Many of us have spent the past year discovering just how beautiful Berlin can be away from the busy streets and filled venues. Indeed, they say walking has become the new national sport. So what better time to get more acquainted with the capital’s diverse flora for your next nature trip? At hand is Elke Fiebig, who is always glad to show you the ins and outs of plants. A fashion design graduate, she began dyeing fabrics with natural colors before starting Still garments when her passion for nature became a profession. Now a trained plant educator, she gives guided walks through the picturesque Botanical Volkspark in Pankow letting you discover wild plants and flowers and how you can use them for dyeing. Did you know, for example, that many local medicinal plants such as yarrow and St. John’s Wort produce light yellow shades when you dye fabrics with them?
The possibilities are many: the tanin-rich leaves of oak for instance can produce gray and black tones without the use of synthetic dyes. As part of your tour you also learn the bouquet rule, meaning you can only take a handful of the respective plant at a time so that it can regenerate, leaving enough for both the animal world and other foragers. If you are already acquainted with plant-based dyes, you can put this knowledge to the test at one of Elke’s workshops, the next of which will take place at Mayda Blumenfarm on 15.08.2021. Here you can discover bundle dyeing, an easy-to-learn technique for creating colorful patterns. You will go home with a freshly dyed scarf and some new nature knowledge. The perfect way to give the living world some much-needed appreciation? We think so!
Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos: Elke Fiebig at Still Garments
Still Garments at Studios-ID, Genslerstr. 13-13A, 13055 Berlin-Lichtenberg; map
You can find the workshop dates here.
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