32. Jude Craig – Atelier Bye-Ways

Textiles | Natural Dyeing

Jude is a natural dyer and textile artist, passionate about extracting colours from nature, particularly indigo. 

Her studio, nestled amongst towering mountain ash and a thriving garden of dye plants, showcases lovingly dyed yarns, fabrics and artworks. Committed to preserving ancient traditions, she shares her expertise through hands-on demonstrations, empowering others to embrace the craft and work responsibly with nature's hues.

Built in the 1940's as a sewing factory and later as part of Upwey High School, Jude's studio encompasses three areas. Visitors enter via a working natural-dye studio bedecked with cauldrons of colour, bear witness to a teaching and workshop space, resplendent with monster indigo vats, and delight their senses in a serene, sewing boudoir flooded with natural light, the creative process on full display.

“My creative mantra for many years still holds true. As part of the Lost Trades Family, the craft of natural dyeing courses through my veins. My creative endeavours embrace the maxim "Knowledge not shared, is knowledge lost".

My stitch work is informed by the construction lines of sacred geometry and the number patterns associated with it.

I look deeply at hidden patterns in nature and ponder their alchemical roots."

— Jude Craig