Testing the Silks
The Day Before the Workshop
Day One
Day Two
Day Three



In the autumn of 2008 we travelled to Assam, India to research wild silk fibers: Tussar, Eri, and the rare and prised golden Muga. The story of that trip is due to appear in the Fall 2009 issue of Wild Fibers Magazine so we can't say too much about it here ... yet. What we can tell you is that during our groundwork we noticed a keen enthusiasm by the artisans to combine the wonderful appeal of wild silks with colours derived from natural dyes.

Before leaving Assam we had laid the foundations for a natural dye workshop. The classes would be conducted soon, on Charllotte's next trip back in February 2009. We returned to Canada with enough silk to do a substantial battery of tests. Would the silk take dyes effectively? For the artisan dyer there is perhaps no greater pleasure than putting a new fiber in a dyevat. We couldn't wait to get started.

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