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Ria Burns Knitwear & Natural Dyes

@riaburnsknit

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🏵️ Natural dyer & grower @riagrowsdyes
🧶 Knitwear designer-maker
🌿 Author, educator
📍Somerset
🌟 Supported by @aceagrams
🌱 Grow with me @seedtoskein

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And so it begins … the long task of transforming 100 skeins of yarn dyed with Indigo into a story … a long string of collaboration between contemporary dyers on yarn from around the World. They shared their process via 40 g of yarn dyed using their most favorite way…

Cotton, linen, hemp, wool, silk and so on and dipped, rubbed, dyed with their own local Indigo processes … fructose vats, tamarind vats, sig vats … and so on as well as fresh leaved … the number of shades is so huge and the shades so diverse … how could I explain ?

So tonight I started using a simple brown label with 4 colour stickers to tell the story of each yarn. And I hope the visitors to my exhibition will be marvelled to see so many combinations possible to dye yarn blue …

Here only a few of the lighter colours but we have dark too … you need patience before you can tell the story.

If you are in Scotland this collaboration will be exhibited in the « Shades of blue » exhibition opening at The Auld Kirk in Kirkintilloch on the 26th of September for 5 weeks and I can’t wait to see you there.

#indigo #bettysbeautifullife #exhibition #shadesofblue #glasgow

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Printing natural fabrics with organic colorants from nature (such as petals and leaves), is such a beautiful and exciting process!
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Watch as I unveil my first two tests using silk organza, mordant, scabia petals, dahlia leaves with copper sulphate solution and steaming…I’m so excited to use the resulting print and weaving it through my ceramic tree sculptures to depict the canopy of a tree! Watch this space to see the project develop over the coming weeks…

Thank you @riagrowsdyes @riaburnsknit for the workshop and mentoring!

#ecoprintingonfabric #ecoprinting #ecoprint #naturalcolour #naturalcolours

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My first time plant dyeing and now I can’t stop thinking about what plants I want to use next time 🌱
I dyed this 100% Shetland wool with ivy leaves gathered from around my place in Edinburgh, following some guidelines from the book on slide 2 for things like mordanting and timeline of dyeing. Absolutely loved this process and will be doing more plant dyeing in the future 🍀

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Save time chopping your dried weld plants and chuck them in a garden chipper!

A great time saver and pretty fun, although this is a task Alasdair tends to do because I always jam the machine by overloading it (impatient)🤦🏻

#weld #resedaluteola #naturaldyeplants

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Two of the amazing creatives I met at the @greatbritishwoolrevival summit; @riaburnsknit, and @graemebonefashion.

#TheScottishYarnFestival #ScottishWoolProducersShowcase #ScottishWool #RiaBurnsKnitwear #GraemeBone

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What could be better than seeing the best of wool and yarn experts working in their craft? The Great British Fibre Festival has an amazing range of demonstrations across the weekend, with something available for everyone. No booking or payment needed, these are all included in the price of your ticket...

Main Entry Tickets are available now through the link in our bio for The Great British Fibre Festival on the 30th-31st May 2026.

🧵 Machine Knitting demo with Ria Burns – Sat, 10:30 – 11:45 (@riaburnsknit )

🌱 Hemp Processing demo with Contemporary Hempery – Sunday, 10:00 – 10:30 (@contemporaryhempery )

🐑 Sheep shearing and wool handling with Suzie Chapple – Saturday, 11:30 – 12:15 & 15:00 – 15:45, + Sunday, 11:15 – 12:00 & 15:00 – 15:45 (@redwoodsfm )

What’s taking your fancy? Tell us below!

