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Natural Dyeing: A Heritage of Colour
Short course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Being up close with treasured objects from the V&A's collections brings your learning to life. Spend time with our incredible collections, alongside expert tutors and your fellow learners.
Discover the beauty of nature’s palette in this five-day natural dyeing textiles course.
This fabric course uncovers the history of natural dyeing in the V&A’s collections, giving you behind-the-scenes gallery tours with V&A textile curators and exclusive object-handling sessions – bringing the history of natural dyeing to life through hands-on learning experiences.
Each day you’ll be guided through a practical workshop led by natural dye experts ModernEccentrics. The course will cover all the classical traditional dyes: madder, weld, cochineal and indigo as well as the use of modifiers to extend your palette and to shift tone. You will learn how to prepare fibres for dyeing and develop your own sample book of fabrics and threads.
For more details, see V&A Academy questions.
For more details, see V&A Academy questions.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
Course Leaders
Modern Eccentrics
ModernEccentrics is a creative collaboration between artists Jonathan Dredge and Ross Belton. Their practice is based around nature in an urban environment, utilising and repurposing found, recycled and redundant materials.
The course was quite literally the best textile course I have ever participated in. I had not appreciated in advance just how complex the information was but Ross and Jonny broke it down at every stage into manageable chunks. Previous V&A Academy Student
Course overview
Day One: Introduction and Preparation: On day one you'll be given a short history of natural dyeing, begin to identify the dye groups, prepare, scour and mordant fibres, dye and modify un-mordanted sample sets with buckthorn, buddleia and walnut hulls and oak galls, as well as rhubarb root samples.
Day Two: Substantive dyes: Mordant Fibres using Alum Sulphate, Alum Acetate and Tannin. Dye and modify two un-mordanted sample set (Buckthorn bark, Pomegranate rind, Rhubarb Rootand walnut & oak galls ). You will also go on a behind-the-scenes visit to tour the Textile Conservation Studios.
Day Three: Adjective Dyes: Prepare the Adjective dye baths and extract colour ready for dyeing (Sappanwood, Madder, Weld and Logwood). Dye and modify Adjective sample sets.
Day Four: Vat Dyes: Introduction to indigo dyeing including the 1,2,3 vat. Indigo / Woad / fresh Japanese Indigo. You will also have a talk on naturally dyed African Adire with V&A Curator Jess Harpley.
Day Five: Print, Pigments and Samples. On day five you will learn contact printing and the Art of the Bundle.
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on 4 February 2026. General Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Thursday 12 February 2026.
Being up close with treasured objects from the V&A's collections brings your learning to life. Spend time with our incredible collections, alongside expert tutors and your fellow learners.
Enrol now
Short course: Natural Dyeing: A Heritage of Colour
27 July 2026 - 31 July 2026
£600.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
