BONNYVILLE - LICA environmental stewards hosted a free tie-dye workshop, using dyes derived from plants for the eco-friendly event. The workshop was held at the Bonnyville community garden on July 31.
LICA’s summer student Morgan Gillis explained that LICA is a non-profit association that is a synergy group, an airshed zone, and a watershed planning and advisory council, with a big focus on education.
The natural tie-dyeing workshop was an opportunity for locals to gather and learn a new sustainable skill.
According to The United Nations Environment Programme, textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of water globally.
Gillis explains that botanical dyeing is “a good way to promote sustainability and is fairly easy to make with things you have right in your kitchen.”
Gillis did some experimentation before the workshop to find what botanical dyes produced good coloring. Workshop attendees could choose from dyes made from beets, turmeric, onions, Saskatoon berries, and tea.
Cotton T-shirts, hand cloths, and head bands were provided, as well as instruction sheets and a list of potential botanical dye sources that Gillis compiled after trial and error of what botanicals and recipes worked best.
“This is not going to be like the dye kits bought in the store. If you’re looking for the super vivid greens and blues it might be hard to find that here, but there are a lot of perks and benefits in doing natural tie dye,” said Gillis
“If you were to cut up and boil your beets for dinner, you would be able to use the water from that, with a few adjustments, to make some dye. Similarly, if you were using yellow onions for your meals, you could use the skins of it and make dye. It’s a good way to use ingredients you would be throwing out anyways,” explained Gillis.
“Something neat about natural dyes, is that they never come out the same. When you make natural dye at home, you can tweak and adjust things to find what works best for you.”
Attendees commented on how nice it was to spend a moment focusing on a craft while in the beautiful community garden, as the sun was shone and the breeze cooled.
