Natural Dye and Embroidery Workshop

Indigo, avocado and Marigold Dyes

That's a wrap on our Natural Dye and Embroidery workshop, marking the end of our Summer Workshop Season. Throughout the course of the summer, I met many people and together we explored many things, from Botanical prints, Aromatherapy, Artisanal Bandhani, to Natural Dye and embroidery. It was fun to step outside of my Indigo Shibori routine, while still mixing in a few techniques in this last workshop. 
 
We started out in the dye garden by applying various Shibori techniques to 11" pieces of natural fiber, i.e. vintage cotton, linen, canvas, and muslin. Everyone picked something that inspired them. Some even chose to use 2 different types of fabric. Each guest received 2 pre-cut fabric squares to dip into a dye bath of their choosing! We used 3 of my all time favorite natural dye colors: indigo, avocado and marigold and a collection of my accumulated Shibori tools and materials. 

all photos by Sara Cohen unless otherwise noted.

Keep on reading to see the stunning from our super creative group of participants, see the demo by fiber artist, Lori Zimmerman, who co-instructed this workshop. 

Many participants chose to dive in to the indigo vat. First, we folded and clamped our pieces using some modern Shibori techniques. I find, indigo works well for an apparel piece, as it oftern reads as denim or neutral. We worked small pleating and binding with little itajime shapes. Another student used an Arashi pole binding technique. 

Here they are after 2-3 dips into the vat, all hanging up to dry! One piece is destined to become the outer shell of the clutch, while a second piece works as the clutch pocket. We made design decisions a but later in the process and for me that was the best part of the class. 

While some worked with indigo others chose marigolds as dye. In my experience, marigolds can yield very bright colors when fabric is prepared with a mineral mordant such as Aluminum Acetate, which is used for natural dyes on cotton. 

I brought the marigold to simmer in a steel container. I let it boil until I see the whole bath become a bright orange. For this dye bath, I used 4-5 large flowers. Later Tina, decided to toss her indigo Shibori square in to the marigold dye bath and achieved the amazing color combination shown below. Here top piece is Indigo overdyed with marigold, and her bottom piece is brazilwood over-dyed with marigold.

While everyone' pieces hung out to dry, we headed inside for an embroidery demonstration with fiber artist, Lori Zimmerman. ​She showed the group various running stitches, sashiko, and how to running stitch a piece of applique. 

Embroidery, running Stitch and Applique

All the hand-dyed pieces served as the creative canvas for the embroidery. During the last hour, we really dove in to the embroidery, and some guests decided to continue their embroidery at home. 

Once the embroidery was complete!, Lori transformed our 11" hand-dyed squares into clutches, complete with magnetic clasps, lining and interfacing! Both Lori and I, felt so excited about the quality and way these turned out, we decided to create a few limited editions for  the shop, click below to shop! 

Be sure you are signed up for my mailing list to receive monthly updates about all workshops, events and e-courses! 

Join now!

Stay tuned for our Fall workshop line-up, soon to be announced! I am so excited about the new season of workshops. One workshop will explore a technique that I have been secretly dying to learn for years. 

What textile techniques are you currently interested in exploring? ​