A Year Of Plant Based Colour Making

A year long online course starting in September 2024 - Offering an in depth introduction to botanical colour applications for textiles and paper, from plant foraging and cultivation, to making dyes, inks, paints, crayons, print-pastes, & more. Fostering connection with nature, while cultivating technical skills, artistic exploration, and creative community.

  • Identifying plants that are effective for colour extraction and application. Learning how to select the right plants for your project.

    We will work with a mixture of wild foraged plants, common garden plants, and specialist plants you can grow or buy.

    I will share a permaculture approach to starting your dye garden, and a guide to safely and responsibly foraging for dye plants.

    We will also cover harvesting, preserving and storing plant material.

    Identifying plants for textile dyeing, ink and paint making, crayon making, bundle dyeing, and printmaking.

  • Selecting the right fabrics and effectively treating the fabrics with mordants (fixatives) is key to success when natural dyeing.

    We will cover various mordanting techniques including three approaches to plant based mordanting, as well as mineral mordants for cellulose and protein fibres.

    You will get access to colour samples that demonstrate how different mordants react with different fabrics and dyes.

  • Step by step process for extracting plant dyes and applying them to textiles.

    Approaches for extracting plant dyes minimising water and energy use. Different approaches for working with woody and tender plant materials. Working with heat sensitive plants, and waxy plants.

  • Organic Indigo vat dyeing is a traditional technique using indigo pigment to create shades of blue. Indigo is also useful for over-dyeing reds and yellows to make lightfast purples and greens.

    Learn how to make, maintain, dye with, replenish, and dispose of an indigo dye vat.

    Shibori, sashiko,and arashi are Japanese resist dyeing techniques where fabric is manipulated before dyeing to create unique patterns. Participants will learn how to fold, bind, or twist fabric to achieve these intricate designs.

  • Bundle dyeing involves wrapping fabric around plant materials and then steaming the bundle. This process allows for the transfer of natural pigments from the plants to the fabric, resulting in interesting and organic patterns. Learn what fibres, plants, modifiers, and mordants work best for this process.

  • An introduction to four techniques for making inks and paints, including making lake pigments. Identifying reliable and effective plants for pigment. How to use binders, preservatives, and additives. Working with metals, acids, and alkalis as to fix and transform colours on the paper.

  • Learn how to make effective natural wax crayons from earth pigment, plant pigments, and fungi.

    A recording of a live demonstration, supported by online learning resources with links to materials, extra pre-recorded content, and written instructions.

    Learn about various natural sources for pigment including plant pigments and earth pigments.

    Tips on grinding, and blending pigment, and forming crayons.

    I share a process with which you can go out and see what pigments you can find to make crayons with. This will include some very simple approaches you can use with children as well as a more technical approach.

  • Learn how to make pastes by combining dyes, extracts, modifiers, or mordants with suitable binders reactants, and solvents. Explore techniques for achieving the desired consistency and texture in your pastes. Gain practical insights into application methods, drying, and post-treatment.

    We will look at simple approaches to applying print pastes, including silk screen printing, potato printing, and directly applying the pastes with a brush.

  • How mordants can be utilised in textile printing. Discover the process of applying mordants to fabric surfaces, before dyeing creating vivid and long-lasting prints through chemical bonding with dyes.

  • Applying plant dye print pastes to textiles. Including drying, fixing, and layering colour.

    How to create multiple colour prints with just one dye plant through the application of modifiers on dyed fabric.

Course Content:

Course Structure:

  • Online Learning Resources

    A new chapter of resources will be shared each month, taking you on a journey of growing, dyeing, drawing, painting, and printmaking with botanical colour.

    Containing over 15 hours of video demonstrations and written step by step instructions for each process.

    Dye and print colour samples showing commonly available plant, mordant, fabric combinations that are effective.

    The chapters will build on each-other becoming more technical as we work through the year.

  • A Community Of Colour Makers

    Connect with a global community of colour makers through the monthly live study group sessions and sharing the community group on Discord.

    The monthly two hour zoom meet-up is partly an open space for emergent discussion and conversation. Members are invited to share your explorations, questions, work in progress , and completed work to get feedback, as well as find out what others are up to and be inspired by this.

    The 12 sessions are facilitated by Flora, who will be available to answer questions related to the learning resources and handbook. Questions can be emailed in advance of the sessions.

    Flora has been organising online study groups for natural dyers and ink makers since 2020. she sees supportive creative community as a key ingredient for being inspired and creatively energised. The emergent conversations and collaborations that come from these spaces fas led to community projects, exhibitions, and collaborations.

    You can also join a smaller breakout learning groups on Discord based on interest or local region for you to connect with.

  • Monthly Emails From Flora

    You will receive an email each month, introducing a new chapter of the course, and prompting colour making tasks for the month.

    There is a lot of information to take in on this course. The monthly emails will I will break it down in to small tasks you can fit in to your life over the year. These emails will form a step by step guide you can follow each month, or follow at your own pace.

    The homework tasks will build on each-other enabling you to create beautiful dyed and printed textiles, as well as inks, paints, and crayons.

2024/2025 Study Group Session Dates: 2024 - September 11th, October 16th, November 13th, December 11th. 2025 - January 15th, February 19th, March 19th, April 23rd, May 28th, June 25th, July 30th, August 20th. Wednesdays 4-6pm GMT

The course does not officially start until September, however you will be able to sign up from March 2024 and get access to resources on growing and foraging for dye plants, and studio set up in order to start preparing.