Materials saved from the landfill: fabric, onion skins/food waste, rusty nails Skills you’ll learn: processing dye materials, dye resist techniques Natural dyes are a beautiful and sustainable way to bring color to textiles. In this workshop, natural dye artisan Erin Luna will show you how to create dye baths from locally foraged plant matter. Participants will learn how to process a few readily accessible dye materials, like black walnuts, goldenrod, and onion skins (subject to seasonal availability), to create hand-dyed fabrics in a neutral color palette including shades of yellow, olive green, brown, and black. Participants will be able to create test strips from each dye bath to keep for future reference. We will also provide a few larger pieces of fabric, such as repurposed bandanas made of 100% natural white cotton that have been prepared in a mordant. Participants will learn some dye resist techniques as well as the use of an iron modifier to change the dye color results.
