Responsive Resource Series: Wool workshops- Natural Dying

On Sunday 20th November we had the pleasure of being guided through the process of natural dying by Artist Katrina Wilde. Alongside her sister Nadine, the duo have been teaching textile based workshops across the north west connecting people to natural material and processes. Using wool sourced from farmer Joanne wood, we were taught the history of natural dying and the current method used in the mass production of dyed and synthetic fabrics and the effect they have had on the environment. Participants were guided through the preparation of the fabrics, and introduced to a number of process we would be using, and the natural materials we would use to create the dye.

Many of these are accessible to people, onion peel, pomegranate, madder, dyer’s chamomile, marigolds, buddleia, nettle, iron, citric acid, soda ash and found objects. The natural hues that were created show a stark contrast to the bright mad made colours we are used to in mass produced fast fashion. These swatches were created to be used later in the weaving workshop with Nadine