Dyeing on Dartmoor

The Museum of Dartmoor Life is closed until the 27th March, 2023, but it is busy, busy, busy behind the scenes! We are currently working on our exhibition ‘Dyeing on Dartmoor’ funded by the Royal Society. We will be looking at the flora and fauna of Dartmoor, used by our ancestors to produce natural dyes. The main fibre dyed was wool. The whole wool industry had a huge impact on Dartmoor’s growth and centuries ago sheep were kept for their valuable wool, not for meat, which is why mutton was the main meat eaten. In fact, Okehampton was famous for its mutton.

In the exhibition we will be looking at how the fleece is taken and treated from rough shearings through to fabric. We will discover the beautiful colours produced by wild plants such as oak, nettles and dock leaves and look at how different colours can affect our mood. We hope to have days when demonstrations of carding, spinning, weaving, knitting and felting can be seen and if you do any of these crafts, please get in touch with manager@dartmoorlife.org.uk and we would be happy to book you in to spend a day in our exhibition room demonstrating and selling your wares. We will also look at the environmental impact of synthetic dyeing and fast fashion.

Some of you may have seen us at various outdoor events this summer showing what colours we produced from wild plants. We have just repeated the same exercise with the same plants, but picked in November. Interestingly, the colours were quite different from their spring counterparts and it made us wonder if this is how seasonal shades began? However, one thing they have in common is that they are all beautiful. It's these unknown, magical results that make natural dying so addictive.

We hope to do more exciting outside events in 2023, so please follow us on Facebook or Instagram to keep updated. Another plan is to work with Memory Cafes to encourage people with dementia to knit squares using our naturally dyed yarn. Recently, I visited the natural fibre company in Launceston where they turn local fleeces into balls of wool. It is an amazing place and some of the machinery they use is almost a century old. They very kindly donated all the undyed yarn we need, which we have since dyed. Knitting needles have been supplied by the Woolly Beader shop in Okehampton. It is wonderful to have such great community partners.

We look forward to you visiting us in the spring.