Hand Dyed Designs

Hand Dyed Designs: A Guide to Dyeing Textiles with Plants

Author: Katie Ellen Wilkins

Author and maker Katie Ellen Wilkins of Studio Tinta has ideas for curious beginners through to seasoned dyers. The first part of the book focuses on the essential information you'll need to know before you begin the dyeing itself. This includes how to choose the best fabrics, an explanation of the different mordants, necessary equipment and how to store dyes. The second part highlights Katie's favorite dye plants, from marigold and madder to avocado pits, and has instructions for common dyeing techniques like bundle dyeing and immersion dyeing. In the final part of the book, Katie shows you how to create 18 beautiful fashion and homeware pieces with your dyed fabrics, from an indigo linen robe to madder and marigold dyed socks to a pomegranate and geranium silk eye mask. Packed with stunning imagery of the dyeing process, textiles and project ideas, Hand Dyed Designs will inspire you to walk outside and make art with nature.

Katie Ellen Wilkins is a textile artist who works with natural fibers and natural dyes. She is the founder and creative behind Studio Tinta, a natural dye studio located in Newcastle, NSW. Since 2018, Studio Tinta has serviced creatives worldwide with natural dye education, dye kits and unique hand-dyed textiles. Katie's work has been featured in Frankie (including being shortlisted for the Frankie Good Stuff Awards), Peppermint, Vogue, Broadsheet, and The Guardian. In 2020, each batch of her hand-dyed silk pillowcases sold out quickly. In 2021, she launched Natural Dye School, an online course that has attracted hundreds of students worldwide with a particularly strong following in Europe, Australia and the US. She also runs in person workshops on the east coast of Australia. Katie also works with natural inks and paints to make artwork on paper and fabric.

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