Kirsten Gabrielsen is a natural plant dyer, knitter and knitting instructor based in Orange County, NY. Kirsten grew up in Denmark and moved to the United States in 1985 after marrying her American husband Bill, a high school art teacher. Kirsten, with a background in Clinical Sciences, worked at her local Community College as a technical assistant and Sustainability Coordinator until her retirement in 2022. Upon retirement, she took up the craft of natural plant dyeing and hasn’t looked back since. Spending the first season experimenting with mostly harvested plants from her surrounding areas, she began to grow her own dye gardens the following year. Her dye gardens now include about a dozen different dye plants. In addition, Kirsten purchases natural dye materials from various reputable suppliers. 

Kirsten uses dyeing processes that are gentle and each dye lot is unique while the colors produced reflect nature in beautiful and subtle ways. She uses various yarn bases, including locally produced New York State yarns in her practice.  

In addition to plant dyeing, Kirsten teaches knitting at her Danstrik Studio and organizes Knit-alongs and Knit-togethers at local Orange County, NY establishments.