Dyeing and printing Classes

To view more information on our dyeing classes, please visit our Events Calendar. Register for classes by calling the shop at 203-245-5921 or email. 

natural dye workshops with forage color 2024 (www.foragecolor.com)

Natural Dye Rainbow.  With Jackie Ottino Graf.  Saturday, June 29, 2024.  10 AM- 4 PM.  $175.00.  $50.00 deposit holds your space.  Call 203-245-5921 to register.   

Nature offers us all the colors of the rainbow- we just need to figure out how to get them onto our fibers! This workshop is perfect for the absolute beginner to the more experienced dyer looking to learn a few new tricks. Dyeing wool yarn, we will work with 8-10 different dyestuffs in several forms: wood shavings, fresh plant material, dried plant material, insects, roots, extracts….and create around 15 colors. 

We will go over fiber selection and prep, proper mordanting, and how to maximize our efforts for deep rich colors. 

Materials fee covers all yarn, dyes and handouts. You will leave with at least 15 mini skeins, enough for a small project!

Please bring note taking materials and a way to bring your wet yarns home with you such as plastic bags or a basin. Please also bring everything you may need to be comfortable with a day outside: sunscreen, food/drinks, knitting etc. 

Indigo Happy Hour!  With Jackie Ottino Graf.  Sunday, June 30, 2024.  10 AM- 2 PM.  $80.00.  $25.00 deposit holds your space.  Call 203-245-5921 to register.  *CLASS FULL- WAITLIST ONLY.

Indigo is a plant based blue dye originating in India and prized for centuries for its ability to produce fast deep blues on all fibers. Indigo has been traditionally used in many cultures as a dye, from Japanese to African, each culture lending its own patterns and techniques. 

In this informal workshop we will build a simple Indigo vat and get into all the blue we can handle. I will provide unlimited indigo, some materials for creating patterns on fabric and yarn and show you everything I know. We will go over lots of details about the care and feeding of indigo but mostly this is just party time. 

You should bring: approximately 2 pounds of anything you want to be blue. Indigo will dye all fibers: cotton/linen/hemp and wool/silk/alpaca. Consider yarn (undyed or previously dyed) raw (clean) fibers, smaller pieces of clothing like t shirts, dresses, leggings, linens like napkins or fabric yardage. 

Please also bring at least one shallow basin such as an aluminum roasting pan or dish pan for catching blue items and for transport home.

Mycopigments

Mushroom and Lichen Dyes of the Northeast with Alissa Allen

Sponsored by Madison Wool

56 Wall Street, Madison CT  06443

July 14-16th, 2023 -Madison, CT

Mushroom and Lichen Dyes of the Northeast. When: 9 AM -4 PM each day- July 14th-16th, 2023. Cost: $690.00 - Preregistration is required. Please call Madison Wool with any questions: 203-245-5921. Register here: https://www.mycopigments.com/collections/classes

Supplies: $45 includes fungi, samples, a foraging kit, and an informational booklet (supply fee can be paid at class)

In this three-day workshop, we will explore the brilliant range of colorful mushroom and lichen dyes found in the Northeast region. Using locally available fungi and the latest extraction techniques, we will dye over 20 samples resulting in an extended rainbow of colors!  

On day one, we will take a slow walk through a nearby woodland to observe mushrooms and lichens in their natural habitat, while getting a deeper, hands-on understanding of their ecological niche. Using the tools in our foraging kits, we’ll observe and discuss fungal features, perform chemical spot tests on lichens, and take field notes of our finds. We’ll discuss the difference between collecting specimens for identification, dyeing, and dye testing.  After our walk, we’ll return to the dye studio to make spore prints and test our mushrooms and lichens for color.  

On day two we will work with a selection of local dye fungi to extract and reveal the rainbow of color available within the region. We’ll go over the precise techniques required to obtain optimal results from each dye group.  

Day three is dedicated to pairing your favorite fiber with fungi and observing the dyes on others’ fibers. Bring multiple small bundles of your favorite wool or silk to work with (yarn, felt, fabric, or fluff). Aim for bundles weighing 1 oz or less to get maximum color representation. Secure your fiber if loose, wash and label it with your name and the dry weight for easy calculation. No need to mordant as we will mordant in class. We will aim to dye a minimum of six oz per person, but bring as many smaller selections as you’d like; you may be able to dye more. 

By the end of the workshop, you’ll be able to confidently carry on with your own dye experimentation at home. You’ll have experience looking for target species, working with mordants and pH modifiers, making larger dye vats of commonly found species, and utilizing exhaust baths to achieve even more color variation. You’ll take home a compact guidebook that goes through all the steps for working with the dyes, which includes a color guide to the best local dye species. You’ll have samples and the recipes used in class and you’ll have enough mushroom-dyed fiber for a small project. Bring large and small containersif you are interested in taking home left over dye.

Read more and register at https://www.mycopigments.com/collections/classes

Alissa Allen is the founder of Mycopigments. She specializes in teaching about regional mushroom and lichen dye palettes to fiber artists and mushroom enthusiasts all over the world. Alissa got her start in the Pacific Northwest and has been sharing her passion for mushrooms for over 20 years. She has written articles for Fungi Magazine and Fibershed, is published in Nature's Colorways: Conjuring the Chemistry and Culture of Natural Dyes, Long Thread Media, and her work with mushroom dyes is highlighted in True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments by Keith Recker, Thrums Publications. In 2022, Alissa and a crew of dedicated volunteers hosted the 19th International Fungi and Fiber Symposium in Port Townsend, WA. 

