Solar Dyeing & Cyanotype

Solar Dyeing & Cyanotype

Have some crafty fun in the sun with Lara and Sunshine in the At Birkhill House Dye Garden.

By At Birkhill House CIC

Date and time

Sat, 25 May 2024 14:00 - 16:30 GMT+1

Location

At Birkhill House

Birkhill House Earlston TD4 6AR United Kingdom

Refund Policy

Contact the organiser to request a refund.
Eventbrite's fee is nonrefundable.

About this event

  • 2 hours 30 minutes

Join Lara and Sunshine for a fun session of solar dyeing and printing at Birkhill House. Harness the power of the sun to create naturally beautiful yarn and stunning cyanotype prints using flowers and plants from the At Birkhill House dye garden.

Sessions last 2 hours* and refreshments will be included.

Easy, eco-friendly and sustainable, solar dyeing is a great way to play with colour without lots of expensive kit and many of the beautifully shaped garden plants suitable for cyanotpye can be used as a natural dye as well! Combining the two activities is a fantastic way to explore multiple uses for the same materials.

Solar dyeing also offers loads of choice for personalisation, and because of the natural process, no two jars will ever come out the same. Let the unique and unknown outcome empower you to experiment with dyestuffs from your surroundings.

Pre-prepared cyanotype paper, natural plant dyestuffs (both dried and fresh) and 50g of pre-mordanted British yarn will be provided. Jars will too, but if you happen to have any that are 1 to 1.5 litres you no longer need, they would be greatly appreciated.


*We will be setting up your jar on the day, but it will take a couple months for the sun to work her magic. You will be able to take your jar home and witness the daily display of transformation, opening it when you like.

Additional natural dye supplies and kits will also be on sale on the day.

Please note – Part of the session involves collecting fresh dyestuffs from around Birkhill and weather dependant, we may be enjoying the outdoors for the entire session. So please dress appropriately.

Ages 14+


Why not make a day of it and book the morning session of Eco-printing and Petal Paints as well? Plenty of time in between to enjoy a seat by the alpacas if you wish to bring a picnic lunch.

Organised by

At Birkhill House CIC

At Birkhill House CIC is an animal assisted activity and crafting centre near Earlston in the Scottish Borders. Our mission is to improve mental health in the Scottish Borders through caring, creativity and collaboration.

Working with local makers and artists, we offer a mixture of modern and traditional crafting opportunities ranging from pewter casting to embroidery, stained glass to paper making. We are in the process of developing our fleece and fibre programme, putting an emphasis on traditional hand-processing techniques such as skirting, picking, carding and spinning. Making the most of our connections with local fibre artisans, we offer workshops in knitting, crochet, weaving and felting. We also stock kits with patterns specially designed by local makers for At Birkhill House. Our workshop programme, kits and products allow us to support our animals and our partnership projects.

The focus here is on wellness and mindfulness – taking a moment out to be compassionate and nurture the creative side in all of us.

Set on nine acres of beautiful land about 30 miles south of Edinburgh city centre, the workshops take place in renovated stables dating back to the early 1800s. With a rich farming and equine history, the property is now a busy small-holding, whose residents include Huacaya alpacas, rare breed Castlemilk Moorit sheep, pygmy & Golden Guernsey goats, Ragdoll cats, hens, ducks, peafowl and more.

Please visit our website for detailed directions to Birkhill House >>