In this hands-on workshop you’ll explore the potential of dye plants grown in the museum’s Dye Garden and foraged locally.

The Workshop

The session begins with a short walk to forage for leaves and flowers that produce natural colours. You’ll learn how to prepare and apply natural dyes to wool, cotton, silk, and linen, how to create a dye bath, and how to use solar jars for smaller quantities of yarn and fibre.

All methods used will be safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. This course is ideal for those looking to deepen their knowledge of dye plants and natural dyeing techniques.

Lunch is included in the ticket price.

About the Artist

Fiona is a weaver and dyer with a BA from Camberwell School of Art and a postgraduate teaching degree from the London Institute for Education. She helps manage the Dye Garden at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, finding deep reward in the process—from growing dye plants to dyeing yarns and using them in her textiles.

Passionate about the unique qualities of plants and the colours they yield, Fiona aims to help others reconnect with nature through foraging and growing dye plants for creative projects. She has led natural dyeing workshops for the National Trust, the Forest School Association, and local artists and schools. Recently, she collaborated with Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings MBE on Drawn to the Light as part of Double Weave: Bourne and Allen Modernist Textiles at the museum.