Dye Raffia & Make Baskets

immerse yourself in the slow, creative nourishment of mindful handcrafting

enrol now for $97
Let me paint you a picture...

You’re curled up in your favourite cosy chair, with a bagful of raffia at your feet, and time flows differently as you joyfully weave a beautiful, unique basket.

Are you…

  • curious about basket making, but you don’t know where to begin?
  • dreaming about living more in tune with nature and dyeing with plants?
  • looking for a slow, mindful craft to help you relax and unwind?

If you nodded along to any of those, then keep reading...

Introducing...

Dye Raffia & Make Baskets

Learn how to dye raffia with plants, then confidently transform your fibres into beautiful baskets using a variety of stitches.

sign me up, please!

Lovely words from a student:

“This is so fun and relaxing to do! I have been following Rebecca for years, having learned a lot from her, her books and her online workshops.

Rebecca clearly explains in the videos how you can dye your raffia with different plants from your environment. Once you have done this, the weaving of the basket can begin. On to Ellie’s videos. She explains clearly and very calmly, step by step, what you need to do to create a beautiful raffia basket.

The natural colors of the plant-dyed raffia fit together so beautifully, this makes me happy. It is a relaxing job to do. You can put it away and pick it up again easily. If you like making something with materials from nature and the colors that nature gives you, at your own pace step by step, then this workshop is definitely for you. And you certainly won’t stop at just one raffia basket!”

– Karin waag

Karin’s first basket:

Learn this ancient craft

Basket making is believed to be the oldest craft in the world, dating back more than ten thousand years and predating pottery.

It’s the most widespread craft and is found in some form in almost every part of the world.

tell me more

Why I love basket making...

A little bit of calm

Weaving is soothing and feels sooo much better than scrolling on a phone. It’s meditative to see the spiral go round and the basket grow.

Baskets make adorable gifts

You can never have too many!

Busy life?

It’s the perfect craft to do in snatched moments throughout the day. Put down your basket and pick back up later without any worry about losing your place.

Preview the course

What you’ll learn

Dye raffia with plants

  • Video classes for dyeing with avocado skins and stones, pomegranate skins and homegrown Japanese indigo leaves.
  • How to prepare your fibres for dyeing – raffia, fabric and wooden beads.
  • Written recipes for dyeing with tea and hopi black dye sunflower seeds, onion skins, turmeric and alder cones.

Dye with avocados

  • Detailed video on dyeing with avocado skins and stones.
  • Dye raffia, fabric and wooden beads.
  • Tips for enhancing the dye to make the deepest, richest colours.

Dye with homegrown Japanese indigo

  • Dye with fresh Japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria) leaves using the salt rub method.
  • Video class for dyeing raffia and fabric.
  • Written instructions for growing the plants in your garden or in pots.

Extra dye recipes

  • Written recipes for onion skins, turmeric and alder cones
  • Adapt the recipes to use other plants

Make baskets

  • Weave your baskets using the long-stitch.
  • Shape your vessel from a plate into a bowl.
  • Optional: add fabric into your weavings to introduce different textures.

Bonus weaving videos

  • Learn 3 other stitches including: v-stitch, figure-of-8 and a random stitch using yarn.
  • Add handles onto your baskets.
Yes, I’d love to make baskets with you!

Enrol now for $97

All the knowledge & support you need to become an overnight basket maker:

  • 14 easy-to-follow videos. Over two hours in total, divided into bite-sized chunks.
  • Detailed written notes and recipes to accompany the dye videos.
  • Subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
  • Access to a private Facebook group where you can ask Rebecca any questions and receive additional support. Plus make friends with other natural dyers from around the world and chat about your projects!
  • Ongoing access to the videos and lesson notes. Log into the website at any point to access the course materials.

Meet your instructors

Hi! We’re Rebecca Desnos & Ellie Beck

natural dyers + textile artists

Rebecca is based in the UK, and Ellie lives in Australia.

We’ve been friends for many years and through the magic of the internet, we’ve joined up to offer this course together!

We’ve both been dyeing with plants for a decade and love to empower others to get started with slow, mindful crafts.

Rebecca specialises in natural dyeing with foraged and homegrown plants, and has written a number of books, including Botanical Colour at your Fingertips and Grow Your Own Colour.

Ellie is a textile artist, writer, photographer, and creativity coach. She’s the author of the book Mindful Thoughts for Makers, and has been teaching online and in-person for over 15 years.

We’re so thrilled to offer this course and inspire you on your creative journey.

Let’s gather around your kitchen table and craft together, shall we?

Let’s do this!

enrol now for $97, with lifetime access

Lovely words from a student:

“The videos are very well done, with excellent visuals, and clear instructions. It’s been a lot of fun and rewarding as well.

Both Rebecca and Ellie are wonderful teachers and artists. I feel lucky to be able to learn from them both!”

– Catherine rasmussen

ready to join us?

Bring some mindful creativity into your life...

join now

$97

  • Over 2 hours of videos divided into bite-sized chunks.
  • Written dye recipes that you can easily refer to.
  • Bonus written instructions for growing Japanese indigo in your garden.
  • Access to a private Facebook group for support & guidance.
  • Lifetime access to the videos and lessons. Log into your account to view the content at any point.
start dyeing & weaving

Frequently Asked Questions

After you’ve placed your order, you’ll be asked to create an account and choose a password. Then you can log in to your account on any device or computer to access the content. You’ll be able to watch the videos and read the course notes at any point.

You’ll have lifetime access, so you’ll be able to watch the videos and access the other course materials for as long as they are available on the internet, which will be many years.

Some of the videos in this course are available in my membership for £15/month.

In the full course of Dye Raffia & Make Baskets, you get four bonus videos with extra stitches (figure of 8 stitch, v stitch and random stitch), plus a video on adding handles. This is an additional 40 minutes of videos.

Plus, there are three bonus (written) dye recipes for onion skins, turmeric and alder cones.

The full course gives you lifetime access, but the membership has a monthly cost. You lose access to the membership content when you stop paying.

Of course.

For the basket making, you’ll need: a large bunt tip needle, raffia and scissors. Optional: any ribbon you’d like to add into your weavings.

For the natural dyeing, you’ll need: a heat source, a metal pot (ideally with a lid), a spoon for stirring, a sieve, a muslin cloth for straining and a large bowl, and rubber gloves.

Optional: ferrous sulphate for darkening your dyed fibres, alum for mordanting silk ribbon you choose to dye, soya milk for pretreating and plant-based fabric you use. Plus a bucket for soaking your fabric during the soya milk process.

Yes, of course! After enrolling into the course, you’ll have access to my private Facebook group where you can post any questions and I’ll help you.

Lovely words from a student:

“The content is calmly and thoroughly explained, the colors achieved are so beautiful and soothing and the basket weaving section is terrific.”

– Debbie

This course is for you if:

  • You’re ready to embrace the beautiful imperfections of a handmade craft.
  • You’d like to learn natural dyeing.
  • You’re looking to bring some moments of calm into your life.

This course is NOT for you if:

  • You’d like to dye perfectly repeatable colours.
  • You’re looking to make baskets from locally foraged fibres such as pine needles or willow. This course is specifically for raffia, but it’s a great way to dip your toes into the world of basketry.
  • You want to make baskets that are perfect and repeatable. Raffia lends itself better to organic shapes. Remember, there is beauty in imperfections.
Are you ready to join us and begin natural dyeing and basket making?
bring some creativity into your life...