One of my favourite capitals is a circle of carved oak leaves – I just love how the stone masons brought nature in from the outside and made the stone come alive.

John Ruskin was a big fan of their bringing the outside in approach in such a free and effortless way. I learned all about his love of medieval sculpture when I visited and researched the amazing Tyntesfield House near Bristol

This is the feeling I wanted to create when I designed my Sussex Oak design – partly inspired by the carvings but also influenced by local patternmaker Peggy Angus who lived not far away. Do visit her archives at The Keep near Brighton if you can. Many of her wonderful prints are boxed up as she left them – she worked with such energy. Partly because she had to (she was a single parent) but also just because she was just that kind of person. She had quite particular views about history and as a teacher designed a wonderful scheme of how each age developed it’s own patterns. She got the students at North London Collegiate School for Girls to paint this as a mural around their art class. She was interested in the meaning behind patterns and this is one of the reasons why she inspires me so much.

My Oak Leaf pattern has been in my mind for over 20 years since I made a little oak leaf print many years ago – sometimes I work very slowly and I just needed the extra time offered by lockdown and my connection to the beautiful church carvings to finally finish the design.

When it came to cut the block I worked in my usual way, cutting and printing and recutting and reprinting until the design had that sense of movement and balance that I seek to create in all my designs.

I printed it onto fabric and paper and because we were in lock down and I had more time, I started to paper our hallway  – the colours made me very happy. I’ve also been printing it onto fabric that I mordant with oak galls that I forage for in the fields around me here in Steyning.

I’m pleased other people like this design – I feel it connects me to the past and also offers some ideas about how we might go forward in the future – making beautiful textiles that are kind to the environment.

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This is a quick blog to tell you more about dyeing with weld – one of our most ancient and powerful of dye plants. Until the 1930’s it was still commercially grown in this country and I hope one day we will return to it as it is so very generous in colour and so useful as a base for making lots of other colour – most especially green when it is combined with woad.

It’s just coming into season now and is very easy to grow – liking poor soils but you can also find it growing wild along rivers and hedgerows. You can also order it dried from places like George Weil 

1)To begin – chop up the weld. It’s the stems and leaves that  give most colour.

2) Make a bundle and add to an old pan

3) Cover with hot water and gradually bring to the boil – you will smell and see the wonderful yellow seeping through, it’s magic! Keep the dye bath on a simmer as the colour is released from the plant material.

4) Prepare the cloth you want to dye by wetting it thorougly. Then add it to the dye bath.

5) Keep the bath at a simmer and move the cloth around so that it takes the colour evenly.

6) Carry on until you are happy with the colour – remember it will dry a shade lighter.

Do get in touch with any questions. Hope this goes really well for you and you have fun, Sarah x

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Rhubarb is one of my favourite ever plants to dye with and one of the first I ever discovered. I grow lots on my allotment because it is so useful and versatile and ofcourse delicious to eat as well!

To make dye from this plant you need to dig up the root and after cleaning off most of the soil chop it into little pieces – as you do this you will start to smell it’s delicous sweet smell which will continue to scent your fabric.

Once you have chopped up your rubarb you can place it in the centre of a clean piece of fabric – the kind of fabric that will let the dye pass through easily so any kind of light cotton is perfect – I’ve used some old sheeting.

Take your bundle and put in an old pot and cover with boiling water – put it on the heat and let it simmer – you will soon see the golden yellow colour starting to ooze out.

While your dye bath is simmering you can get on with preparing your fabric.

For this demo I’ve used organic calico but you can experiment with a wide range of fabrics – I’ve even dyed nylons and plastics successfully with rhubarb.

Before you add your fabric to the dye pot make sure it’s wetted through thoroughly – this will help it take the dye better.

You can leave your fabric in the dye bath for as long or as little as you like – the longer you leave it the deeper the tones and as with all the best cooking, the slower you take it the better the results will be. This is the colour I got after leaving the fabric in the dye bath overnight (with the heat off of course)

Here is the surprise bit – if you would like to turn your fabric a reddy pink – make up a solution of soda crystals (just add a few tablespoons to a bowl of water and mix well)

then dip your fabric into it. Here you can see the before and after – it’s always magic and takes me by surprise – one of the wonders of natural dyeing!

I do hope this demo gives you a clear step-by-step approach that will give you the confidence to have a go.

Do let me know how you get on with your rhubarb dyeing and get in touch @sarahburnspatterns@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Have fun!

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I’ve always been a bit of a hippie – I worked for the new economics foundation for many years where our slogan was ‘economics as if people and the planet matters’ so I’ve always been interested in alternative ways of doing things and making the radical alternative not only possible but real.

