Last month we enjoyed a taster day of natural dyeing with Lauren MacDonald of Working Cloth Studio. We wanted to learn a bit more about her and her methods…
What inspired you to become natural dye artist and what influenced you as you started your journey?
My interest in textiles began when I was a teenager, I started making my own clothes. From there I moved into quilting, embroidery and finally dyeing.
I never thought of myself as an artist, I think partly because my mother is one, and when you are a teenager there is something deeply unattractive about following in the footsteps of your parents. Now it seems I haven’t fallen so far from the tree after all, and as an adult I am deeply grateful to have grown up in a household that valued and encouraged creativity.
I am hesitant to consider myself a natural dye artist, I usually say I am a textile designer, as it encompasses more aspects of what I do. There is a lot of romance around dyeing with plants. The process of creating colour in our kitchens or gardens feels very special. But in some ways it is one of the least natural things to do. The mix of dyestuffs, mordants, and textiles that have taken thousands of years of human activity to create particular colours. There is nothing inherently natural about it.
How did you get to where you are today?
My undergraduate degree is the prairie town remnant of a mid-century home economics course: a BSc in Human Ecology, specialising in textiles, through the Faculty of Agriculture. It consisted of equal parts textile science, material culture, pattern cutting and garment construction, with the odd statistics course and Greek mythological interlude thrown into the mix for a chuckle. It was invaluable. I then spent 4 years working in the London Fashion industry, and a subsequent year in Sydney, Australia, teaching dressmaking, lying on the beach and experimenting with textile processes.
I have recently completed an MA in Material and Visual Culture, and my dissertation focussed on the social aspects of the technologies of textile dyeing. It is nice to be back in my own practice, weaving what I have learned into what I choose to make.
Can you tell us about your process? How do you get from idea to finished piece?
I like to start by looking through the fabrics that I have in studio, and flipping through books I have bought over the years. The 1970s, particularly, seem to be a pretty prolific era for craft books. I start drawing my quilts with pencils on graph paper. I do several sketches and make a detailed plan of what I am going to sew.
Where have you found inspiration recently?
I’ve been really inspired by the book Growing Herbs and Plants for Dyeing by Betty E.M. Jacobs, its a 1970s dye manual with beautiful botanical illustrations and detailed advice on how to cultivate 23 different dye plants.
Do you have a favourite piece of work from your collection?
In September 2018 I was part of Piecework Collective, a group quilt show in New York, whose theme was ‘Self Portrait’. I traced my body onto pieces of card and cut out the shapes in soft silks and velvets and stitched myself back together. It is the most intimate work I have ever done, and also, I think, the best!
Do you have any encouraging advice?
There are so many ways to create beautiful colour from food waste and household items, I would encourage anyone who wanted to start dyeing at home to start with onion skins or avocados, perhaps breathe some new life into tired tea towels or other fabrics you have at home. It is not an interest that has to be expensive, it just requires a little time and care.
Thanks Lauren, keep an eye on the blog for Lauren’s natural dye recipe with avocados, coming soon! Lauren took part in our Travelling Yarns Knitting Retreat in October 2019. Find out more about the retreat here.