Saturday 13th February 2027 - 10am-1pm - Creative Space, Staple Hill, Bristol

Explore the world of natural dyes in this half day workshop with Bristol textile designer and natural dyer Ria Burns. With Ria’s help, you’ll learn how to naturally dye a selection of British wool yarns with homegrown and foraged plants, and food waste.

On the day you’ll work with a range of different yarns of varying breeds and weights, including Ria's bespoke Somerset lambswool yarn, to give you a range of vibrant naturally dyed shades. Ria particularly focuses on using low impact, sustainable materials, and will share their wide knowledge of natural dyeing with you throughout the workshop.

You’ll leave with several mini skeins of your own custom dyed yarn for knitting, crochet or weaving to create a completely unique piece. With Ria’s help you’ll also have the skills to go on to naturally dye yarn at home.

Yarn, materials and handouts are provided but please bring an apron (or clothes you don’t mind getting a bit messy) and a notebook.

NEW STUDENT AND LOW WAGE DISCOUNT: Students and those on a low wage can save 15% off the ticket price of this or any other workshop using the code CONC15

This workshop will be held at Creative Space, 39 High Street, Staple Hill, BS16 5HD). The venue is accessible by public transport and there is free on street parking nearby.

Cancellation policy: We will provide a full refund for cancellations who give at least 7 days notice. If shorter notice is given, a refund will be offered if a replacement can be found for your place. As the number of students on this workshop is intentionally small, we reserve the right to cancel this workshop if there are not enough attendees - we will ensure plenty of notice is given if this occurs.

Would you like to grow your own natural dye plants next year?

In this online workshop, Ria will introduce you to a range of plants that can be grown for plant-powered colour, and share ways to create a dye garden that works with the space you have available.

Whether you have a windowsill, balcony, garden, allotment or farm, there are dye plants that you can grow. Ria will talk through plant placement, soil and nutrients, and how to make the most of your growing space. They’ll also share dye samples from each plant, demonstrating the range of colours that can be achieved from home-grown dyes.

Ria will share their plans for the third year of growing natural dyes in their North Somerset garden, and explore how previous growing spaces have influenced and informed the development of their current dye garden.

There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions during the session, as well as time for questions at the end.

The workshop will be hosted on Zoom at 7pm GMT on Thursday 18th February. Registration is available up to one hour before the event. Participants will receive the meeting link via email a few days before the workshop.

Unable to make the live session? No problem. You’ll receive the recording and slides afterwards, with 30 days to catch up in your own time.

About Ria

Ria Burns has eight years’ experience growing natural dye plants for their business and holds an RHS Level 2 qualification in Practical Horticulture. They are the author of Dyeing Yarn Naturally, published by The Crowood Press in 2023.

Interested in learning more about growing and working with natural dyes? Take a look at Seed to Skein, Ria’s growing-led natural dye membership community.

CONCESSIONARY DISCOUNT

Students and those on a low wage can save 15% off the ticket price of this or any other workshop using the code CONC15.

One-to-one machine workshops at my home studio in Congresbury, North Somerset are available to book from November 2026 - February 2027.

Would you like to learn how to use a knitting machine and make your own knitwear or textiles? Over a 4 hour one-to-one lesson I will teach you the basics and advise on the various knitting machines that are available to buy secondhand and new. You’ll leave with a variety of swatches, full instructions and a full brain ready to start your machine knitting journey!

Alternatively, if you already have some machine knitting experience and are looking to improve your skills, I can tailor a workshop to suit your needs, covering anything from pattern cutting to punch card pattern design.

I generally teach on Brother machines, but am also adept at teaching on Knitmasters. I have both brands of machine in the studio for you to try out, but you are more than welcome to bring your own machine to the studio to use during the workshop.

Tea, coffee and some snacks will be provided during the workshop but please bring a packed lunch.

This workshops take place at my home studio (Woodlands, Smallway, Congresbury, BS49 5AA) on selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-2pm. Parking is available at the studio and it’s accessible by public transport.

The time of the workshop can be altered to anytime between 10am-5pm, please leave a note upon booking if you wish to do so.

Please fill in the booking questionnaire to the best of your abilities - this helps me to tailor the session to your needs.

Other days of the week can be arranged with advanced notice. If you wish to arrange a different date, send me an email at hello@riaburns.co.uk to discuss this before purchasing, then choose ’Custom Date’ from the drop down menu.

You can also buy this workshop as a gift - please choose ‘Gift Purchase’ from the drop down menu.

STUDENT AND LOW WAGE DISCOUNT: Students and those on a low wage can save 15% off the ticket price of any workshop bookable via this website using the code CONC15