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A Year in Natural Dyes
Announcing
✨A Year in Natural Dyes✨
2025 Plant Themes
✷ Fresh Tutorials: ALL NEW CONTENT ✷
***REMEMBER Tutorials can often employ many different types of plants successfully - so even if you don’t have access to the months’ themed plants, you can still use the techniques & recipes shared - lists & references to other plants & dyestuffs that are relevant for each month’s tutorial will always be provided!
✷January- Madder ✷February- Medicinal Plants ✷March- Mordant Masterclass ✷April- Local Plants Part 1 ✷May- Local Plants Part 2
++ Don’t worry that my local plants may differ from yours- these Tutorials will be focused on reaping the MOST from YOUR REGIONAL PLANTS. This month will cover my favorite resources & methods for DISCOVERING YOUR LOCAL DYE PLANTS & some exceptional GUEST CONTRIBUTORS bringing their foraging/growing & dyeing expertise.
✷June- Chamomile & Coreopsis ✷July- Indigo ✷August- Cosmos Flowers - Multicolored Varieties ✷September- Buckthorn & Weld ✷October- Marigold,
✷November- Food Waste Dyes ✷December- Pressed Plants- Many Different Leaves, Flowers & Plants!
+Plus EARLY ON in 2025 you will receive a detailed Tutorial on: ✷ HOW TO PRESS & PRESERVE PLANTS FOR ECOPRINTING ✷
Get a new Tutorial
teaching different techniques EACH MONTH
***REMEMBER Tutorials can often employ many different types of plants successfully - so even if you don’t have access to the months’ themed plants, you can still use the techniques & recipes shared - lists & references to other plants and dyestuffs that are relevant for each month’s tutorial will always be provided!
Join any time of the year either…
☟As a pay MONTHLY member
— Or as a pay YEARLY member ☟
(& get 1 month FREE)
The YEARLY subscription gets you 1 MONTH FREE ✨A Year in Natural Dyes✨ grants you private access to monthly natural dye education. Each month you will receive in-depth natural dye tutorials, & valuable information to keep your dye pots & journals busy throughout the year. Tutorials contain plant profiles, process resources, recipe(s), step by step directions & beautiful accompanying imagery. When Tutorials Retire, you receive the download to keep & reference FOREVER!
Did you know you can
-GIVE- ✨A Year in Natural Dyes✨ to Someone Else
& GET 1 MONTH FREE ?!
with a
*NEW December 2024 Tutorial : ScreenPrinting with Natural Dyes
by Madeleine McGarrity of
Cold & Deadly
Click the ‘Sign Up’ above or button below to join A Year in Natural Dyes & immediately access the Tutorial
You will receive a PDF copy after it retires to keep & reference FOREVER
December’s Tutorial Includes:
Detailed Overview of SceenPrinting
Numerous resources: materials, dyes, mordants & more
How to make your own designs & transfer to screens with multiple methods ranging from accessible / doable at home to advanced & professional
Multiple ways to create multi color images on fabrics using natural dyes & printing pastes (Outlines of the Process Possibilities: mordant, dye & discharge printing)
Step by step directions to print with mordants & immersion dye- With a FOCUS ON COCHINEAL- learn why this dye is so special & capable of creating a whole array of colors.
This process works with ANY NATURAL DYE (except for Indigo because of its unique chemistry as a dye), & the Tutorial includes a spotlight on working with the multitudinous Cochineal- capable of making MANY different colors
How to make a lake pigment (Never waste another precious dye bath again!) & explanation of its usefulness in the printing process for optimal results
ACCESS to Cold & Deadly’s Rigorous Systems of testing Natural Dyes including insights on Clearing Background color for the most STRIKING PRINTS, additives & KEY dye process elements for the best possible printing results.
Print absolutely anything you can dream up with natural color!
November 2024 Tutorial : Tannin & Iron Printing
by Kenya Miles of
Blue Light Junction
Click the ‘Sign Up’ above or button below to join A Year in Natural Dyes & immediately access the Tutorial
You will receive a PDF copy after it retires to keep & reference FOREVER
November’s Tutorial Includes:
Step by step directions for effective application of dyes & the alchemy of Plant TANNINS & IRON
Tannins and their many CLASSIFICATIONS for the dyer including which common plants belong to each class.
PROPER PROCEDURE and process to create CRISP & detailed prints THAT DO NOT BLEED (even after many washes) on any natural fiber including the more challenging to dye cellulose fibers like cotton!
Explore the diversity & abundance of Plant Tannins- find them in your local environment and/or source dependable & traditional plant tannins from the ethical suppliers recommended in the Tutorial.
The SCIENCE behind Tannins magically turning BLACK with iron modification and WHY it is such a durable dye/mordant complex!
TROUBLESHOOTING on how to save your work if you make a mistake! (bleeding, splashes, unintended brushstroke, etc.)
