Nature’s Colors: Dyeing with Plant Material

This in-person workshop will be held at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center.

$75; $60 for MOFGA members (includes silk scarf & printed materials.)

Join this hands-on workshop for an introduction to the world of natural dyeing using plant pigments! Indigenous peoples have been dyeing cloth, baskets and other objects for many generations. Many plants and trees growing on this land have been used for this purpose – from bloodroot to black walnut to blackberry. This workshop will cover the steps involved in natural dyeing as well as some of the rich worldwide traditions of using pigments from plants, insects, and minerals. 

At this workshop you will learn about plants that can be cultivated for dye, including Dyer’s Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) and madder (Rubia tinctorum), as well as plants that grow wild and can be foraged. These include Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and various goldenrods (Solidago species), as well as other types of leaves, bark, and roots.

We will dye fabric samples using locally available plant materials and participants will each dye a silk scarf to take home. The instructor will also discuss the basics of growing plants for dye in your garden.

This workshop has sold out. To be added to the waitlist please email [email protected].