There is one space available due a cancellation.

Join Ria for a two day deep dive into natural dyeing with woad and indigo. Hosted at Ria’s home studio and dye garden in Congresbury, the course will be a holistic approach to creating blues, from leaf to pigment!

Over the two days you will learn many ways to extract the blue pigment from the green plants of woad and Japanese indigo, starting with the simple and progressing to the complex.

This workshop will be held on Thursday 10th and Friday 11th September - 10am-4pm - at Ria Burns’ studio, Congresbury (BS49) - click here for a map!

Day One

To begin, Ria will take you on a tour of their dye garden, explaining how woad and indigo is grown and propagated. We will then harvest woad and Japanese indigo leaves from the garden, using them in basic processing techniques to create our first blues on silk fabric.

We will then will make an organic vat using indigo pigment to learn the science behind vat making. A gradient of blue samples using cotton fabric will be dyed using this vat.

At the end of the day we will dye some British wool yarn using weld and madder to produce yellows and reds, which we will overdye with woad in day two.

Day Two

After establishing the basic knowledge of indigo pigment extraction, participants will proceed to making a vat with fresh woad leaves. We’ll work collaboratively to make a an organic vat with woad from the garden, and use this to dye a selection of undyed and dyed British wool yarns.

At the end of the workshop we will collate all of the samples and marvel at the blue magic we have created!

You’ll will leave with a wide selection of dyed samples consisting of British wool yarn, cotton and silk fabric, lots of notes and the knowledge and confidence to work with woad and indigo in your own textile practice. If you like, you can also take home some Japanese indigo cuttings and woad seeds to grow your own blue!

This workshop is hands on, communal and collaborative. With an intentionally small class size (maximum 6 students), there will be plenty of opportunities to learn from Ria’s vast experience and knowledge of working with natural dyes.

Tea, coffee and some snacks will be provided but please bring a packed lunch on each day.

Please wear comfortable clothing that you do no mind getting splashes of dye on, or bring an apron. If the weather is good we will be mostly working outside; please dress appropriately for this and bring sunscreen! In the event of poor weather we will work indoors. The dye garden could be muddy and slippy, so please wear appropriate footwear!

This workshop will be held at Ria’s home studio and dye garden at Woodlands, Smallway, Congresbury, Bristol, BS49 5AA. It’s accessible by public transport and there is parking available nearby.

Please email hello@riaburns.co.uk if you have any questions about this workshop, or need recommendations for local accommodation.

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

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.

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

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

Learn the art of natural dyeing in a bespoke one-to-one workshop

One-to-one natural dyeing tuition at my home studio in Congresbury, North Somerset is now available to book from August-October 2026.

Would you like to learn the foundations of natural dyeing, or finally get to grips with a technique that’s been puzzling you?

In this personalised, one-day workshop at my North Somerset home studio, I’ll guide you through exactly what you want to learn - whether that’s the complete basics or a more specialised process such as indigo dyeing.

My fully equipped dye studio provides everything you need, making this the perfect opportunity to explore natural dyeing without the expense of setting up a space at home. It’s a dedicated, creative space, meaning there’s plenty of room to experiment (and make a bit of a mess!).

By the end of the day, you’ll leave with a collection of samples, detailed notes, a head full of ideas, and the confidence to continue your natural dye practice at home.

Because this is a fully bespoke workshop, we’ll work at your pace and tailor the day to suit your interests, experience, and learning style.

A wide range of natural fibre fabrics, yarns and dye materials will be available to use during the day, and if you’re visiting in the summer months, we can even harvest and work with fresh dye plants from the garden.

You’re also very welcome to bring along your own plants or textiles to experiment with during the day.

Upon booking, a pop-up will appear with a questionnaire. Please fill this in to the best of your abilities as this helps me to tailor the session to your needs. After booking, I’ll send you an email to discuss the plan for the day.

If you have any questions before booking about what I can offer in a workshop - please email me at hello@riaburns.co.uk

This workshop takes place at my home studio (Woodlands, Smallway, Congresbury, BS49 5AA) on selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-4pm.

Parking is available at the studio and it’s accessible by public transport.

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

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

Saturday 3rd October - 10am-1pm - Creative Space 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.

Learn to grow your own colour!

In this digital download of an online workshop recording from February 2026, Ria guides you through the range of plants that can be grown for plant powered colour, and suggests ways of growing your own dyes that work with the space you have.

Whether you have a windowsill, balcony, garden, allotment or farm, there are plants suitable for everyone to grow. Ria will discuss plant placement, soil and nutrients, as well as sharing dye samples for each plant to show the range of colours that can be achieved.

Ria will also share plans for the second year of growing natural dyes their North Somerset garden, and show how their previous growing spaces have influenced and informed the new space.

Ria has 8 years experience of growing natural dyes for their business and has a Level 2 qualification in Practical Horticulture from the RHS. They are the author of ‘Dyeing Yarn Naturally’, published by the Crowood Press in 2023.

Here’s what some of the attendees have had to say about this workshop:

5/5 - Ria is an inspirational teacher, her classes provide so much great information. I have bought and planted lots of seeds and will be joining Ria’s SeedtoSkein membership to continue learning.

5/5 - I really enjoyed this workshop, it was very informative without being overwhelming. I now have a better understanding of dye gardens and how to optimise success. I have also signed up for the monthly seed to skein online course. Looking forward learning more.

5/5 - Great presentation, easy ordering, professional support. Recommended!

5/5 - really enjoyed this class. Ria has a lovely delivery tone and is very knowledgeable.

After completing checkout you will be emailed a link to download a Zip file, which contains the video recording (MP4 format) and a PDF of the slides presented. The PDF includes detailed profiles of ten dye plants, plus a list of seed suppliers with clickable links to their websites.

Please do not share the recording or PDFs - these materials are provided exclusively for the use of those who have purchased it. Thank you!

Seed to Skein, which is launched in this workshop, is my new growing-led membership community for those that wish to grown their own dyes, and learn how to create beautifully dyed yarns with those plants! Learn more and join the community here…

Our digital gift cards are a great last minute gift. Delivered instantly via email, they are redeemable against anything in the shop, including workshops!

Purchasing this digital gift card creates a unique code. The gift card recipient can enter this code at checkout to subtract the gift card value from their order total.

This gift card never expires.