Natural dyes for education and colour experimentation

In January 2026 a new book, Natural dyes for education and colour experimentation, was published by the University of Lapland and Colour4CRAFTS, a research consortium funded by EU-Horizon. The book, available in open access, is intended to serve as a guide and inspiration for the use of natural dyes in creative processes. The book is aimed at teachers and students in higher education, as well as professionals in the fields of art, design, and craft. With environmental and health consciousness on the rise around the world during the last decades, natural dyeing has gained popularity among crafters, designers and researchers, even reaching the textile industry to some extent. The book provides valuable information and practical insights for teaching and learning about natural dyes in a safe, sustainable, comprehensive and explorative way. The book highlights dyes as versatile elements of creativity and emphasises their environmental and industrial implications. Grassroot level perspectives enables the book to be accessible to diverse audiences and utilised in education and dyeing workshops, while the book’s theoretical insights and technical details encourage further studying and reflection. Furthermore, the book is filled with stimulating visual examples, recipes and instructions for experimentation with the colourful world of natural dyes. Natural dyes for education and colour experimentation is authored by researchers and educators from the Colour4CRAFTS consortium partners, including Craft Science programme at the University of Helsinki, the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland, and the School of Design at the University of Leeds, as part of Colour4CRAFTS’ dissemination of research. The book includes research and content produced by the Colour4CRAFTS project (no. 101094809), which is financially supported by the European Union “Research and Innovation Action” Horizon-CL2-2022 Heritage-01-04 programme.