Painting with Natural Dyes

In this workshop, we will be delving deeper into the world of natural dyes with a more advanced look at other techniques of applying natural dyes to fabric and cloth. We will be using natural dyes such as Cochineal, Logwood and others in a more concentrated form to be applied either with a brush or with a stencil to form patterns on fabric. There is an overnight dry time for the dyes to dry. The next day, we will be stream-setting our dyes. Then we can either leave the backgrounds white or over-dye them for more color variety and impact. We will have practice pieces to work on which the instructor will provide. You can bring up to 4 fabric items - clothing, cloth, napkins, pillow cases, etc. as long as the items are made with 100% natural fiber such as cotton, linen, wool, silk, hemp, bamboo, etc (or a combination such as linen/cotton). It’s good to have a basic understanding and some experience with natural dyeing, as we will be reviewing and discussing mordants, modifiers and pH. There will be a detailed handout sheet with photos explaining this technique in detail along with recipes for further exploration. 

Level: Intermediate

Instructor: Jennifer Woodruff

Click here to read Jennifer's biography!

Class priced to reflect the 20% Summer Series Discount!

Members: Members: $80

Non-members $96 

Materials Fee: $15

Materials provided: Fabric, dyes, mordants

Student should bring: 4 items from home made of 100% natural fibers. Can be a combination of clothing, kitchen tea towels, napkins (set of 2 or 4 counts as 1 item) scarves or plain fabric.

Optional: Natural dye kits including six dyes and mordants will also be available for sale the day of the class for $50. These kits are not required for the class but an option to take home the materials to keep honing your skills!

Interested in a Local Cloth scholarship? Apply here!