When I left Chelsea College of Art 5 years ago I got a job as a hand printer at the wonderful Ivo’s screen printing factory in Southall. The printers who work there are rare and wonderful master craftsmen capable of printing 25 colour chinzes but there is an incredible amount of waste and pollution involved in the process. And Ivo’s is only small – the textile industry as a whole is responsible for more greenhouse gases than air travel & maritime shipping put together. That’s why Extinction Rebellion has been campaigning at London Fashion Week and why I decided that when I came to set up my own workshop in Sussex I would try to clean up my act and develop my work using natural dyes and use organic fabrics where ever possible.

Thanks to lovely Jaine McCormack  and the team at Guy Goodfellow in Chelsea, I was able to launch my naturally dyed collection at their  Showroom 2 years ago. Since then I’ve been on a really steep learning curve – educating myself as well as my clients as we gradually explored the idea of seasonality, reusing valuable fabric where appropriate  (I remember one interior designer’s shock when I suggested that we re-dye her curtains!) and the notion that using natural materials means that nothing can be reproduced exactly the same – instead variation and difference should be embraced and celebrated.

Then I came to research my book into the wonderful 1930’s block printers Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher. I spent a whole winter transcribing Phyllis Barron’s talk – ‘My life as a Block Printer’ which she gave in 1962 at Dartington, nearly 30 years after she closed her workshop down and stopped printing altogether. Her talk shares in detail the trials and tribulations of a life times obsession with a few simple dyeing and printing processes which she had to pioneer herself – not unlike William Morris.  Indigo, cutch and iron were her materials and although she left no technical notes – her commitment over decades to perfecting these difficult processes inspired me to deepen my practical research – a journey I’m still very much at the beginning of.

I’m now really into the natural colour palette and relish the sensuality and seasonality of the whole process. It’s been wonderful to work alongside Alice Garner and form the Steyning Imprint together – making things together and teaching others. Her interest and knowledge in the natural world plus her creativity and attention to detail makes her fab partner to work with. Having a flock of sheep really helps when it comes to providing the wool filling for our South Downs cushions.

Together we’ve come up with a few ways to make what we do as sustainable as possible. Alice is making beautiful sketch books using recycled coffee cups and we are trying to source more organic hemp – woven small scale to print our vegetable dyes on. Thanks to Alice’s sheep plus some neighbouring farmers who have been very generous we are now in the process of producing South Downs wool cushion pads. We’re trying to really cut down on waste – all spare scraps of fabric are used to overprint labels on or sew into lavender bags. By thinking about our supply chain and how we can make a positive difference we are also reaching out to others who share the same values and vision – it’s been really empowering to discover how many like-minded people are out there and to start supporting each other.

It’s just a beginning and only a drop  in the ocean but it makes me want to keep making – not just so there is more stuff for people to buy – but because the way we’re doing things is helping to pioneer a different way of living and working. It keeps me feeling positive and feeling excited – we’ll be at the Downland and Weald Christmas Fair from the 23rd – 26th November & would love it if you came and said hello or do please get in touch if you are doing something similar – we would love to hear from you.

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I’ve called my textile dyeing & printing business Dora Fabrics since I graduated from Chelsea – somehow it felt safer to be someone else but now I’m finally coming out as me – Sarah Burns Patterns and it feels good!

Here is more about me, what inspires me and how I work (thanks to www.handprinted.com for originally publishing this blog)

About me – Sarah Burns Patterns

When I’m designing, I start with an initial idea and cut my block vey soon as print making is an integral part of designing for me. I’ll keep printing and cutting and changing the block, editing the idea as it develops and being attentive to detail, colour, marks & scale… My goal is to create something that creates both harmony & movement – at the same time.

Although I went to Cambridge and studied politics, I had a lovely friend who was at art school and we used to block print together – after that I never really stopped even though I was working in a very different field (community economics where I met my husband the writer David Boyle). When I was 40 and my youngest son went to school full time I decided to take the plunge and applied to Chelsea to study textiles – I could cycle there and back to Crystal Palace in time to pick up the kids up. Studying with lots of super talented 20 year olds was terrifying (I was the only mature student) and exhilarating at the same time. I got a first class degree and learned how to work very hard & really shifted in my approach to colour and design.

When I was in my second year at Chelsea I started interning with Michal at Christopher Farr Cloth; she took me to the wonderful Ivo’s screen printing factory in Southall and when I graduated I got a job there as a handprinter. I worked at Ivo’s for 3 years, commuting between Sussex and Southall and probably learned more there than I did at college – about colour, technique and the craft of printing. I wasn’t very good at it but it gave me a unique insight into commercial production and English manufacturing. The waste and toxicity of the process also made me want to do things differently so when I set up my studio in Steyning I decided to work in a way that was kinder to the environment – I do believe that beautiful things should be made beautifully otherwise they aren’t really honest.

