Natural Dyeing and 17th-Century Pocket Bag Making

Gossip and pockets: two cornerstones of women’s freedom. Women’s pockets (and pocket bags, historically) have long offered a place to keep essential things close, from small knives and coins to love notes and scraps of gossip. A pocket has always been more than a few pieces of cloth.

Join Roisin Taylor, a sewist, flower farmer and floral designer, for a full-day workshop in natural dyeing and 17th-century-style pocket bag making. Using hand-stitching techniques, you’ll create your own pocket bag.

Roisin will begin with the history of women’s pockets, dispelling myths and exploring why they have been so important to women’s freedom. You’ll cut your pocket bags from natural materials such as cotton and linen, then dye them by hand using flowers grown in Roisin’s walled garden and flower farm in Northumberland.

In the afternoon, we’ll quilt and hand-stitch our pieces together, leaving you with a hand-dyed, hand-stitched pocket bag inspired by 17th-century designs. You can wear it on your belt as a foraging bag. To close the day, we’ll each write a tiny note: a piece of gossip we haven’t told anyone. We’ll tuck the notes into our pockets as a reflection on secrets, safety and the things women carry.

All materials are provided. Beginners are welcome, with additional options for those with sewing experience.

Lunch, tea and coffee are included.

About Roisin Taylor

Roisin Taylor is a flower farmer and floral designer growing pesticide-free, nature-friendly flowers in a walled garden in Northumberland, England. Using seasonal flowers and foliage, mostly grown by her and some responsibly foraged, she creates wedding florals and art installations inspired by the natural world and interwoven with urban space.

Her work is about more than the beauty of nature. It explores how thoughtful, respectful practices can enhance nature and create habitats. Roisin also communicates the truth about the opaque and destructive cut flower industry, inspiring people to think locally and grow their own flowers.

Roisin has been featured in Gardens Illustrated, The Guardian and The Telegraph for her work and research. Her story of dyeing and making a pocket bag was also featured in Mairi Eyres’s short documentary Dyeing for a Pocket, which was selected for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and the Norwich Queer International Festival of Film in 2024.