Saturday 2 December 2023, Pattern Making with Sarah Burns, in-person workshop at Selvedge Christmas Fair

Hosted in person at the Selvedge Christmas Fair by Sarah Burns

Saturday, 2 December, 10 - 5 pm 

St Mary's Church, Wyndham Place, York St, London, W1H 1PQ

Please note your ticket will also provide you with access to the Christmas Fair, the workshop will include a one-hour lunch break where you can enjoy the fair . 

Print a table runner for your Christmas Table. Sarah Burns is a natural forager, exploring and reviving natural dyes and pigments from the plants and flowers she finds close to her Sussex workshop. She uses madder roots to create striking, organic patterns in hand-block printed textiles. In this workshop, you will explore the world of pattern making: how to develop and layer up your own repeat patterns and, most importantly, create a sense of rhythm and harmony in your designs. Sarah will lead you through a series of pattern-making exercises to explore rhythm, repeat pattern-making, and the full potential of hand block printing, resulting in your final block print design. After lunch, you will learn how to print patterns onto fabric by mastering practical techniques to print fabrics with blocks and printing mediums.

All material will be provided for participants. Open to all levels.

Sarahs fabrics are hand-block printed in her Sussex workshop using natural foraged dyes and pigments. Her patterns have been commissioned by the Dartington Trust and the Virginia White Collection and Cloth Collective. She co-authored the first monograph on pioneering 1930s textile designers Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher and is committed to reviving ancient techniques like natural dyeing and block printing that are centred on zero waste and carbon-neutral making processes. 

Outline of workshop

In this workshop, you will explore the world of pattern making: how to create and layer up your own repeat patterns and, most importantly, how to create a sense of rhythm and harmony in your own designs. In the first session, Sarah will lead you through a series of pattern-making exercises aimed at exploring rhythm, the process of repeat pattern making and the full potential of hand block printing, resulting in your final block print design. In the second session, you will learn how to print your own patterns onto fabric by mastering practical techniques to print fabrics with blocks and printing mediums.

A material pack will be provided for participants containing the following materials:

• 1m organic hemp

• 2 square backed lino blocks

• Set of 5 Japanese wood wood carving tools

• Sample of my block printed and naturally dyed fabric

Participants will need to bring the following materials to the workshop:

• Old newspaper and rags for cleaning

• Potatoes for making blocks for printing

• Pen Knife or paring knife for cutting the potato

• Black poster paint for use as a printing medium

• Sponges for applying paint

• Textile printing ink (screen printing ink can also be used - Handprinted)

• Heavy duty sandpaper

• Tray for rolling up the ink

• Textile printing roller and/or large piece of sponge (large enough for your block to fit on.

Workshop Cancellation Policy
All places reserved on workshops are non-refundable. However, if you let us know you are not able to make a workshop you have booked at least two weeks prior to the event, we will offer a credit note.

If you require additional information about this workshop please contact the events team, events@selvedge.org.