Indigo

My friend, Diane, offered to teach a group of us how to do indigo dyeing.

It’s a complicated process that is far removed from regular tie dye.

The vat requires ongoing care, that reminds me of feeding sourdough bread starter.

Diane brought all sorts of doodads and clips and taught us about different techniques.  We used more than rubber bands, there were clips, zip ties, pvc pipes as resists.

One cool trick is using wax thread to pull gathers into the fabric to make designs.

After the resists are added, you dunk the fabric in the vat.  It comes out a murky green but air starts to turn the dye blue.

The pieces need to hang for about 15 minutes, then get double rinsed   The water finishes the color transformation and the murky green is gone, leaving the traditional indigo tones.

For deeper colors, you repeat the process. I kept redoing the bottom of this shirt for an ombré effect.

And I love the way it turned out!

Thanks for the fun morning, Diane!

Comments

[Ellen Bailey]

There's a fascinating history about some of our ancestors using the indigo plants for dye.... Looks like a fun day!