Creating Fabric Dyes with Plants

Plants, bugs, and minerals contain more than meets the eye. In fact, they hold a rainbow of colors that humans have been dyeing vibrant fabrics with for millennia. In this workshop, walk in the steps of your ancestors and learn how to create yellow and orange dyes with a simple household staple – onion skins – and how to apply that knowledge to more plants and bugs found in the Houston region or in the garden. This workshop will cover preparing fabric for natural dyes, extracting natural color from plants and bugs, and binding fabric for intriguing patterns with basic Shibori (tie dye) techniques. Participants will dye two cotton handkerchiefs.

About the Instructor: Molly Koehn (mah-lee kayn) is a Houston-based artist, weaver, and teacher. She engages in a deep process of learning local ecology through observation, recording, and sampling, using local plants for textiles and baskets. This work is fueled by material kinship and a vision to preserve and expand urban green spaces through community making.

NOTE: This class is hosted at Finca Tres Robles urban farm located at 5715 Canal St, Houston, TX 77011 just around the corner from TXRX. Please email classes@smallplaces.org with any questions.

At Finca Tres Robles, we strive to make our classes accessible to all who wish to participate and provide scholarships to help make that possible. If you would like to attend this class but may not be in a financial position to pay the cost, please complete our Class Scholarship Application and a Finca Tres Robles staff member will be in contact with you for next steps.

Weather Cancellation Policy: Classes may be cancelled by Finca Tres Robles in the case of severe weather; however classes will not automatically be cancelled due to rain. Please stay in contact with farm staff if concerned about weather. Classes will be rescheduled as necessary.