This talk and all our lectures are FREE for Friends of the Botanical Gardens to attend. Members of the public are also welcome to join us on payment of £5 at the door on the day. Live talks are held in the Education Centre in the grounds of the Botanical Gardens - easily accessed via the Thompson Road Entrance.

RESCHEDULED from Tuesday 28 May.Please note that the talk on Horatio’s Garden has been postponed to Tuesday 22 April 2025

Many plants including berries, flowers, leaves and fungi can be used to create natural dyes which can in turn be used to colour wool, fabric and other textiles. In this talk, textile practitioner Isobel Denton will share details of plants that can be grown specifically for producing dyes and how she has cultivated her own dye garden in West Yorkshire. Here she grows specialist plants which she uses when facilitating a variety of different workshops and tutorials and in her own work. Some plants that can be used for dyeing also grow here in our Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

Isobel is a freelance textile practitioner working for herself under the name of ‘abitmoreink’ specialising in traditional & heritage craft practices particularly focussing on creating natural inks & dyes for textile & paper application. She is particularly inspired by natural surroundings, exploring and extracting colours from her dye garden.

To date she is self-taught, having developed her knowledge & skills through her own research and participation in workshops and collaborating with other artists and practitioners. Isobel has worked and collaborated on workshops, commissions and exhibitions with a range of cultural organisations including The Children’s Art School (TCAS) Evoke Kirklees, The Paul Hamlyn Trust, Kirklees Youth Alliance, WOVEN in Kirklees, Our Biennale, The Holmfirth Arts Festival, Tolson Museum, Kirklees Literature Festival, Makerworld Huddersfield & The Hepworth Gallery.

Her previous career was as a costumier in theatre, film, TV & higher education.

Isobel’s Instagram