The Art of Natural Dyeing for Wool

Program Overview

---

The Art of Natural Dyeing for Wool

Course Overview

Discover traditional artisan natural dyeing knowledge and techniques on this immersive 2-day course focusing on the colouration of wool. Framed by the historical importance of natural dyeing and colour, this course presents the art of dyeing with plants as a craft in its own right.

Key Details

• Location: Penryn Campus
• Course duration: 2 days
• Tuition fees per individual: £300

Course Leader: Irene Griffin

Irene has worked in the field of sustainable Textile Design for 16 years, specialising in growing and using natural plant dyes. She has worked as a Technical Specialist for BA Textile Design and a Visiting Lecturer for MA Sustainable Fashion at Falmouth University; as well as on the Arts & Humanities Research Council’s ‘S4S Designing a Sensibility for Sustainable Clothing’ research project. She has also hosted the ‘Sustainable Clothing Futures’ and ‘Applying Cornish Wisdom’ symposium events. In 2023, she conducted a research trip across Japan visiting traditional natural dye studios to explore the specialist natural dyeing techniques unique to each region. She brings all this knowledge and teaching experience to this course to share with you.

How You'll Learn

Irene delivers this course with a combination of research-based knowledge and practical demonstrations. You will learn via demonstration and be supported as you get hands-on with each stage of the process. We will work in a small group so that there is plenty of time for individual attention.

Who is This Course For

This course is for anyone with a keen interest in natural dyeing, design practice, textile making, visual arts, 3D crafts, and creative practice. You may want to learn more in-depth about natural dye, or you may be a knitter or weaver or creative crafts person looking to broaden your practice to include naturally dyed yarns. This course is suitable for all levels from beginner through to more experienced practitioner.

What to Expect

Expect the invitation to work with ‘nature as teacher’ on this course, with two days focused on sustainability in the world of textile design offering a meaningful, biophilic learning experience. You will gain hands-on experience as well as engage with academic and historical content as we explore each stage of the sustainable dye process, with the theme of connecting to nature through our sustainable practice.

This will be an in-depth course, with hands-on practical experience of each step of the natural dye process together with supported notation for your samples so that you can create your dye and recipe folder for further learning after the course.

An outline of the timings to expect each day is below.

• Arrival: 9.30am (welcome, refreshments, and a discussion of the day ahead)
• Morning session: 10am – 1pm
• Lunch: 1pm – 2pm
• Afternoon session: 2pm - 5pm

What to Bring

All materials you will need are provided. Please wear suitable shoes and bring a suitable coat to explore our campus gardens in case of rain. We’ll supply a lab coat for the natural dyeing sessions but bear in mind you’ll be working with dyes, so we recommend wearing clothes that you don’t mind getting messy just as a precaution.

Tea and coffee will be provided each day. You may wish to bring a reusable water bottle with you.

What We'll Provide

All materials you will need are included in the course fee, along with tea and coffee each day.

Food and Drink

Tea/coffee is included, with all diets catered for. Please note: lunch is not included in the course cost, we recommend bringing a packed lunch or visiting one of our on-campus cafés.

Location

This course is taught in our professional-standard textile studio and natural dye lab facilities at our Fashion and Textiles Institute, in a lovely light-filled building on our Penryn campus. On day one, we will also be exploring the beautiful campus grounds and gardens to forage for a range of plants and natural materials that we can experiment with to make dye.

There is plenty of parking available on our Penryn campus and you can also reach us via a range of public transport options. You can find out more, here.

Eligibility

Suitable for people with a keen interest in natural dyeing, design practice, textile making, visual arts, 3D crafts, and creative practice.

You may already have some experience of dyeing and wish to extend your knowledge into dyeing yarn, or you may be a beginner. No previous experience or prior knowledge is required.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in this course cost. If you would like to book accommodation, please see our accommodation for short course students page for a range of options.

Accessibility

There are wheelchair accessible areas in the textile studio, however there are some limited access areas that are used in this course. These are some areas of the campus gardens, the dye lab and the screen wash area. Unfortunately these are not step-free. Please contact us if you have questions about accessibility requirements.

How to Apply

To apply for this course, make your selection from the available dates below, this will take you to an event page where you will be able to book yourself onto the course via the Book now link.

Upcoming Short Courses

• Natural Dyeing for Wool
  • Thu 31 Jul 2025
  • 2-day course 31 Jul - 1 Aug | £300

Similar Courses

• Bio Materials: Making Seaweed Plastic
• Introduction to Risograph Printing
• Introduction to Screen Printing onto Textiles
• Natural Dye For Beginners: Design and Print Onto Silk
• Weave a Wall Hanging on a Table Loom