The Dyers’ Group, information and resources
All Guild members can join the Dyers Group as part of the membership package. Anyone with an interest in dyeing and it’s uses, whether a seasoned professional, a learner, a quiet observer, a specialist or a generalist is welcome.
Our current interests and experience cover dyeing, printing, eco-printing and ink making using fabric, thread, paper and plant material for spinning, weaving, knitting, quilting, garment making, embroidery and painting. In recent years we have started doing group projects for exhibitions and shows. We mainly use natural dyes and many of us grow our own dye materials or forage from the local environment.
We have an amazing range of knowledge and experience within the group. Some members run their own teaching practices, some focus on their own art or craft practice and others are completely new to dyeing. We all share an enthusiasm for our craft and the Guild aim of educating and sharing with others.
We meet regularly to share what we have been working on and to exchange information and opinions about exhibitions, workshops and courses. Between meetings we chat on What’s App. Our meeting schedule is here.
Meetings are either in person at the Burridge Gardens Community Centre off Danvers Avenue, Clapham Junction, SW11 1AR on Saturday mornings at 11:00 am prior to the afternoon monthly Guild meeting or early on a weekday evening by Zoom.
Dyeing at Southwark Cathedral 2023
Learning resources
in London
Most of us have been on multiple courses and continue to take more. We’re happy to discuss our favourites with anyone who comes to our meetings. Below are some of the courses members have been on recently:
Morley College offers courses in dyeing and printing at its Waterloo Centre, 61 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7HT.
The City Lit and West Dean also run courses
The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers organises a summer school every two years and one or more of the courses will be for aspects of both synthetic and natural dyeing.
Botanical Colors , Seattle based but they run online courses and lectures, some are free.
The VandA offers occasional courses
Several of us are currently doing an online course printing and painting course with Plants and Colour
Other places
Ria Burns specialises in wool dyeing, based in Bristol
Sarah Burns specialises in block printing, based in Sussex www.sarahburnspatterns.com
Natural Dye Supplies
Foraging
There’s a wide range of dye stuff available for free to foragers in London including Oak Knopper Galls, Bramble, Common Reed, Buddleia, Alder cones, Daffodils and Ivy. It’s also possible to forage in your kitchen, saving onion skins and avocado stones for orangey browns and pinks.
Ethical Guidelines:
- Only forage from abundant growth
- Only take what you need
- Respect private and protected land
- For safety avoid polluted land and check plant ID.
- Don’t pick unless you’re 100% sure what you’re picking and how to use it.
- Pick flowers when they are wilting
- Leave plenty for seed production and for other species to use
Growing your own plants
If you’ve got your own garden, then you can have weld, woad, madder and anything else you fancy at you fingertips. Without a garden it’s still possible to grow some dye plants in pots, Japanese Indigo works well in hydroponic systems, Indian Madder loves a warm spot out of the frost, marigolds and coreopsis are happy in small spaces.
Many of our members grow their own plants and can advise on how to get started.
Buying Responsibly
Look for suppliers who are transparent about their sources and emphasise quality, sustainability and fair practices. A few we’ve used are listed below:
Wild Colour Small business selling dyes and mordants with lots of useful information on the website
George Weil Craft supplier with a blog on their website
DT Craft and Design small business selling natural and synthetic dyes and mordants
Books, Magazines
‘Wild Colours’ by Jenny Dean, Mitchell Beazley 2018 (revised edition) ISBN 9781784725532 Highly recommended, nearly every dyer has a copy.
‘The Art and Science of Natural Dyes’ by Joy Boutrup and Catharine Ellis, Schiffer 2018, ISBN 978-0-7643-5633-9 Lots of recipes and explanations of how things work
‘The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing’ by Jim Liles. University of Tennessee Press, 1990, ISBN 9780870496707 This book is very comprehensive with tried and tested dyeing methods.
The Colour of the Sea and Sky by Helen Melvin a self-published concise and informative guide to indigo dyeing.
“Natural Dyes” Dominique Cardon, comprehensive study of nearly every plant dye in the world. Expensive but will save you buying several other cheaper books
The Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers – published quarterly by the Association of Guilds. Guild members can subscribe at a discounted rate.
Useful websites and You Tube
Botanical Colours is a supplier from the USA whose website contains a wealth of information and a popular series of ‘Feedback Friday’ videos.
Nature’s Rainbow for a blog on dye plant horticulture, in person workshops and online sale of seed.
Michel Garcia, an expert dyer has two websites: https://www.michelgarciatutorials.com/ and https://michelgarcia.fr/ and a you tube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MichelGarcia-jf1zv
Social Media
Many of our members have websites or are on Instagram. Here’s some of our pages:
Anne Barwick and Forest Dye Garden
