Leaves can transfer natural colour to fabric. In eco-dyeing – also known as plant printing – leaves from different plants are used to print a pattern on fabric. Since India Flint’s books, this dyeing technique has become increasingly common. The trick is that the leaf not only leaves a coloured stain, but that even the grain is visible in the print. At Textile Institute Hawar, we know precisely how to achieve this. Teachers Harm and Margriet will teach you about the natural dyes of different leaves and how to make a nice sharp print.

In this workshop, you will print a soft and summery scarf from Etamine de Laine with your own pattern of different leaves. You don’t need to bring anything for the workshop (but you can – read on!). We will provide a wide choice of leaves. Part of the workshop is fixing, which takes an hour. Of course, you don’t need to be present for this but keep in mind that you won’t be able to take the scarf with you immediately after the workshop. If you like to experiment, you can bring your own plant, tree or flower leaves. We do not know exactly which colour each leaf gives off, but we know from experience that the surprise often makes the result even more beautiful!

Harm Harms is a teacher and owner of the family business Hawar Textile Institute, where teachers from home and abroad pass on knowledge and skills in the large and atmospheric workshop. There is also a very extensive shop and an inspiring gallery, making it an incubator where new and old materials and textile techniques are (re)discovered. During the festival, Margriet Harms will teach the workshops together with Floor de Bruijn. She was a designer at Humanoid and teaches reuse and restyling of clothes and fabrics at Hawar.