Discover the alchemy of natural dyes! Learn how to unlock the plants ‘tinctoria’ to discover all the dye plants growing around you. The serendipity of making pigments from plants combined with the ancient traditions of natural dyes yields unique and colorful results. I will guide students through exploring ways to work with natural dyes and capture the beauty of the seasonal palette. Every student will receive a kit in advance so they can create their own flower dye color chart. This is a 2 part virtual class taking place on June 5 and June 12 from 10:30-11:30am Pacific Time.
The first class will cover general natural dye techniques, types of flowers/plants and walk through the process of making dye baths and dyeing the fiber, which the students can do in real time with the instructor from their own home. The second class will look at the participants' results from the previous week and walk through how to finish off their fibers with a soy milk dip. We will wrap up the class making a lake pigment with one of the dye baths and setting it up to strain, rinse and dry. The instructional craftbook will allow everyone to continue their exploration in more depth at their own pace.