In 2015, Alissa created Mushroom and Lichen Dyers United and the Mushroom Dyers Trading Post Facebook groups as a platform to mentor, connect, and facilitate discussion between her students and folks with less access to her classes. These groups along with her prolific workshop offerings and informational dye booths have brought together a vibrant international community of over 30,000 members. Though her teachings are centered around regional fungal dye palettes, her overall mission is to inspire people to engage more deeply with nature. It is her hope that with engagement, commitment to care for our planet will grow exponentially.

Experience the Magic of Eco Printing

With Kathy Johnson (www.kathyjohnsonart.com). Saturday September 28, 2019.  10 AM- 4:30 PM.  $115.00 (includes all supplies) $50.00 deposit holds your space.  Call 203-245-5921 to register. Snacks, water and tea provided; bring a lunch (refrigerator and microwave available, or local takeout).

Come experience the magic of eco‐printing on paper, a process of making direct contact botanical prints from the natural pigment found in plants. Combining contemporary print techniques with historic methods of natural dying can result in stunning one of a kind plant portraits captured on paper. 

●       Experiment with a variety of papers including – printmaking & watercolor paper, deli paper, and book pages  

●       Try two techniques for making paper bundles: layering cut and folded sheets and rolling long strips.  

●       Explore the use of iron water and copper water as mordants and incorporate natural dyes. 

●       Work with two methods of heating: steaming and simmering in water. This is where the magic of pigment to paper transfer happens!  

●       Discuss safety procedures and the sustainable practice of foraging and gathering plant material.  

The unpredictable and often surprising result is what makes the process of eco printing so exciting. Prepare to be wowed by Mother Nature’s magic! 

Your finished eco prints can be used for making books, journals, cards, tags, scrolls, collages, as a foundation for stitching and drawing, and can be embellished with items such as small twigs, shells, stones, or small pieces of metal. 

No experience necessary. All tools, supplies and most plant material will be provided. If you can, please bring a few shrub or tree leaves, and flowers you might like to try using.

Nothing too fleshy (succulents) and nothing toxic. 

Teaching artist Kathy Johnson loves all things paper and plants. She works in the mediums of collage and eco printing and likes to find and repurpose natural and manmade items in her art, everything from coffee filters and junk mail to candy wrappers and leaf skeletons. Her passion for plants and gardening blends well with the eco printing process by supplying her with an abundant source of fresh plant material. She became interested in and started eco printing on paper in 2013 and has been teaching the process for the past 2 years.

Eco-Print II: Now what?  With Kathy Johnson.  Sunday, September 29, 2019.  10 AM- 3 PM.  $85.00 ($25.00 deposit holds your space).   Bring a lunch or order out; snacks, water and tea included.  Call 203-245-5921 to register.

Wondering what to do with all those eco-prints you made?

Bring them and any other prints or papers you have and transform them into unique and meaningful works. Learn simple bookbinding techniques so you can try a variety of fun book styles. Take those less than perfect prints and enhance with watercolor, pencil or ink. Combine with other papers to make a one of a kind collage. Use basic stitches (running stitch, French knot, etc.) to embellish or to attach natural elements (feathers, bark, sticks, dried leaves, etc.) to your work. Bring your favorite quote or short poem to incorporate into your pages. Focus on just one project or try as many techniques as you’d like.

Supplies & tools that will be available for you to use: Cards and envelopes (enough to make 3 cards per person), watercolor paints and pencils, brushes, walnut ink, micron pens, scissors, embroidery thread and needles, glue sticks, acrylic medium, an awl and paper piercing tools, bone folder, rulers, cutting matts, paper cutter and paper punches, papers and backing board for collage. I’ll bring my favorite bookbinding and paper folding books to supply plenty of ideas and examples to inspire. Feel free to bring any of your own favorite tools or supplies that you would like to use. 

This class is open to anyone who has papers or prints of any kind that you would like to create with. 

Backyard Bundles:  Eco printing with Amy Lou Stein.  Sunday, September 9, 2018.  10 AM-5:00 PM.  $120.00.  $50.00 deposit holds your space.  Class includes all materials (dyes, fabric, etc).  Snacks, water and tea provided.  Microwave and refrigerator available, plus take out from local restaurants.  All levels welcome (ages 13+ to adult). 

Eco-printing is a technique developed by Australian dyer India Flint, which involves bundling leaves in cloth or felt and then steaming or dyeing the bundles in a plant based dye vat.  Natural dyeing in this way inspires us to care for where our clothes came from and where they will travel to, and how we, as people, can lessen our footprint with textiles.

Students will make beautiful printed fabric from foraged and discarded flowers and leaves.  We will press, wrap, tie, steam and cook--petals, leaves, metals, fabric & bark. Bring a special rock, twig, metal object, button or other small item to add to your bundle. We will talk about "no-impact" dyeing methods and how to re-use, re-purpose and alter existing garments. We will have a class discussion about fibers, mordanting, foraging and safety.

About Amy Lou:   Amy Lou is the owner of Craftwork Somerville, www.craftwork.rocks and is a dyer, spinner, knitter, crocheter and all around lover of crafts.   

All class materials are to be purchased from Madison Wool. Unless specified, class fee does not include pattern or materials. To register for classes, call the shop at 203-245-5921 with your information and deposit (credit card).  We will accept mailed checks as well. Many classes from visiting teachers require you to register directly with them.  Please call or email us with any questions. If we cancel class for any reason (usually only due to weather or teacher illness), you get store credit or you may take rescheduled class. Class deposit/fee non refundable five days prior to class; cancellations prior to this get store credit less deposit. We take extenuating circumstances into consideration, so please let us know as soon as possible if you cannot attend a class.