Dyevolution: Sunny Bank Mills Unlocks Historic Dye Secrets
In 2019, during regeneration works at Sunny Bank Mills in Leeds, six dye ledgers surfaced from the building's past. Dating from 1888 to 1908, these books are filled with hand-dyed wool samples and handwritten formulations, documenting a period when the textile industry underwent one of its most consequential shifts: the move from natural to early synthetic dyes.
That moment of change is now the foundation for Dyevolution, a three-year project funded by £243,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project treats these fragile pages as both historical artefact and active research tool, using them to ask questions about colour that feel just as urgent now as they did over a century ago.
Inside one of the recovered dye ledgers, found during regeneration works at Sunny Bank Mills. Photo: Guzelian/ Lorne Campbell
Flip through a dye ledger from this era and you're looking at the working notes of people grappling with new materials in real time. Synthetic dyes promised brighter colours, faster production and new commercial possibilities, but they also demanded that dyers relearn their craft almost from scratch. The ledgers capture that experimentation: the adjustments, the trial runs, the small adaptations that added up to a transformed industry. Dyevolution will study these records closely, examining how the shift affected colour range, durability and efficiency—questions about how craft knowledge gets built, tested and passed on.
The archive at Sunny Bank Mills , Farsley, West Yorkshire (Image: Lorne Campbell)
The project also digs into the chemistry behind the dye process. Working with expertise connected to the British Museum, Dyevolution will explore how dyes bond with fibres and how factors like light, washing and time change the way textiles look and behave over time, placing the Sunny Bank Mills collection within a wider scientific and historical conversation about colour.
The new dye garden. Photo courtesy of Sunny Bank Mills
Running alongside the archival and scientific work is a new dye garden, where plants such as madder, weld and woad will be grown on site. Developed with Hyde Park Source and Sponge Tree, the garden will trace colour from cultivation through to fibre, while also creating green space, supporting wildlife and offering volunteers a chance to learn gardening and dyeing skills together.
Workshops form the backbone of Dyevolution, with activities ranging from plant-based dyeing and pigment making to weaving and plant hammering. No prior experience is needed, and the project welcomes families, students, researchers and curious newcomers alike.
Dyevolution offers a rare opportunity to watch a piece of textile history get unpacked in real time. Take a look at the video below for a closer glimpse into the project and the ledgers that started it all.
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Further Information:
Sunny Bank Mills is based in Farsley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Find out more about the Dyevolution project and sign up to volunteer HERE.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Inside one of the recovered dye ledgers, found during regeneration works at Sunny Bank Mills. Photo: Guzelian/ Lorne Campbell and courtesy of Sunny Bank Mills.
All further images as credited in captions.