Join Kelly Pierson of Green Eyes Dye Studio and Watauga Arts Council to discover the craft of natural dyes with flowers and plants!

In this 8-hour workshop over two days, participants will learn the foundations of using plants as natural dyes and will feel confident dyeing fabrics at home from start to finish. Participants will learn about the tools and supplies necessary to successfully dye textiles with plants at home, locally sourced dye plants from WNC and other resources to obtain natural dyes, how to clean and pre-treat fabrics to allow dyes to bind, how to coax colors out of dye plants, and ways to modify colors using pH or iron to create a rainbow of color. Participants will leave with a solid foundation for natural dyeing and examples pieces using 3-4 different natural dyes.

Workshop will cover:

• Tools and supplies needed for dyeing with plants at home

• Fabrics for natural dyeing and pre-treatments including scouring, tannins, and mordanting

• Examples of dye plants that you can source or forage locally, and other resources to purchase dyes

• How to extract color from various plants and how to modify dyes to create other unique colors from one plant, with participants taking home examples

$130 per person + $25 supply fee