MOW Sessions – Natural Dyeing & Drop Spindle for Beginners

We love putting together the workshops and talks for our Mill Open Weekend – and as we know that not everyone can make it out to us in South Molton or attend the Virtual Mill Open Weekend, we endeavour to put them on our Youtube channel. That way, you can grab a cuppa and your current WIP and settle in for a bit of entertainment and learn something new if you like!

We now have two more of our fabulous talks from the Mill Open Weekend 2025 up on Youtube:

MOW Sessions - Natural Dyeing – Art, Science and Wonder, with Sinead of Gullrock Fibres

This talk by Sinead Kerr of Gullrock Fibres was originally filmed at our Mill Open Weekend back in June. Sinead is an expert natural dyer with a background in chemistry, so this chat is crammed full of fascinating technical knowledge about mordants and the actual science that is happening on a molecular level to make those skeins change colour. 

We were completely captivated watching it and learned loads, so we hope you'll enjoy it too! Perfect lazy Sunday morning watching with a cuppa and some cosy crafting.

Here are the links to everything we talked about:

• Gullrock Fibres: https://gullrockfibres.com/

Resources:

• The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers: https://www.wsd.org.uk/
• Wild Colour by Jenny Dean
• The Art and Science of Natural Dyes by Joy Boutrup & Catharine Ellis
• Natural Dyes by Dominique Cardon
• The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing by JN Liles
• Dyes from Nature by Riikka Räisänen, Anja Primetta, Kirsi Niinimäki
• Maiwa: https://maiwa.teachable.com/

Thanks so much to Sinead for joining us and sharing your expertise with us! 

MOW Sessions - Drop Spindle for Beginners with Amanda Hannaford

In this session, drop spindle extraordinaire Amanda Hannaford shares her wisdom. Whether you're thinking of picking up a spindle for the first time, or have been spinning for many moons, we're sure you'll find something in here for you! Amanda is such a wealth of information and explains things in such a calm deliberate manner. This session is certainly one to keep returning to again and again over the years. 

Head over to our Youtube channel to catch it – we loved watching the replay! You can find Amanda over on her website and make sure to check out her book.

This talk was filmed at our Virtual Mill Open Weekend, June 2025.