13 September 2025
We were lucky enough to have an inspiring talk from Sara Cook today.
Sara is probably best known for her interest in Korean textile work and in particular working with translucent textiles influenced by Bojagi. However, her presentation today concentrated on natural dyes and the plants we could all grow at home. She disabused us of the belief many have that natural dyes
are dull, introducing us to the vibrant reds and yellows which can be the results of playing with plants like red madder, cochineal, weld and fustic as well as the more well-known results of woad and indigo for stunning shades of blue. She also explained the importance of mordants and how they change the strength and colourfastness of dyes.
Sara is currently involved with the Cherry Blossom Project, supported by the British Korean Society, which is sponsoring the material costs involved. This is an international project with participants coming forward from far and wide, all working towards an exciting exhibition of some 4,800 handstitched Mandus (Korean dumplings) in early 2026 in Worthing, after which it will appear in many other cities.
Sara will be teaching a workshop on Bojagi on 27 September.
Report by Nancy Shafee