A comprehensive course consisting of twelve in-person sessions that will provide students with extensive knowledge and skills in all aspects of natural dyeing and using plant-based colour in their practice run by Slow Lane Studio*
About the Course
The course, held monthly at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, will cover different types of natural dyes, mordanting and alternative pre-treatments of fibres, modifying colour, growing dye plants, achieving a full colour spectrum, over-dyeing and using compound colours, dyeing paper and many other subjects. Over the duration of the course, students will work with more than twenty different dyes, producing yarn and fabric samples from natural fibres including cotton, linen, silk and wool; finishing the course with a library of over 200 naturally-dyed samples. Sessions will also explore how to use natural colour for printmaking and painting, making lake pigments and creating watercolour paints and inks.
The course focuses on using colour from plants that can be grown and cultivated in the UK such as weld, madder, buckthorn and Japanese indigo. Students will also learn about traditional dyes including logwood, sappanwood and cutch, the use of local colour such as hawthorn and meadowsweet, how to set up various types of indigo vats and different approaches to natural dyeing processes.
Students will have access to an online study group with ongoing support and contact between the monthly in-person sessions. Everyone will be encouraged to complete homework projects over the course of the year, with a final project and associated work showcased at an end-of-course exhibition in the gallery at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. As part of the course, you will be given individual membership of the Botanic Garden, which provides twelve months of free, unlimited access and other benefits. One session will be held in person at Jacqui’s studio and dye garden, Slow Lane Studio which is twenty minutes drive from the Botanic Garden.
The National Botanic Garden of Wales, based in the Tywi Valley in Carmarthenshire, has 500 acres of gardens, restored parklands and a nature reserve to explore. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features the world’s largest single-span glasshouse. Alongside it’s many collections and plants (which include dye plants), the Garden holds events, attractions and activities on a regular basis and it is an inspiring place to visit – a perfect place to run a course about plant-based colour.
The aim of this course is to provide students with the techniques, processes and understanding to be able to independently and knowledgeably use natural dyes within their work and their creative practice. At the same time working together and learning from each other forms a large part of the course structure and is something that previous participants of my similar courses have enthused about. A year-long course allows relationships and friendships to develop and you can expect to complete the course with a supportive group of natural dye peers and colleagues to further your work and practice.
You’ll finish the year with the experience and skills to confidently choose the best natural dyes to achieve specific colours, how to recreate them and how to shift tone and hue with the use of simple ingredients.
Dates:
Saturday 11th April 2026 – Saturday 13th March 2027 (every second Saturday of the month).
April to October: 10.30am – 5.00pm
November to March: 10.30am – 3.30pm
Cost:
£850.00 (payable in three instalments if preferred)
Cost includes all materials and dyestuffs required for the course, alongside one-year membership of the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Please email Jacqui at hello@slowlanestudio.co.uk if you have any questions or queries about the course.
*Please note – this workshop is run by an external company and hosted at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. For any questions or enquiries, please contact Slow Lane Studio directly using the email address above.