Natural Dyes and Screen Printing

Selvedge’s first 2020 workshops are now available to book. In May, Nicola Cliffe, founder of Madder Cutch & Co will host a one-day workshop: Natural Dye Screen Printing.

A chemistry teacher with a lifelong love of textiles, Nicola launched Madder Cutch & Co. in 2016 after graduating from UAL (University of the Arts London). Nicola aims to redress the careless use of synthetic dyes worldwide and her designs are screen printed by hand on UK woven linen, using only sustainably sourced plant dyes and pigments.

Inspired by her surroundings and a love to draw, Nicola turns her sketches into flowing repeats and screen-prints her designs to order from her garden studio in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Her design collection has expanded rapidly and is available by the metre from her site as well as from leading showrooms worldwide.  

The dyes used are made from plant extracts woad, madder, cutch, weld and pigments such as charcoal, created via environmentally friendly methods. Nicola explains: “It took considerable time to produce the colours for my first collection, but we had a great deal of fun coming up with their names, which have been inspired by my home surroundings of Stamford, Lincolnshire – a beautiful Georgian town where I live and have my studio.”

In the workshop, the group will turn their own drawings into a design, that can be cut into a stencil and printed using Madder Cutch & Co’s unique natural dye pastes. Attendees can experiment with mixing the pastes into a special colour palette and will produce a selection of sample pieces to help finalise their designs. They will leave with a printed piece of linen to take away and use for home furnishings or a garment.

For more information and to book your place, visit Selvedge workshops.

For more information about Nicola, visit Madder Cutch & Co.