🌿 Professional Natural Dyeing Course 2026

🎓 One-Year Professional Natural Dyeing Course (2026)

Starting on the 13th of January 2026

Payment Options:

⭐ Pay in full now — €1550

Monthly plan also available (€145 × 12 months)

Once booked, you’ll be invited into our private course platform with an introduction module that outlines your year ahead. From there, your learning journey begins!

❓ Still unsure if it's the right time to join?

You're warmly invited to watch the Info & Q&A Zoom session recording
📍 follow this zoom link to see the recording

 Passcode: ezbS+#1E

I’ll walk through the course, answer your questions, and help you feel confident about joining.

🧵 Want to Stay in the Loop?

Join our free Natural Dyers Academy community to receive updates, attend live dye-alongs, hop into open Zoom sessions, and explore our student work showcase for inspiration.

✨ When you purchase the course, you'll automatically become a full Academy member for two years—giving you access to all Co~Lab spaces, member-only threads, and bonus experiences.

Please note: Co~Lab access is available only to current students and paid Academy members.

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💳 Payment Details

This listing is for a once-off payment of €1,550 for full access to the 12-month course.
Prefer monthly payments? Head to the €145/month listing.

🇮🇪 Irish Students – NOTS-Funded Option

We’re delighted to confirm that Irish students are eligible for 40% funding through NOTS.

To access the discount:

The course must be booked directly via NOTS

Monthly payments are not available for this option

NOTS will also cover part of the Fibre & Dye Box 

Course Details | NOTS Courses

📚 What’s Inside the Course

This is a 12-month online learning experience built around project-based work, tailored to your fibres, tools, and studio practice. It includes:

12 learning modules (released monthly)

Live Zoom meetings twice a month

Recordings available after each session

Access to topic-specific support spaces

1:1 feedback session during your final project

One optional 4-day in-person module in August

Course certificate upon completion of the portfolio work

🗓️ Monthly Topics

January: Fibres and their differences

February: All about Mordanting

March: Using Tannins

April: Creating Blues

May: Creating Yellows

June: Creating Reds

July: Creating Purples

August: Secondary Colours & Modifiers

September: Lake Making and Other Processes

October: Printing and Advanced Techniques

November: Industry Standards & Personal Project

December: Final Projects & Presentations

🧺 Materials & Tools

You'll receive a detailed materials list after booking. Optional discounted starter kits include:

Ready to Go Dye Box

Fibre Starter Box

Have a preferred supplier? Great—use your regular fibres and fabrics to keep your portfolio fully aligned with your personal practice.

🌱 Growing Colour

Five bonus sessions led by Tristan Lienhard teach you how to grow and harvest dye plants like Woad, Madder, and Weld, with an emphasis on organic methods and seed saving.

💬 What Past Students Say

See work from past students in the Exhibition Gallery of the Academy.
Scroll down for testimonials from the 2024 cohort—they speak volumes!

🎓 Outcome

By the end of this course, you’ll be ready to:

Run your own professional natural dye practice

Integrate dyeing into your creative business

Confidently teach others

Or simply become a deeply informed and creative home dyer

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« The Natural Dye Course offered by Apple Oak has been a wonderful experience. It's a well blended curriculum of the history and science of natural dyeing. Jennifer does an excellent job or leading and supporting her students through the course work. She provides support through problem solving, expanding on specific topics as needed and presenting clear and concise information. It is also a very accessible platform that has made it easy for myself who has a learning disorder (reading is hard) to navigate and use. Overall I would highly recommend the professional dye course to anyone seeking to further their knowledge of natural dyes and the fiber arts through dyeing. - Valeria Q. (Ireland)

« I have found this course really worthwhile, Jennifer is super knowledgeable, helpful and patient. At the beginning I was a little overwhelmed by the portfolio work involved but once I got stuck into it, I’m absolutely loving it! Seeing colour appear before my eyes from only tannin and iron has been so amazing and I can’t wait to move on to the other colors!!- Caroline B. (Switzerland)

« I am a complete novice when it comes to natural dying. The course sounded very comprehensive and supportive so I decided to give it a whirl. I am now almost 5 months into it and am absolutely loving it so much. Although it took me a while to get my head into the space of measurements and science, Jennifer and Tristan were very supportive with questions asked and made sure everyone was on the page. It has opened up a whole new world to me and I would thoroughly recommend it. There has been a lot covered so far so my advice would be to tip away at the work so that it doesn't become overwhelming especially if your a beginner like myself. I'm looking forward to meeting the class in person and seeing the studio in the flesh. - Louise G. (Ireland)

« Jennifer and Tristen have put together an amazing course!  I have been naturally dying for for a number of years and thought a knew a lot, until I began my journey with The Natural Dyers Academy.  Each module brings something new, and shifts my way of looking at a process.  Although the Academy is over zoom, it never feels impersonal.  The cohort of learners are so willing to help one another and to offer encouragement.  Jennifer has really created a nurturing learning environment. Jennifer and Tristin are always available if a question arises and you never have to wait until the next meeting to raise a question.  I am so excited about creating my own work portfolio and plan on filling in with more of my own recipes based upon what I am learning.  - Joanmarie S. (USA)

Below you can see what you will need for the year. Please note that these are estimated quantities — the final amount will depend on how large or small you like to dye your samples. Nonetheless, this selection should be sufficient for the full course year.

Not included: organic laundry liquid, organic washing-up liquid, white vinegar

Mordants & Modifiers:
1 kg Alum
1 kg Soda Ash
300 g Cream of Tartar
500 g Sodium Acetate
1 kg Chalk
1 kg Ferrous
1 kg Tara
500 g Lime
1 kg Wheat Bran
250 g Fruit Sugar
125 g Tartaric Acid
125 g Citric Acid
25 g Fuller’s Earth
25 g Guar Gum

Dyes:
1 kg Oak Gall (ground)
250 g Pomegranate Peel (or Myrobalan, ground)
250 g Catechu
250 g Rhubarb Root (ground)
250 g Natural Indigo
100 g Cochineal
500 g Madder (ground)
500 g Madder (cut)
1 kg Weld
1 kg Dyer’s Broom
1 kg Sage Leaves (cut)
100 g Logwood (ground)

🌿 Please note: This supply box is optional for the One-Year Professional Natural Dyeing Course. If you already have a trusted dye supplier, you are warmly encouraged to source your own materials. The course will guide you in building a portfolio of reference samples, and as every dye source varies, your results may differ slightly — adding richness and individuality to your work.