🌿 1-Year Professional Natural Dyeing Course 2028

Starts 11 January 2028 · Live Online · International Cohort

More than recipes. Build the knowledge behind natural dyeing.

A structured, mentored one-year programme for textile artists, makers, educators and dedicated natural dyers who want to develop a thorough understanding of natural dyeing and build a substantial body of practical work.

Throughout the year, we work step by step through fibres, tannins, mordants, dye plants, indigo, secondary colours, pigments, printing and other processes - combining recipes and practical dyeing with the science, history and understanding behind them.

You will learn how and why different processes work, how fibres and mordants influence your results, how to distinguish between fugitive and lasting colour, and how to make informed choices in your own dye practice.

At the same time, you'll build a substantial natural dye portfolio of documented samples, recipes, comparisons and observations. This becomes your own working reference library: Useful for future projects, client work, teaching, further experimentation or simply continuing to develop as a knowledgeable hobby dyer.

📣 Watch the Course Talk replay here

Passcode: ezbS+#1E

🌱 Who Is This Course For?

You don't need to be planning a professional career to take natural dyeing seriously.

This programme is suitable if you want to:

• develop an in-depth understanding of natural dyeing
• build a reliable studio reference portfolio
• add natural dyeing to an existing textile or creative practice
• work towards setting up your own dye studio
• develop work for clients or collections
• teach natural dyeing in the future
• or simply become a highly knowledgeable and confident hobby dyer

The aim is not to teach you a collection of isolated techniques, but to give you a strong foundation from which you can continue developing your own practice.

📚 Learning Natural Dyeing as a Whole

Recipes are an important part of the programme.

We learn how to apply them carefully and successfully, but also explore why they work.

Natural dyes are variable materials. Plants change according to growing conditions and harvest, fibres respond differently, water can influence results and even carefully repeated dye baths may produce colours that are close rather than identical.

Understanding these variables is part of becoming a good natural dyer.

Throughout the year, we also pay particular attention to colour fastness: learning which dyes produce durable colour, which are more fugitive, and how that affects the way we choose and use natural dyes.

📁 Build Your Own Natural Dye Portfolio

Portfolio work runs throughout the entire programme.

Rather than simply completing individual projects, you'll gradually create a substantial collection of documented dye samples, recipes, observations and comparisons.

Your portfolio becomes a practical resource you can continue using after the course:

for your own studio practice · client work · teaching · planning collections · experimentation · future research

It also provides a tangible record of how your knowledge and skills develop over the year.

What’s Included

✔ 12-month structured online curriculum
✔ Printable PDF course modules and learning resources
✔ Two live Zoom sessions each month
✔ Recordings of all live course sessions
✔ Practical recipes and portfolio assignments
✔ Tutor guidance and peer support
✔ Topic-specific discussion and support spaces
✔ One individual 1:1 project session
✔ Full Natural Dyers & Growers Academy Membership throughout 2027
✔ Growing Colour sessions with Tristan Lienhard
✔ Optional 4-day in-person course event in Ireland
✔ Course certificate on completion
✔ Additional access period for completing your portfolio and revisiting course materials

💻 How the Course Works

The programme runs for twelve months and is designed to fit around your own studio, home workspace and existing practice.

Each month introduces a new area of natural dyeing.

You'll receive the month's course materials and printable PDFs, followed by a live introductory session. You'll then have time to work through recipes, practical exercises and portfolio assignments before our second live session, where we review the work, answer questions and explore the subject in greater depth.

All live sessions are recorded, so students can participate from different countries and time zones.

A full professional dye studio is not required. The course includes guidance on creating a safe and practical workspace, including smaller home or kitchen-based setups.

🎨 Monthly Topics

January — Natural Fibres
Understanding protein and cellulose fibres, preparation and how fibre choice influences natural colour.

February — Mordanting
The principles behind mordants, recipes, methods and their influence on colour and fastness.

March — Tannins
Working with tannin-rich plants and understanding their role in cellulose mordanting, colour and traditional dye processes.

April — Yellows
Exploring some of the most important traditional yellow dyes and learning to assess colour quality and fastness.

May — Reds
Madder, cochineal and other red dyes, their chemistry, application and colour development.

June — Blues
Indigo, vats and the very different processes involved in creating natural blue.

