Spend three beautiful days in Delft creating a complete palette of historical natural dye colors on wool felt.

Practical details

Dates: November 9, 10 & 11, 2026
Time: 9:30–14:30/15:00 each day
Location: HollandFelt, Delft, the Netherlands
Price: €725 / $845 all-inclusive. 

Use this link to sign up. I will send you the full program and payment details.

Included: wool felt, dyes, mordants, indigo vat materials, coffee, tea, and a light lunch each day
Group size: limited places available

In this hands-on workshop, you will dye approximately 20 A4-sized pieces of 100% wool felt using classical natural dyes: weld, madder, cochineal, and indigo. We will work from the eighteenth-century recipes of French master dyer Antoine Janot and translate them into clear, practical, modern studio methods.

This is not a “watch the teacher make colors” workshop. You will work at the dye pots, handle the materials, see colors shift in real time, and build a practical understanding of how historical dye systems actually work.

By the end of the workshop, you will leave with a rich personal sample collection of naturally dyed wool felt, plus the knowledge to continue experimenting confidently in your own studio.

Why this workshop is special

Natural dyeing becomes much easier when you stop memorizing random recipes and start understanding the logic behind the color.

During these three days, we will look at how a small group of classical dyes can create a surprisingly rich range of shades. You will see how mordants, dye strength, overdyeing, and post-mordanting change the final color, and how old recipes can still be used in a living, practical way.

We will not simply make pretty colors, although we absolutely will. We will study how color is built.

What you will learn

You will learn how to:

• mordant wool felt for natural dyeing
• calculate dye and mordant percentages
• prepare and manage dye baths
• create lighter and deeper shades from the same dye
• understand how mordants shift color
• use overdyeing to create complex historical shades
• set up and use an indigo vat
• translate historical recipes into modern studio practice

What you will take home

You will leave with approximately 20 A4-sized pieces of naturally dyed wool felt, dyed in a historical palette based on eighteenth-century recipes.

Your sample set will become a practical reference library: useful for future dye work, teaching, design planning, textile art, felting, interiors, and your own color experiments.

The location

The workshop takes place at HollandFelt in Delft, the Netherlands, in their beautifully equipped craft space.

HollandFelt brings deep material knowledge and a glorious supply of wool felt, space, and dye pots. I bring the historical recipes, dye experience, and color obsession.

Delft itself is a wonderful place to visit, with canals, old streets, cafés, museums, Delft Blue ceramics, Vermeer history, and that very Dutch combination of beauty, calm, and excellent coffee. If you are traveling in, it is well worth giving yourself an extra day before or after the workshop.

Who this workshop is for

This workshop is ideal for natural dyers, felters, textile artists, designers, teachers, historical color lovers, and anyone who wants to understand natural dyeing from the inside out.

You do not need to be an expert, but you should be curious, hands-on, and happy to spend time around dye pots, wool, color, and good company.

You do not need to bring dye materials. Just bring yourself, a notebook if you like taking notes, and clothes that can survive a splash of dye. Closed shoes are recommended.

Want to pay in euros by bank transfer? Contact me and I will send you the details.