Colors from the Garden: Natural Dyes

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Christiana Key

Event Planner Facebook Group Cover - 8.10.24 - Nat Dye

Colors from the Garden: Natural Dye with Sarah Wagner

Colors from the Garden: Natural Dyes

Explore the wonder of natural dye over a weekend at Crabtree Farms! Colors wrought from nature are beautiful, and this workshop will provide a process for making them at home! We will explore both hot and cold water dyes and answer the questions of how to make plant and bug dyes stay in fiber and not bleed out in the first wash or two (we will use alum). We will explore how to achieve many colors including how to get yellow (bring onion skins!), purple, red, (as well as explaining how to make blue—indigo dye class coming soon!!).

Divided over two days, we will gather materials on Saturday morning, prepare our fabric, and make cold water dyes to set overnight. On Sunday morning we will make many pots of dye (some tried and true dyes will be provided) and experiment to dye a rainbow of colors.

Please bring:

Things to dye, paper, clothing, fabric for small projects!

Plants you want to experiment with (anyone have osage available?)

Onion skins (collect as many as you can)

An apron and rubber gloves

Old towels

Covered containers (large yogurt or larger) to bring home “spent” dye

Scissors

And if you have them…

Large stainless or enamel pots

Electric burners

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About Your Facilitator:

Sarah Wagner is a textile artist, sculptor, and writer. Her sculptural installations often whisper questions about complex issues through ephemeral-looking animals made of sewn fabric over wood or steel armatures. She recently completed a book of writing and drawings titled “The Cancer Show”. She has shown and published her work nationally and internationally and has taught art at several universities and institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago and Penland School of Crafts.