October 2024 Tutorial :
Protein Painting, Dyeing & EcoPrinting with Food Waste
Click the ‘Sign Up’ above or button below to join A Year in Natural Dyes & immediately access the Tutorial
You will receive a PDF copy after it retires to keep & reference FOREVER
Go BEYOND Soymilk & learn to use accessible effective natural dye binders and food waste you already have at home!
October’s Tutorial Includes:
How to decide what pretreatment is right for your process (dyeing or EcoPrinting) & dyestuff of choice including expectations of color tone and durability depending on your fixative
Supplies, Tools & Resources including my favorite dyeables.
NUMEROUS Protein binders beyond soymilk. How to clean & prepare fabric and make protein binder for immersion dyeing & painting.
How to Extract Dye for Immersion Dyeing from food waste dyes such as Onion Skin, Avocado Pit/Skin & Pomegranate Skins, etc. & the different hues achievable depending on the prefixative process.
How to save, extract & extensive guidance on achieving the pinkest results dyeing with Avocado pits and skins.
How to pre-treat materials effectively with Metal mordants like alum & iron
How to creatively EcoPrint Garments with accessible food waste and food bearing plants/tree trimmings.
Additional creative applications for food & food waste printing- Dye holiday table linens/napkins, aprons, socks, garments & gifts for yourself & loved ones!
*BONUS Tutorial : Food Waste Indigo Vat- Pumpkin Edition
Don’t throw out your leftover Jack-o-lanterns or pumpkins! Use them to make blue dye! Learn how to make use of seasonal food waste to create an Organic Indigo Vat. This is a bonus to the brand new Food & Food Waste Dyes Main Tutorial!
The YEARLY subscription gets you 1 MONTH FREE ✨A Year in Natural Dyes✨ grants you private access to monthly natural dye education. Each month you will receive in-depth natural dye tutorials, & valuable information to keep your dye pots & journals busy throughout the year. Tutorials contain plant profiles, process resources, recipe(s), step by step directions & beautiful accompanying imagery. When Tutorials Retire, you receive the download to keep & reference FOREVER!
A Year in Natural Dyes
Join Now to Journey with me throughout the year learning all about natural color.
FAQ’s
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• You want to learn the ins and outs of natural dyeing with practical explanations for what is going on
• You’re a beginner OR an expert
• You love getting brand new educational offerings monthly
• You’re looking for creative prompts with detailed directions that inspire you to make beautiful color without using mysterious synthetic ingredients
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• Yes! With the Pay/Monthly membership: You can join, cancel, pause and restart your membership at any time.
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• You can start your AYIND membership at any time during the year!
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• Yes! There is a NEW Pay/Yearly option- click the green tab above the ‘SIGN UP’ button to change the pay frequency for your membership before purchase to Pay/Monthly or Pay/Yearly.
AND Pay/Yearly gets you one month FREE!
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• Yes! The monthly tutorials are thorough with step-by-step instructions on natural dye techniques & will help you attain a much a deeper understanding of natural dyeing. Materials & resources links to my favorite ethical & sustainable fabric & supplies vendors are included along with a complete supplies list.
• Coming from 10 plus years of professional arts education, I pour an immense amount of thought, & consideration into my tutorials with the participant in mind. The tutorials are full of visuals helping guide you the maker through the technical aspect of the natural dye process with clarity.
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• No matter your region or season A Year in Natural Dyes can offer value employing the techniques with a variety of different plants you have available.
• So even if you don’t have access to the months’ themed plants (madder, weld, marigolds, etc.) you can still use the techniques & recipes shared - lists & references to other plants & dyestuffs that are relevant for each month’s tutorial will always be provided!
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• Perhaps one of the best things about A Year in Natural Dyes is that at the end of each month you’ll get a downloadable PDF of the Tutorial you can keep FOREVER! There’s no rush, life is busy- and you can always reference the information you paid for in the future in whatever timeline works best for you!
• This means that if you live in a different region or hemisphere with opposite seasons, you can take full advantage of the digital copies that come with A Year in Natural Dyes, to save for when you and the local plants are ready!
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Tutorials can often employ many different types of plants successfully - so even if you don’t have access to the months’ themed plants, you can still use the techniques & recipes shared - lists & references to other plants and dyestuffs that are relevant for each month’s tutorial will be provided! The wonderful thing about A Year in Natural Dyes is that so many of the plants used are interchangeable.
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Not a problem! We’re always happy to help, send us a message here.
How the Subscription Works
Each month subscribers to A Year in Natural Dyes will have access to new Natural Dye Tutorials in the Private Membership section of my website. A Year in Natural Dyes is a rolling monthly subscription where old content expires each new month. After content retires- Subscribers receive downloadable PDF versions of their subscribed months’ content to keep and reference forever!
Content each month will include:
-plant(s) profile
-detailed tutorial with step by step directions
-resources for dyes, mordants, materials (garden & studio relevant)
-inspiration & prompts for discovery
-seasonal bonus dye plant growing or harvesting tips
The content will live in the Membership section of my website where you can comment, ask questions & share any knowledge you may have.
And if you’re looking for more in depth natural dye learning opportunities check out my:
