Masterclass > Natural Dyeing with Heather Thomas
Join natural dyer, designer and maker of textiles, Heather Thomas, for a special skills-based Masterclass. This class will introduce
you to the world of natural dyeing with plants. We will prepare certain fabrics to receive colour by mordanting them with alum and iron.
Understand how these minerals make the natural colours strong, fast to light and washing. Learn about plants you can forage, grow or buy for
a range of beautiful colours. We will simmer plants and prepared fabrics together to create natural colours on wool, silk and cottons. See
how a range of colours can be created from one dye pot. These techniques can be repeated at home to discover what colours may be hidden
inside the leaves in your garden and used to dye clothing, fabric or yarn for making.
Students are welcome to bring clothing from home to discuss with me how they could dye worn items to revamp them or colour new ones with
natural dyes at home.
| WHEN | > Sunday 13 November |
| TIME | > 10AM to 4PM |
| VENUE | > Linden Workshop, rear 26 Acland Street, St Kilda |
| COST | > $50 |
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Heather Thomas is a Melbourne based natural dyer, designer and maker of textiles. Heather has been exploring the plant kingdom and working with natural fibres and plant colour for more than two decades. Her practice is embedded in the research and process of the extraction of natural colour.
Her research encompasses the cultural breath of natural colour production histories and is particularly interested in the contemporary revival of such practices globally. Heather runs a natural dye studio and label Wild Heather that promotes this vision. She imparts her knowledge and expertise through hands on workshops using traditional natural dyes, indigo and native flora.
Heather has collaborated with local artists, designers and fibre producers, each of them requiring tailor made solutions to working with natural colour.
Heather holds a Diploma of Arts in Studio Textiles and Design RMIT, (2011). She is currently a Churchill Fellow (2019) investigating established international botanical dye studios to see how such models may be translated locally.