All Blog Posts — Sustainable Textiles

In 2025 we were invited to consult with Sparsholt College on their 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show natural dye garden. From selecting reliable, lightfast dye plants such as madder and weld to running a natural dyeing workshop for horticultural students, this collaboration brings together sustainable horticulture and heritage textile knowledge in a meaningful way.

NATURAL DYEING WITH BLACK WALNUTS  (Juglans nigra)     The Black Walnut tree (Juglans nigra) is a large, broadleaf tree that can grow to 30 or 40 metres in height.  A native of North America it was introduced to Europe in the 16th century, and in Britain is most likely to be found in the warmer conditions of the south.  Its name refers to the dark outer bark and the Black Walnut tree is a valuable source of hardwood for furniture and flooring. I came across this very beautiful Black Walnut tree in a vicarage garden not far from my home...

 INTRODUCTION                                    The success of your natural dyeing project will depend on how well the fibres are prepared.  To get rewarding and even dye results it’s necessary for fibres to be clean and free of any impurities, such as the sizings used in the manufacturing process.  This cleaning is known as ‘scouring’, which sounds a little drastic but really just means washing thoroughly. NB: you can only dye 100% natural fibres with natural dyes. Synthetic and mixed fibres will not respond well to natural...

Learn how to naturally dye with madder using the alkaline extraction method. Following on from my blog ‘Make the Most of Your Madder – Part 1’ (February 2023) I wanted to try the alkaline method of extracting madder dye, as explained in Jenny Dean’s book ‘Colours From Nature’.  For me Jenny Dean is the Delia Smith of natural dying; easy to follow and reliable with delicious results!