July — Purples
Exploring natural purple dyes and the combination of red and blue dye systems.

August — Secondary Colours
Building greens, oranges and more complex colours through layering and combination.

September — Lake Pigments & Other Processes
Moving natural colour beyond conventional immersion dyeing into pigments and alternative processes.

October — Printing & Advanced Techniques
Applying your growing knowledge through printing, resist and other textile processes.

November — Industry & Personal Project
Considering professional practice, sustainability and how natural dyeing fits into your own work.

December — Final Portfolio
Bringing the year's research, samples and learning together into a substantial personal reference portfolio.

🌿 Growing Colour

Natural dyeing begins long before a plant reaches the dye pot.

As part of your Academy Membership, Tristan Lienhard leads six Growing Colour sessions throughout the year covering dye plant cultivation, seasonal timing, organic growing methods, harvesting and seed saving.

These sessions offer an opportunity to understand natural colour from seed through to dye and back to seed again.

👩🏫 20 Years of Natural Dyeing Experience

I've been working with natural dyes for twenty years. I began as a hobby dyer before moving into yarn dyeing and selling, followed by larger-scale production where we naturally dyed around 2.5 tonnes of yarn each year for other companies.

Over time, I scaled that work back to focus on dyeing for designers and smaller companies, as well as producing naturally dyed yarns & textiles for our own business.

Today, my work centres increasingly on teaching, custom dyeing, studio tours and workshops, alongside ongoing research into dye plants, their production and their applications.

This programme brings together knowledge gained across all of those stages - from small-scale experimentation to commercial production and professional studio practice.

🌍 Natural Dyers & Growers Academy Membership

Your course enrolment includes Full Academy Membership throughout 2027.

Alongside the main course, you'll have access to Academy events, resource libraries, member discussions, seasonal projects and additional learning sessions.

You'll also be part of an international community of dyers, growers, textile artists and makers with many different levels of experience.

🧺 Materials & Sourcing

Material requirements are released in advance for each module.

You are welcome to work with your own suppliers and materials, allowing your portfolio to reflect the fibres, plants and resources that are relevant to your own location and practice.

Discounted materials and course-specific purchasing options are also available where appropriate.

🤝 Optional 4-Day In-Person Event

Students also have the option to join us in Ireland for a four-day practical course event in August.

This is offered separately from the online programme and provides an opportunity to work together in person, explore practical processes in greater depth and meet fellow students.

Participation is entirely optional and is not required to complete the course.

💳 Payment Options

Choose the option that suits you:

Pay in Full — €1,550

or

Monthly — €145 × 12 months

Both options provide the same complete learning programme.

The only difference is the payment schedule.

🇮🇪 Irish Students — 40% NOTS Funding

40% NOTS funding will be available for eligible Irish students for the 2028 programme.

We are currently waiting for the funded course listing to become available through NOTS.

Once enrolment opens:

Booking for funded places must be completed through NOTS rather than directly through AppleOak FibreWorks.

The monthly AppleOak payment plan does not apply to NOTS-funded bookings.

We'll update this page as soon as the NOTS enrolment link becomes available.

🎓 By the End of the Year

The aim is not that you finish knowing everything there is to know about natural dyeing, none of us ever do.

Instead, you should finish the programme with a strong understanding of the principles behind natural dyeing, considerable practical experience, and the ability to make informed decisions independently.

You'll also have built a substantial portfolio that can continue to serve as your own reference library as your practice develops.

Whether you go on to work professionally, incorporate natural dyes into an existing textile practice, teach, conduct further research or simply continue dyeing for the pleasure of it, you'll have a solid foundation from which to continue learning.

💬 Student Feedback

“A wonderful experience… well blended curriculum of history and science.”
— Valeria Q., Ireland

“Super knowledgeable, helpful and patient.”
— Caroline B., Switzerland

“Opened up a whole new world to me.”
— Louise G., Ireland

“A nurturing learning environment.”
— Joanmarie S., USA

🌿 Join the 2028 Cohort

Starts 11 January 2028 · Online · International

If you're ready to move beyond individual experiments and build a deeper understanding of natural dyeing, we'd love to welcome you.

Choose Pay in Full or Monthly above to reserve your place.