The Natural Knitting Project is a plant-based community textiles workshop/exhibit dedicated to demonstrating the fundamentals of eco-friendly art and design through the process of harvesting and extracting natural color from dye plants. Many everyday plants like marigolds, purple basil, and hibiscus can be transformed into beautiful natural dyes for textile purposes. Attendees of workshops will learn about these plants, where and how they grow in the garden, and how to use them to design. Participants will learn how to harvest everyday items like onion peels and use them to extract the dye to color wool for knitting or weaving without harming the environment. Final projects will be on display in the Kelly Street Garden for the annual Field Day in fall 2016.
