Natural Dye & Embroidery Retreat

The retreat

Your time at the Manor

Day by day

• Dates 13–18 May 2026 · 6 days / 5 nights
• Skill level All levels welcome

This May, artist and hand embroidery specialist Deborah Wilding brings her passion for natural colour and stitch to Court House Farm for a very special spring retreat. Drawing inspiration from her work with The King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, Deborah will guide you through the gentle alchemy of natural dyeing — showing how the plant materials around us can be transformed into exquisite colour for embroidery. From flowers gathered in the garden to pigments made from saved kitchen scraps, you’ll discover how simple techniques can yield an extraordinary palette. Working with natural fibres such as linen, silk and wool, Deborah’s thoughtful teaching will open up a slower, more connected way of making — one rooted in nature, tradition and creativity.

What you’ll do

•  An introduction to natural dyes and hand embroidery – explore Deborah’s creative process and begin your own journey using nature’s colours.
•  Hands-on experiments with hand-dyed materials – try simple dyeing techniques and set up your own solar dye jar to take home.
•  The fundamentals of natural dyeing – learn how to create dye baths for threads, understand how environment and materials influence colour, and explore over-dyeing to achieve layered tones.
•  Embroidery with natural fibres – begin an embroidery on linen fabric using linen threads from Studio Flax, Bristol, with kit options to suit your level and interests.
•  Creating with colour – prepare and dye threads, experiment with silk and linen, and discover how different fibres absorb and transform natural colour.
•  Bundle dyeing with flowers – use found petals and natural extracts to make your own hand-dyed silk scarf.
•  Developing your stitched piece – refine your embroidery with naturally dyed threads, learning techniques for texture, tone and design.
•  Celebrating your work – photograph and style your creations around the manor and gardens, and share your creative journey with the group.