working farm with lots of free-range animals and there will be plenty of opportunities for pats over the weekend.
Tickets on sale December 2021