Beginners Guide to the Chemistry of Natural Dyes

Content

We will cover:

• The basics of chemical molecules and compounds
• Acids, alkalis and bases
• The importance of water
• What gives us the colour and colour pigments (a bit of Physics – yikes!)
• Types of dye
• Light and wash fastness tests
• Environmental and safety considerations.

How it will work

Each workshop is limited to a maximum of 10 people, so everyone has an opportunity to ask questions if they want to.  When you buy the course, you will receive confirmation of payment.  A week before you will be send a link and reminder to your email address.  This will be repeated a day before and an hour before we begin.

The workshop will be recorded and will last about an hour.  A link will be sent to all participants a day or so later for you to re-watch the workshop.  If you miss the workshop, the link will be sent to you as well.  There will be a little more house keeping on the day, but you will be told about it then.

Any questions?  Please contact me on info@dorsetwool.co.uk

About the tutor

Jo has taught Chemistry to reluctant teenagers for over 30 years.  She enjoys breaking the subject down into easy-to-understand stages to prove that Chemistry is open to all and doesn’t look like Chinese.  She has been a natural dyer for too many years to admit to.  She wrote her first essay on natural dyes before she was 9 years old and attended a Royal Society of Chemistry lecture on the chemistry of dyes whilst a sixth former (being a true geek, she still has the notes!).

She left chemistry behind for awhile to study environmental and animal science, before researching her PhD into the control of wool growth in sheep.  At this point she return to biochemistry.

Over the years she continued her research into the environmental effects of agriculture and natural colours alongside her day job as a teacher.  This led to more research and self-learning to develop her skills.  She has focussed on natural dyeing of wool for over 15 years now and enjoys the jeopardy of not really knowing what colour she will obtain (although it tends to be more reliable now).

Over the years, Jo has attended various seminars and conferences (mostly online as she hates to leave Dorset!) and has realised that many dyers (including some that teach natural dye techniques) don’t actually understand the chemistry.  Therefore, with this series of workshops, she aims to help people learn and understand a bit more.

In the future, Jo aims to carry out the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of her hand spun and woven products, when not shearing, growing plants, dyeing, spinning, weaving or teaching….