Out of Seam
In early August, Tajah Ellis, the mind behind Out of Seam, joined us at the Oakdale Summer Camp in Hudson to lead a natural dye workshop. Using marigolds, coreopsis, and eucalyptus, Tajah demonstrated how to produce rich colors and earth tones on natural fabric through bundle dyeing. Equipped with their new skills and fistfuls of plants, campers designed and dyed their own original pieces. The youth seemed to really take to the craft – by the end of the day, even the counselors found themselves arranging petals on t-shirts.
Just like we try to do with groups visiting us at the farm, Tajah was able to engage the youth with the surprising gifts of the natural world in a way that we hope stays with them, the clothes they made together serving as a reminder of the earth’s capacity for both utility and joy.
