Workshops - Papahoa Fibreworks Ltd

Field to Fibre: Building a Regional Textile System (13/11/26)

Field to Fibre: Building a Regional Textile System<br><br>A two-part workshop moving from field to dyehouse — see the full arc of what Papahoa is building.<br><br>WHEN: Friday 13th November, 9:00am - 5:00pm. Lunch included.<br>WHERE: Start at the Halswell Farm, Quaifes Road. Finish at Papahoa HQ, Sydenham. Transport can be provided if need be.<br><br>We start on the farm, exploring our Hua Parakore-informed growing ethics and the Soil to Oneone philosophy that treats fibre and dye as a closed loop, not a supply chain — this is a working prototype for a regional textile system, not a demonstration plot.<br><br>From there, into the dyehouse: a live dye demonstration using material harvested on site, your own dye swatch to take home, and a look at our indigo vats (bring a garment if you'd like to dye it yourself). We'll walk through linen's journey from stalk to fibre — retting, breaking, scutching, hackling — and where hand-work still beats mechanisation.<br><br>We'll close with where it's all heading: the Hi-Lo spinning build, real demand already in the pipeline, the gaps we're still solving, and how you can be part of what comes next.

Make It, Don't Buy It — A Botanical Colour Gifting Workshop (6/12/26)

A creative, hands-on session making things worth keeping — the antidote to another trip to the mall.<br><br>WHEN: Sunday the 6th December, 1:00pm- 5:00pm. +Iight refreshments<br>WHERE: Papahoa Fibreworks HQ, 78 Buchan St, Sydenham, Chch<br><br>Ditch the big-box gift this year - come lean into slow, thoughtful making. <br>Learn techniques you'll use again and again, and leave with gifts that are actually meaningful: made by hand, made to last, and when their life is done, they can return to the soil rather than a landfill.<br><br>We'll start with bundle dyeing — working plants into cotton fabric swatches, a skill you can take home and keep using. We'll turn these into Furoshiki, welcoming Ayumi from FabLab to demonstrate some of our favourite furoshiki techniques.<br><br>Then we'll turn to socks: injecting plant-based colour into a pair of cotton or wool socks for yourself or someone you love, using fresh dye plants straight from our farm. A handful of different techniques, one very unstereotypical twist on the "dull" holiday gift. In between, there's tea, snacks, and conversation — about the plants that made your colours, and the techniques that got them there. Join us in making something worth keeping.<br>

A Day on the Farm: Fresh Flower Dyeing Techniques (28/12/26)

Spend a day among the plants that make the colour — harvest it yourself, then put it straight to work.<br><br>WHEN: Monday 28th December, 10:00am - 4:00pm. Lunch included <br>WHERE: Start at the Halswell Farm, Quaifes Road<br><br>Join us on the farm for a full day of learning, harvesting, and hands-on experimentation with fresh dyestuffs pulled straight from the field.<br><br>You'll move through the field talking about each dye plant, what colour they produce, and the techniques that work best for them. You'll then be taken through a host of different fresh-flower techniques — tatakizome (hammered leaf and petal printing), fresh leaf indigo, bundle dyeing, and solar dyeing — building a real feel for how each plant behaves differently depending on the method. Because everything you work with comes straight from the field, no two results are ever quite the same.<br><br>You'll leave with a collection of fabric swatches across the different techniques, plus a tote bag and a silk scarf of your own to wear or gift. <br>You can even take home plant materials to DIY when you get home.<br>

Introduction to Natural Dye: A Beginner's Natural Colour Workshop (24/1/27)

Connect with what's growing around you, and learn to turn it into beautiful, <br>one-of-a-kind fabric.<br><br>WHEN: Sunday 24th January, 1pm - 4pm - Light refreshements included<br>WHERE: Papahoa Fibreworks HQ, 78 Buchan St, Chch.<br><br>We'll start with the groundwork every natural dyer needs: a brief, practical run-through of fabric preparation, so the colour you create actually lasts. Then we'll get into the dyestuffs, discussing the surprising range of colour hiding in plants, plant waste, and garden pickings, plus how simple modifications can stretch that into a much broader palette.<br><br>You'll use these plants to build abstract patterns on fabric through bundle dyeing. First, you'll practise the technique on pre-treated cotton squares, before taking what you've learned to create your own one-of-a-kind silk bandana to keep or gift.<br><br>We'll cover how to care for your finished fabric so the colour keeps its life, and there's space to ask questions throughout — this is a beginner's session, and no question is too basic. You'll leave with a take-home booklet compiling everything covered — techniques, references, and notes — so you can keep practising natural dye at home long after the workshop ends.

Exploring Indigo: From field to vat (30/1/27)

From field to vat — everything you need to fall in love with the world's most storied blue.<br><br>WHEN: Saturday 30th January, 10:00am-4:00pm - Lunch included<br>WHERE: Start at the Halswell Farm, Quaifes Road. Finish at Papahoa HQ, Sydenham. Transport can be provided if need be.<br><br>We start at the farm, walking the indigo field itself — how it grows, what it needs, and why we chose to grow it here. You'll harvest fresh leaves yourself before heading back to the dyehouse to process fresh leaf indigo, learning the <br>chemistry behind the process as you go. You'll leave this stage with a silk scarf dyed in indigo's iconic "mermaid blue."<br><br>From there, we move into indigo vats — the different types, and the chemistry that makes each one work. You'll process multiple fabric swatches to take home for your own future projects, and you're welcome to bring a piece of clothing from home to add to the dyebath yourself.<br><br>Along the way, we'll take a deeper look at indigo's place in history — how one plant helped shape trade, colour, and culture across the world, and what makes it such a singular dyestuff even now.<br><br>A full day, field to fabric, with a scarf and a stack of swatches to show for it.

Painting and Printing with Plant-Based Colour (13/2/27)

Move beyond the dye pot — learn to paint, print, and resist your way to fabric that's entirely your own design.<br><br>WHEN: Saturday 13th February, 10:00am - 6:00pm. Lunch included.<br>WHERE: Papahoa Fibreworks HQ, 78 Buchan Street, Sydenham, Chch<br><br>This workshop takes you into the more painterly side of natural dye. You'll learn to make and print your own colour pastes, apply mordant pastes to create resist patterns, and paint directly onto fabric to build unique, considered designs — rather than leaving pattern to chance.<br><br>Along the way, you'll work with tannins, modifiers, and immersion baths alongside these techniques, layering methods to pull out a genuinely wide range of patterns and effects from plant-based colour alone.<br><br>By the end, you'll have a working toolkit of techniques — not just a piece of fabric, but a repertoire you can keep combining in new ways at home.