The Department of Textile and Fashion Design at ARUCAD hosted a hands-on workshop titled “Experimental Hand Dyeing: Material, Process, Expression”, offering participants a comprehensive experience that combined technical insight with creative experimentation.
Conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elham Etemadi and Facilities Coordinator Tahir Pirgalioğlu, the workshop invited participants to work with raw fibers and engage in manual dyeing practices. Throughout the process, they were able to observe firsthand how material and production method influence the outcome of color and expression.
During the opening session, Facilities Coordinator Tahir Pirgalioğlu explained that dyeing isn’t always applied after the fabric is woven.
“Sometimes the fabric is dyed post-weaving, and in some cases, even fully finished garments can be dyed, depending on what the designer envisions as the outcome.” he stated.
Pirgalioğlu also emphasized the most common method:“The most widely used approach is to dye the fiber in advance, before it goes into the loom—whether it’s hand-woven or machine-woven, it doesn’t matter.”
Following this introduction, participants worked with raw threads and manually practiced fiber dyeing. The session allowed for a direct observation of how color interacts with material and process, encouraging expressive, experimental textile approaches.