I’ve just spent two years researching and writing a book on the 1930’s block printers Phyllis Barron & Dorothy Larcher –who combined block printing and natural dyes. Their work has really inspired to work even more with natural processes.

One of the reasons I love print because it intervenes between my intention and the final outcome – it always surprises me and acts like an unknown collaborator. I also love that I am working in reverse – removing the line that I don’t want to print. I’m drawn to resist printing for the same reason. Colour and pattern is also very important to me – it’s a very emotional and playful thing in my life.

 I now feel very spoilt and have a workshop cum garage in Steyning where I live. I do most of my dyeing outside using whatever plants, fruits or roots are available seasonally and I always have an indigo vat on the go. I also grown lots of dye plants on my allotment and try to get up there most days with my dog Gwennie. Being outside and part of the seasons is very important to me – I try to plant something everyday, even if it’s just a handful of seeds thrown into cracks in the pavement.

I’m at my most creative first thing in the morning so I try and get all my blocks, fabric & colour prepped the night before so that I can get up early start printing first thing. The process of dyeing and printing has a definite rhythm to it and it’s one that definitely shapes my days and weeks. I normally print or dye all morning and then get on with other tasks in the afternoon – like preparing orders, organising workshops, talking to clients etc After supper, I often like to cut blocks as they are lovely and soft if you sit on the lino as you eat. In the evenings I’m not good for much excepting getting ready for the next day and maybe doing a bit of website admin. I often find that as I fall asleep problems that have been bugging me all day untangle themselves and new images float into my mind just as I doze off …

I’ve been print making for nearly 30 years – it sounds astonishing, especially to me. I’ve had some great teachers – Vivien Lodge at the Working Men’s College in Camden, Kathy Round & Mel Bowles at Chelsea, Podge at Ivo’s in Southall and my children – have all helped me develop in new and better ways. I remember reading somewhere that you don’t master any craft until you’ve put in at least 30,000 – I’m probably reaching the quota now.

I’m originally from South Africa I’m really inspired by the traditional shwe shwe cloth or German print that is worn traditionally by domestic servants – I’ve named one of my recent designs Margaret after the lovely woman who looked after me and my brother when we were little. I love vernacular arts and crafts – like the beautiful Romanesque carvings and medieval wall paintings you find in ancient churches around Steyning. Their bold colours and rthymic patterns are really wonderful. They are very honest and direct, made by incredibly talented and unknown craftsmen. I also like the immediacy and vitality of Peggy Angus for the same reasons. I especially like that she thought about and understood some of the reasons behind pattern making; for me making patterns is full of meaning and emotion and she devoted her life to teaching more people about that.

The actual process of pattern making and printing is what inspires me most – the fabric I begin with, the process of mordanting, preparing the dyes from roots and berries and the act of printmaking itself – at each stage materials change and marks alter, the smells, tastes and feelings – it’s a very sensual process and one I’ve become completely captivated by.

I also love drawing and I mark the beginnings of a holiday by starting to draw as much as I can all the time, everyday – I have lots of sketchbooks. When I’m most relaxed I dream about drawing.

The textile I am most proud is my map of world patterns – it took me several years to make. I collected stories from people all around the world and sewed their patterns onto a massive patchwork quilt of the world. The project taught me so much about our relationship to pattern and how patterns travel and change through culture, tradition and people http://unsewn.blogspot.com/2010/

There are a few pIaces where I sell my naturally dyed and hand printed fabrics: firstly through my website www.sarahburnspatterns.com

The lovely people at Guy Goodfellow Collection http://www.guygoodfellow.com also keep my work at their showroom in Chelsea. Virginia White has several of my designs in production as part of her fabric and wall paper collection http://virginiawhitecollection.com/fabrics/

and my friend Alice Garner and I run the Steyning Imprint together – making tea towels and other lovely things for sale through our etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/steyningimprint

Up coming projects include lots of events around my Barron and Larcher book which I co-authored with Michal at Christopher Farr Cloth. I’ve also been involved in helping with the Women’s Work show at Ditchling which celebrates craftswomen who turned their practice’s into successful businesses between the two World Wars – including Ethel Mairet, Alice Hindson, Phyllis Barron & Dorothy Larcher, Enid Marx, Catherine ‘Casty’ Cobb, Katharine Pleydell- Bouverie, Denise Wren and Elizabeth Peacock. It’s on until October so catch it if you can

My partner Alice and I will be doing a Barron & Larcher inspired workshop at Handprinted in West Sussex in November. I’m really exited to be following in their footsteps – pioneering low-tech, non-toxic textile making.

