HANDMADE MATTERS:

NATURAL DYE & MENDING WORKSHOP

HANDMADE MATTERS:

Natural Dye & Mending Workshop

August 1-3, 2025 in Katrina’s Barn Studio

Join artists and authors, Cara Marie Piazza and Katrina Rodabaugh, for a very special weekend workshop focused on natural dyes and mending. Cara and Katrina will gather with students in Katrina’s barn studio in the Hudson Valley. This workshop is an immersion in handcraft that embraces mending and plant dyes; values a thoughtful, inspired design process; follows creative intuition; and honors an intimate relationship to materials to make one-of-a-kind textiles. Cara and Katrina will share their processes in plant dyeing, mending, and designing to lead participants through a heartfelt exploration of creating objects that express a love of place, people, and plants. This promises to be a special weekend for textile lovers.

Let’s Make Things.

The workshop will be divided into two parts—plant-dyeing with Cara in the dye studio and mending with Katrina in the barn studio. Students will experiment in making original, one-of-a-kind, hand-stitched repairs on their personal textiles using stitching, patchwork, and/or darning. Students will also harvest, forage, and create original plant dyes on-site. Students will leave with various plant-dyed samples, a mended textile in-progress, and numerous resources to continue at home.

Cara will be joining us from Brooklyn, NY where she designs, teaches, collaborates, and dyes textiles. Katrina currently lives full-time in the Hudson Valley of NY and draws inspiration from the surrounding landscape. The workshop includes mending and plant-dye instruction; various textile materials; shared and personal tools; individual feedback; thoughtful vegetarian lunches, snacks and tea; and a rural setting to connect with other creatives in the heart of the Hudson Valley’s farming landscape.

More details...

This workshop is an immersive textile workshop great for ALL levels of experience. Cara and Katrina will start with the basics for beginners, share ways to deepen processes for intermediate dyers and stitchers, and offer insights from over 25+ years of working closely with art and design to any advanced makers. To allow for maximum participation, there will be a minimum of 8 students and a maximum of 14 students in this retreat—this will allow Cara and Katrina to customize the class to best support the individuals present.

The workshop offers an in-depth learning experience for anyone looking to deepen their natural dyeing and mending in a pastoral setting with access to Cara and Katrina’s instruction and textile resources. Students will receive two natural dye workshops and two mending workshops—one using patchwork on woven garments like denim and another using darning on knit garments like sweaters. The workshops will be held during daytime hours and Katrina and Cara will provide all shared tools, materials, plants, and printed booklets for students to keep. Participants will need to secure housing, transportation, and meals outside of the workshop. Cara and Katrina will share several examples of their original work as inspiration.

RETREAT SCHEDULE: Friday, August 1 from 4-6pm; Saturday, August 2 from 10-5pm; Sunday, August 3 from 10-4pm

PLEASE NOTE: There are no refunds for this event. Please confirm your availability before you purchase a ticket. You might want to consider travel insurance, if that’s a concern. Please also note any cancellation policies with transportation, accommodation, or restaurants, etc. Thank you!

Workshop Includes…

-Over 12 hours of thoughtful textile instruction in a small group setting

-Several examples of finished, original work for in-depth, hands-on learning.

-Various workshop materials including mending tools (Sashiko needles, Sashiko thread, custom ruler, limited array of patches, select yarns, etc.) various fabric samples for dyeing, and all necessary dye materials such as mordants, modifiers, plants, stainless steel tools to share, etc. Students will need to bring their own textiles for repair, coordinating patches, and individual yarn for darning. (Materials list will be provided to students.)

-Printed workshop pamphlets with written insights, tips, resources, and more

-Two thoughtful vegetarian lunches, sourced locally when possible

-Snacks, coffee, and tea throughout the weekend

-A lovely, intimate, all-weather space to gather

-A special gift to keep

-Value: $895 USD

Studio, Location, & More...

BARN STUDIO: The workshop will take place on Katrina’s personal property—the barn is just a stone’s throw across the driveway from her family farmhouse. The studio is the original carriage barn, now fully-renovated and temperature controlled while maintaining so much original charm. The studio has an uneven concrete floor, surrounding gravel driveway, and relatively-level surrounding yard and gardens. Parking is onsite. To access the bathroom, students will go up three stairs into the family farmhouse.

HUDSON VALLEY REGION: The studio is located in a rural region of Upstate NY. There are a handful of small inns, hotels, and rentals on Airbnb or Vrbo. There is no housing on-site. If you are looking for housing, the studio is 30 minutes east of Kingston, 20 minutes south of Hudson, and 20 minutes north of Rhinebeck, NY. Once you register, Katrina can provide more details on surrounding accommodations, restaurants, etc. There is no public transportation near the studio so students will need to drive—even Ubers are unreliable. The nearest airport is Albany, NY; nearest train is Amtrak to Hudson, NY; and nearest bus is to the station in Kingston, NY but all require additional car travel to reach the studio.

Meet Cara…

Cara Marie Piazza is a natural dyer and artisan working in New York City.

She creates one of a kind textiles only using natural dye stuffs such as botanicals, plant matter, minerals, non-toxic metals and food wastes. She treats her fabrics through alchemical dye sessions, ancient shibori techniques and bundle dyeing, transforming each textile into its very own story. She works with both designers and artists to realize their natural dyeing needs as well as creates custom pieces for private clients.

Cara teaches workshops on natural dyeing and curates unique experiences merging healing, color and art.

You can see more of Cara’s work on her website on her Calyx Studios website and on Instagram.

Accommodations

Here’s a selection of places to stay within 30 miles of the studio. This is just a sample list and you can find many more options including on Airbnb or Vrbo:

There are many wonderful eateries in our region—it’s an incredible intersection of farms and food. For restaurants, checkout the nearby towns of Hudson, Tivoli, Rhinebeck, or Kingston. Germantown is the closest town but there is only one restaurant, Central House. Be sure to make reservations if you have a special eatery in mind.

“When I started working with local plants to make natural color on fibers my connection to the earth deepened. I entered into a relationship with plants that felt reciprocal, nuanced, and healing. Through this connection I’ve learned about foraging, gardening, plant medicine, and so much more.”

— Katrina Rodabaugh