Projects

Our projects encompass a network of volunteer-led flax and dye gardens in the Greater Manchester area. These evolving spaces go hand in hand with initiatives to glean Local Colour from our urban neighbourhoods and green spaces. The plants and earth that give this colour are foraged and harvested respectfully for dyeing and creating pigments that embody place based colour palettes.

Community based flax growing and processing is a grass roots way of creating skills and dialogues around bioregional textile systems [elaborate].

Our long term commitment to skills sharing and community building is supported and kept alive by the amazing people who bring their curiosity, enthusiasm and knowledge to a cluster of monthly crochet socials, aka The Crochet Collective, which are free to access and open to all.

If you want to get involved in any way please email Jo at commonclothmcr@gmail.com.

We frequently work in partnership with like minded groups and organisations. If you have a project idea or want to discuss working together we would love to hear from you at commonclothmcr@gmail.com

Flax & Dye Garden Network

  • The Flax Field @ Northern Roots
  • The Forest Dye Garden @ Northern Roots
  • The Flax & Dye Garden @ Forever Fields & St Margaret’s Community Centre
  • Micro Flax & Dye Garden @ The Bird Box
  • Micro Dye Garden on Cromwell Avenue
  • Micro Flax & Dye Garden @ St John’s Centre
  • Experimental Dye Bed @ Chorlton Community Garden

Exhibitions & Workshops

  • Pollinate
  • Local Colour in Old Trafford
  • Local Colour @ Chorlton Arts Festival 2026
  • The Local Colour Map

Crochet Socials

  • The Crochet Collective

[Move each project to a dedicated page or themed cluster]

The Flax Field

@northernrootsoldham

This summer Common Cloth is sowing a field of flax at Northern Roots Urban Farm in Oldham. After several years of enabling individuals and groups to grow flax in pots, small garden plots, allotments, community garden beds and reclaimed urban spaces, we are excited to start this new project.

We hope to use some of this years flax harvest to make a piece of fustian, a historically significant cloth for Oldham and Manchester. More about this soon.

The Forest Dye Garden

@northernrootsoldham

We are also creating a forest dye garden to grow the means of production for a host of botanical colour activities and fibre crafts.

Although in many peoples minds natural dyeing is associated with flowers, our colour landscape is more diverse and nuanced. It encompases leaves, bark, roots, lichen, mushrooms, soil and clay. Each place and each season holds its own abundance of plant and earth based colour. Rediscovering this knowledge and gleaning colour sensitively can help us develop a sense of place and inform locally adapted, resilient land stewardship.

We aim to create a sustainable, colour-producing and balanced ecosystem based on agroforestry principles. Traditional dye plants such as madder, woad and weld will be grown in a layered system alongside colour giving trees, bushes, perennials and ground cover chosen and arranged to be mutually beneficial. In addition to colour for dyeing textiles and creating inks and pigments, this approach will provide fibre for textiles, craft materials, building resources for tools as well as edible and medicinal plants.

The Flax and Dye Garden

@foreverfields_
@stmargaretscentrenplayingfield

We are now in the second year of growing at our small garden at Forever Fields. It may not be huge, but it is flourishing and providing a bumper harvest of woad, weld and flax among other beautiful and useful plants.

Many thanks to Sam at MUD and Jenny from St Margaret’s Community Centre for hosting us and creating such a welcoming, relaxed space. We are very grateful also to the practical gardening help from the Community Payback Team. From weeding, to strimming and willow fence building you have made a huge contribution to the plot.

Micro Dye Garden @thebirdbox

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Micro Dye Garden on Cromwell Avenue

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Pollinate

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Local Colour in Old Trafford

@stjohnscentre
@otcreativespace

This project has run from February 2026 to June 2026 is now drawing to a close. We are very proud to be exhibiting many of the stunning pieces we have created in The Window at OT Creative Space for three weeks from 22nd June 2026. There will be an opportunity to meet the participants and celebrate their amazing work at an open exhibition event on Friday 26th June in the afternoon.

This innovative project has been made possible with funding from Trafford Community Collective.

It was kick started back in February with a well attended Cake & Craft Taster and Information Event.

Local Colour Map

This year we have quietly and tentatively nudged into existence initiative that runs across all of our projects and represents a common thread. We are supporting communities, groups and individuals of all backgrounds, ages and interests to make colour using the plants on their doorstep and in their neighbourhoods.

At this year’s Chorlton Arts Festival Common Cloth invited members of the public to explore the colours given by plants growing in Alexander Park. At two free to access workshops participants were introduced to sustainable foraging practices and used mini bundle dyeing to coax colour onto fabric. The atmosphere was joyful and full of discovery.

Some participants chose to display their pieces on the Local Colour Map exhibtion wall which can still be visited at Cafe Bembe during opening hours.

The Crochet Collective

@bembecafe

New dates coming up soon.

@otcreativespace

Thursday 25th June 2026, 7pm – 9pm

@thetatton

Last Tuesday of each month during term time, 11am – 1pm

Past Projects

  • Botannical Ink Sessions for Make Space @ The Bird Box, a project funded by Mothers Who Make
  • CAF 2025
  • Crochet Connections & Wellbeing @ the Gorton Hub Community Cafe
  • CAF 2024
  • Flax @ The Carlton Club Community Garden
  • Crochet Connections & Wellbeing for ESOL students @ Salford City College