Traditional & contemporary craft courses in north Wales
handmade by you in
wernog wood
Dyeing wool with plants
See course details, dates, costs, tutors & stories from students below
On this single day course with Liz Benson, you will learn to dye wool using flowers, roots and tree bark, each of which can release a range of beautiful soft colours. In September, you can also bring clothes to dye using plant dyes including indigo.
You will learn how to develop different plant colourings, discover the magic of mordants and alter colours by modifying the pH of water. You will also experiment with over-dyeing, which is the process of infusing one colour on top of another. You will go home with about 240g of wool in 20g skeins with colours that compliment each other, perfect for a Fairisle or stripy knitting project.
Wernog Wood has an abundance of wildflowers, plants and trees from which you you can forage, or welcome to plants from your own garden.
£120 - Tuition fees
(plus £25 wool and mordants)
Tea, coffee and simple lunch included in your course price
We also offer accommodation & evening meals
Click here to see what we offer
This course is aimed at adults, aged 18yrs + and is suitable for beginners to those with experience
Liz Benson began working with textiles at a very young age when she became a junior member of the Clwyd Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. She is also knitter and tends to have a pair of socks on the go at all times.
Liz is passionate about using British wool, preferably from small scale regenerative farms. Some of her yarn is handspun, others she buys undyed from local suppliers. She then dyes the wool using a range of plants that are either grown in her garden or foraged from the surrounding village.
She loves the fact that you can take something that would normally be destined for the compost heap, like onion skins, and instead use it to create colour.
Stories from our students
Such a lovely day at Wernog Wood, dyeing yarn and taking home an abundance of autumnal shades of wool.
Claire and Rob extend the warmest welcome and working in the cosy light filled studio was a complete pleasure.
Our tutor Liz was lovely and very knowledgeable, lunch was yummy and my sister and I were totally inspired by the beautiful surroundings.
I can't wait to use my naturally dyed Yarn for a new design. Thank you Claire & Rob, I hope to be back for a workshop next year. - Heike
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Upcoming Dates
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