Woven into The Ecology of Fashion exhibition, our Saturday series is a monthly drop-in workshop featuring hands-on experiences where you can patch jeans, make a handwarmer, use indigo and other natural dyes, learn about microplastics and more. Join us the first Saturday of each month to add some new sustainable practices into your own lifestyle or wardrobe!

These drop-in workshops are free with general admission to the Academy.

Saturday, December 7, 2–4 p.m.

Visible Mending: The Gift of Repair

Drop in workshops with Trash Academy.

At 3:30 p.m.: Blue jean implosion teach-in

Visible mending, the art of repair and maintenance, is a radical act — an investment in the clothes you already own. Clothing repair offers an alternative to fast fashion industries and extends the life of a garment for up to a year. This two-hour workshop is a place to commune, connect and share with others who love the environment and want to make a small change.

In this workshop, participants will learn a beautiful mending technique for blue jeans and take home a demonstration piece that can be reworked onto an existing item or serve as a map for a needed repair. Participants are also welcome to bring blue jeans from home.

In collaboration with the Trash Academy and the textile working group of Circular Philadelphia, the last half hour of the workshop will include a teach-in about blue jeans, their environmental impact and an introduction into fast fashion and the challenges of textile disposal in Philadelphia.

Saturday, January 4, 2–4 p.m.

Animals on the Outside

Drop in to learn how animals keep warm in cooler temperatures. Discover how humans utilize animal-inspired clothing to replicate these awesome adaptations. Take a peek at the Academy’s Herpetology and Mammalogy collections and craft your own handwarmer to take home.

Saturday, February 1, 2–4 p.m.

Indigo: Living Color

Workshop with Green Matters Natural Dye

In this dye workshop, we will explore the vibrant and ever-changing nature of indigo dyeing. Participants will have the opportunity to dip a cotton bandana into a plant-based indigo dye vat, experiencing a visual feast as the dye oxidizes before their eyes. Fibers can be dipped several times to increase the depth of shade!

Indigo is an ancient textile dyeing technique, with a history of cultivation and dyeing from all over the world. Experience this all-natural dye technique in person with the founder of Green Matters Natural Dye Company, Winona Quigley.

Saturday, March 1, 2–4 p.m.

Nature Made 

What’s the historical connection between beetles and red fabrics? How can you use stones to make colorful dresses? Learn about natural dyes and how people use rocks, plants and even beetles to make dyes for clothing. Take a peek at the Academy’s Botany Collection. Bring an old T-shirt or hat and make your own natural tie-dyed item to take home.

Saturday, April 5, 2–4 p.m.

Reimagining Fiber Flax Industry in Pennsylvania Today

Workshop with PA Flax

PA Flax Project is re-imagining the fiber flax industry in Pennsylvania. We envision a textile industry that can create responsible regional economic growth that is good for the people and planet. Flax first arrived in Pennsylvania nearly 400 years ago with German and Dutch settlers. Today flax has many uses from textiles to biocomposites.

Join us to see how PA Flax Project transforms the flax plant into a spinnable fiber in this live demonstration and info session.

Saturday, May 3, 2–4 p.m.

Purchasing Power

What are microplastics and how do they end up in the environment? How can your choice of goggles, bathing suits and pool floaties contribute to the microplastic problem? Learn how Academy scientists in the Patrick Center for Environmental Research identify microplastics in our water and help our Biogeochemistry Lab identify microplastics in their samples from the Philadelphia area.

Saturday, June 7, 2–4 p.m.

Downcycling, Recycling and Reuse: Fabscrap Education Session

In this education session, Fabscrap will introduce visitors to the issues of fashion's pre-consumer textile waste, as well as the need for downcycling, recycling and reuse for both waste reduction and a shift toward circularity.

Fabscrap is a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, New York City that has pioneered a system to recycle and reuse fabric waste, creating an accessible materials resource for creative communities, while reducing the fashion industry’s impact on the planet.

Saturday, July 5, 2–4 p.m.

Summer Styles

How does making clothing impact the global environment? What is upcycling and why is it so important? Learn all about how there is more than meets the eye in your choices for summer styles. Take a peek at the Academy’s Botany Collection. Bring an old pair of shorts and repurpose them into a lunch bag to take home.