My advice for other printmakers and creatives is:

*Follow your passion and be brave

*Work hard and keep going – stamina is just as important as talent

*Try and learn something from everyone you meet – everyone has something to teach you

*Find good people to work with – the ideas you have together will nearly always be better than thoughts you have alone and they will be there to keep you going when you run out of steam

*Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and enjoy yourself!

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I have so many happy memories of cycling through this sleepy Sussex village on hot summers day (it never rains on the London to Brighton Bike Ride) – the immense wall of the Downs and Ditchling Beacon looming up before us on our bikes but every year always managing somehow to get to the top with all the bystanders cheering us on and the exhilaration when we got to the top, sunburnt and sweaty.

Then I started coming back to the small museum when I became interested in printing and natural dyeing as the museum had a wonderful letterpress as well as the archive of the pioneering 1930’s weaver Ethel Mairet, who championed natural dying through her seminal work – ‘A Book on Vegetable Dyes’. I even blogged about her on my old unsewn blogspot site back in 2010 http://unsewn.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/map-of-patterns-gunta-stozl-and-ethel.html

In those days – the museum was a very different place: set up by two elderly sisters Joanna and Hilary Bourne, who had grown up with the children of many of the artists now in the Museums collection – they collected a varied and inspiring collection of artists work, most especially the work of sculptor, wood engraver, type-designer and letter cutter Eric Gill and the calligrapher Edward Johnstone.

It all felt a bit ramshackle – the kind of place that was run by passionate amateurs: clever gentlefolk with fascinating stories to tell while they served you tea and homemade cake, there were always garden flowers in jam jars on the tables… It’s now quite a smart place with lots of dark wood but the wonderful paintings, carvings and weavings are still there and so are the lovely volunteers. The Museum also boasts a fantastic shop full of beautiful things, including my Dora Fabrics washbags, tea-towels and aprons. It’s great to see them there – my attempt to follow Ethel Mairet’s  exhortation to make great colour – naturally.

Here are some wise words from her ‘A Book on Vegetable Dyeing’:

‘Dyeing has almost ceased to exist as a traditional art in this 20th century and the importance of colour on our lives seems to be realised less and less. It has been forgotten that strong and beautiful colour, such as used to abound in everyday things, is an essential to the full joy of life…We fear bright colour because most of our traditional colours are bad and they are bad because the tradition of dyeing has been broken. If any craft worker wants sound colour he must make it for himself….It may be objected that life is not long enough but the handicrafts are out to create more life, not out to produce quality nor to save time…’

I am only too aware of this as I write this blog I have 3 dye pots boiling away on the stove but no meal to feed the children as supper time looms closer…

Joanna and Hilary’s had a great dictum which also chimes with me – “the most important things to learn in order to survive are how to grow things, how to make things and how to cook.”

The exhibition at Two Temple Place in London –  Modernism in Retreat shows how artists like Gill, Johnson and Mairet were looking for solitude and sanctuary in rural Sussex but I felt that it doesn’t tell the other half of the story nearly so well: how they used their seclusion to shape a powerful and radical influence on modern day England – branding the tube network with his distinctive lettering for Frank Pick in the case of Johnson and Gill carving Prospero for the new BBC building on Portland Place (a scandal because he wore no underwear under his smock as he stood on the scaffolding chiselling away.) Mairet herself encouraged other important women designers like the block printers Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher and the weaver Elizabeth Peacock as well as establishing a successful workshop and business herself which attracted international designers like the Bauhaus weaver like Gunta Stotzl (they wove South Downs wool and cellophane together).

The Museum of Arts and Crafts at Ditchling have also got a show on at the moment celebrating Ethel Mairet’s wonderful recipes for natural colour. Me along with many other dyers have had a go some of her recipes with some very different results… I experimented with the bark of the alder tree and discovered a lovely grey. Do go and have a look at the exhibition if you get a chance.

I’m running some more of my own Wild Textile workshops this May, where we will be foraging for seasonal plants and flowers near my home in the South Downs, not far from Ditchling and making our own wild colour.

If you’re interested in nature, colour and fabric and most of all like playing and experimenting – this is the workshop for you. You’ll get to learn how to create your own wild colour sourcebook as well as a final piece combing your favourite colours and techniques to take away. The workshop costs £80 for 2 days with all materials included and you will learn how to make your own natural dyes using foraged plants, make mud resist patterns with indigo and experiment with a larger piece to take home with you.

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