Stitch Colour Cloth meets on the second Saturday of the month from September to May at Oakbank Community Centre, Viewlands Road West, Perth PH1 1NA
There is an opportunity to stitch and chat with other members between 12 and 2 followed by our speaker from 2-3.30pm. Two of the meetings are full day workshops, these book up quickly and are open only to members.
To join click here or come along to a meeting as a visitor (£10 donation) and find out more. Workshops are only open to members.
2026/2027 Programme
Speaker: Amy Reid – From Soil to Skein : Growing a Natural Dye Garden
Amy Reid of Perthshire Wool is a sheep farmer, wool producer, and natural dyer. She shares how she cultivates colour for textiles from shades of red created with madder root to tones of blue from woad, bright yellows from marigolds, and soft greens from nettles, and dyeing wool from her own flock to produce small batches of naturally dyed yarn. Discover how to start your own summer dye garden, with tips on growing, harvesting, and storing plants for autumn and winter dyeing. Amy also discusses founding The Rooted Textiles Festival, a one-day event celebrating the origins of textiles, with a programme of workshops, talks, a grease fleece market, marketplace and excellent local food, returning to Madderty Hall, Crieff, on Sunday 4 October 2026.
Speaker: James Donald – Adventures in Warp + Weft: A PickOne Story
Weaver and owner of Pick One Studios, James Donald has been weaving since 1997, and in this talk he shares how his practice has grown into a vibrant and established part of the creative landscape in Edinburgh and beyond. James will share his personal creative journey, guiding you through the different eras of his practice and reflecting on how both his work and the studios have evolved over time. He’ll speak about the exciting growth in workshops and classes, particularly the surge in interest and community following lockdown, and how this momentum has shaped the studio today. This tactile, visually illustrated presentation will offer plenty of inspiration, with opportunities to ask questions throughout and afterwards. Members will also have the chance to purchase selected pieces on the day. An insightful, creative, and welcoming event not to be missed.
Workshop: Jo Pudelko – Sketchbooking for Creatives : Demystifying the Design Process’
This workshop, ‘Sketchbooking for Creatives : Demystifying the Design Process’ is led by jeweller and multi-media artist Jo Pudelko. It will encourage you to develop your own interpretations of a theme and build confidence in developing your own way of working. Jo will talk through how to approach a design, develop ideas from your inspirations and explore ways to express your ideas in your own work. Have fun with experimental sketchbooking and spark your creativity, refine your ideas and explore relaxed mark making, repetition, mirroring, collage and other ways to start producing considered design ideas you can develop further in your own way of working and and in your own style.
Christmas Activity & Lunch
Join the annual Christmas meeting for a fun textile related seasonal craft activity, a Christmas lunch and Secret Santa!
Speaker: Katy Emck OBE – Title of Talk: Teaching Needlework in Prisons
Katy Emck OBE is the Founding Director of Fine Cell Network and joins us via Zoom to share the story about this UK-based charity and social enterprise which is committed to the rehabilitation of people in prison and prison leavers. Since 1997, Fine Cell Network have been helping people to see what they are capable of, offering them hope for a different future, through the medium of needlework. Katy’s talk is a description of the purpose, origins and activities of Britain’s largest prison enterprise training and paying men and women in prison to do museum-worthy embroidery and selling their work to the general public
Speaker : Karen Haggis – The Giant Himalayan Nettle and Nepalese Textiles
The talk will include video footage, photos and examples of spinning, weaving and knitting with giant nettle fibres, weaving using simple looms and fine, mercerized cotton using an inlaid weft known as ‘Dhaka’ weaving and ‘counted thread’ embroidery. There will be an opportunity after the talk to look at and handle examples of these textiles and some of the implements used to make them.
Workshop: Rachel Drake – Textile Foiling
In this workshop textile artist Rachel Drake will focus on learning the Art of Textile Foiling. Learn techniques to create layered, textured and dynamic surfaces, working in abstract and experimental ways. You will discover how to create various effects including patterns and abstract surfaces, ideal for adding depth, texture and originality that you can carry into embroidery, mixed media, or larger textile pieces.
Speaker: Poppy Jarratt – 2 Miles² – Creating a Wearable Garment with Resource and Knowledge of 2 Miles² of AK Bell Library
Find about about Perth’s UNESCO City of Craft Designation, and a project they’ve have been working on with Plus Perth, a membership-based mental health charity, AK Bell Library’s sustainability officer, and local maker, Seona Anderson – 2 Miles². The project involved growing flax in Plus Perth’s city centre garden, processing, scrutching, and heckling the flax until it could be woven and sewn into a wearable garment using knowledge and resource of 2 Miles² of AK Bell in Perth. The process was also recorded to create a short documentary film, discussing the preservation of craft skills, the carbon footprint of creating textiles for fast fashion, and how a community can come together to create a garment that is so much more than the seeds it grew from.
AGM & Members Tales
Have your say at our annual AGM, hear first hand a summary of the year’s activity and plans for the upcoming programme.