Dyeing - Natural Dyeing Using Native Australian Plants
Under the tutelage of Belinda Evans of Alchemy, learn how to prepare wool and silk yarn and fabric for natural dyeing, choose plant materials, and use those materials to dye with.
Teacher: Belinda Evans
Workshop Duration: Full Day
Description: In this full day workshop, you'll learn how to prepare and mordant wool and silk textiles for natural dyeing to get the best colours from your natural dyes and help make them colourfast, how to collect and prepare native plant materials for yarn dyeing, and how to use those materials to dye wool and silk textiles.
We'll use foraged native Australian flora and simple equipment and ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen to dye wool yarn. You'll be able to use the skills you learn at this workshop to dye wool and silk yarn and fabric in small or larger quantities to knit, crochet and weave with. The techniques you learn will work on any new or vintage wool or silk textiles so you will be able to create something new or bring new life to an old piece. We'll also go through keeping records of your dyeing to help you to achieve consistent colour results.
Materials: Materials supplied: prepared wool yarn, natural dyeing equipment and locally foraged native Australian plant materials for you to dye with. There will be a materials cost of $25 for yarn and other dyeing materials and equipment
Bring a pen, notepad and apron and wear warm clothing as we will be working outdoors for some of this workshop. Please note that natural dyes can stain clothing so make sure that you wear something that you wouldn't mind getting a few splashes of colour on.
Takeaway: You'll take home samples of yarn and fabric that have been dyed in the workshop and detailed notes on the preparation, mordanting and dyeing process for wool and silk yarn and fabric.
Level: This class is suitable for beginners and those with some natural dyeing experience who want to learn more.
So I wrote last week a post asking “Is my making fast fashion?”. And then I did a video on Instagram discussing similar topics in a slightly different way. And as always, you lovely humans have helped me clarify some of my thinking with your thoughtful, clever commentary.
And while I think there is so much more to discuss, here are four key possibly-more-meta ideas that have come up for me out of those conversations.
In using the quote last week that suggested that there was no single answer, and suggesting that this was freeing, I really did mean that we should sit in the grey. Not that the lack of “an” answer to this question should mean we get to ignore the question but rather that the lack of “an” answer means that we need to keep asking bigger more beautiful questions. And keep asking them.
Is my making fast fashion?
Am I living my values or merely thinking them?
And how can I make those two things a little more aligned in this moment?
These are my big beautiful questions.
Yours might be different.
And importantly this leads to point 2.