#greatbritishfibrefestival #Devonevents #craftfestival #ukmakers #yarnfestival

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Have you ever seen a knitting machine in action? We have two demos on Saturdays with Ria Burns, a specialist in creating sustainable knitwear using British wool and botanical dyes. Visitors can observe Ria’s knitting machine in action and see how the different elements of their work are brought together to create beautiful, functional pieces. These demonstrations are held from 10:30 - 11:45 and 15:15 – 16:30 on Saturday, so come along to see an expert at work... This demo is included with your entry ticket. ⚙️🎨

Check out their page @riaburnsknit

Tickets are available now through the link in our bio for The Great British Fibre Festival on the 30th-31st May 2026. 🐑

#GreatBritishFibreFestival #MachineKnitting #markersgonnamake #Yarnlover

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Have you ever wondered how to create vibrant, natural colour without synthetic dyes? Join us at Hartcliffe City Farm for a hands-on natural dyeing workshop, led by Bristol-based textile artist and author Ria Burns. Book your FREE ticket via the link in our bio.

You’ll discover how native and homegrown plants can be used to dye yarn in a beautiful range of hues, and learn techniques you can take home and try yourself. Suitable for complete beginners and confident crafters alike, this workshop connects creativity with the natural world right on your doorstep. You’ll leave with samples, know-how, and a new appreciation for the colours growing all around us.

Everyone welcome!

@FestOfNature #FestivalofNature @riaburnsknit

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April’s content is now live inside Seed to Skein, and it's a lovely mix of growing and dyeing to carry us further into Spring.

This month we’re exploring:
🧶 immersion dyeing yarn
🌱 a video guide to pricking out and potting up young plants
🌿 a fresh nettle dye recipe
🌼 a garden update video from me - there's a lot happening!
🧪 and a deep dive into everything you need to set up your dye space

If you’re already a member, you can find everything on the homepage.

And if you’ve been thinking about joining, this is a really beautiful point in the season to begin 🌿

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🎤 Today, we highlight natural botanical dyes with Ria Burns. Ria is a specialist in regional fibre and botanical colour, and their fantastic presentation details their work mapping the hues of the South West England Fibreshed using foraged plants, and revealing how local soil and water conditions shape unique colour palettes for yarn. You can join this talk on Saturday from 14:15 to 15:15. This session is included with your festival ticket. 🌿🎨

Find out more @riaburnsknit

Tickets are available now through the link in our bio for The Great British Fibre Festival on the 30th-31st May 2026. 🐑

#GreatBritishFibreFestival #NaturalDyes #SouthWestFibreshed #BotanicalColour #SustainableYarn

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Friday Reflections from Working With Wool for the @oxfordrealfarmingconference in the field event:
A few days have passed since we welcomed over 75 delegates here on the farm to celebrate our textile heritage, all with thanks to the humble sheep (and cow) that have helped create our communities all around the globe since we first domesticated these gentle animals many moons ago - what a week it was too ... the brightest light, the warmest days, perfect starry nights, cosy campfires, woolly tuffets, fabulous feasts, packed-out yoga, inspiring speakers, workshops dedicated to WOOL, curious questions, honest conversation, love and laughter, connection, determination, kindness and above all else ... gratification that we are still here, able to share the story of our lives with hope that we can make a difference to the future of others who live from the land, love their livestock and can seek a natural way through the complexity of our modern day existence - huge thanks to everyone who made this week a beautiful place for communication exchange @fernhillfarm1 @fernhillfibre @oxfordrealfarmingconference @riaburnsknit @rbstrarebreeds @field_folk @southeastenglandfibreshed @greatbritishwoolrevival @british.pasture.leather @yogawithjogreen @twotreescateringbris #workingwithwool #bladeshearing #gradingwool #naturaldyes #rarebreed

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✨ Check out our lovely window display showcasing lots of fantastic workshops and courses coming up at the studio!

We have a full schedule of classes including:

Chinese Decorative Arts with @amy_cmj
Terracotta plant pot painting with @seravidaart
Kids woodworking with @youngwoodworkersbris
Stained glass painting with @airlandseaglass
Cyanotype printing with @roots_art_nature
Natural wool dying with @riaburnsknit
Hand Embroidery with @lizziesembroideryclub
Creative Writing with @stefmowords
Kids Crochet with @tenguerengue
.....plus loads and loads more!!

Head to our website for all the upcoming courses and classes.

#craftstudiobristol #craftworkshopsbristol #creativeworkshopbristol #creativespacebristol #workshopsinbristol

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