October Indigo Dyeing Day

Last week I played again with indigo. If weather permits I’ll be teaching an indigo dyeing class Thursday.

indigo napkinsI dyed napkins, bandanas, and several shirts for Dave and I.

Here I am removing the strings where I had tied up one of the shirts.

rinsing shirt

If you have never dyed with indigo, it is magical. When you remove your fabric from the dye pot, it is a yellow green. As the fabric comes in contacts with air, it turns blue. On the shirt below you can see what I mean. This shirt had been out in the air for over a half hour, but it was tied up. Once I untied it, the part that didn’t get to the air was still green.

Octindigomyshirt1

Within a minute or less, that same shirt turned completely blue.

indigomyshirt2

I was concerned it would be too dark, but after washing and drying it, I was quite happy with it.

myindigoshirt2

Here is another one of my shirts. I really like the markings on this one.

myindigodye1

I also dyed several shirts for Dave including these two. This first one turned out pretty classy.

davesindigo1

This one definitely reminds me of the 60s.

davesspiralshirt

 

Indigo is really lovely. You can dye with fiber reactive dyes and get close to the color, but there is something so special about indigo. Every session I dye with indigo just reminds me why I love it so much.

Here are closeup shots of three napkins.

indigo napkins indigonapkin2 indigonapkin1

I love, love, love the texture. If you’ve been thinking about indigo dyeing, please go ahead and try it. You won’t be disappointed, and you’ll end up with some lovely pieces.

Now to keep my fingers crossed for a good dyeing day for class on Thursday! Thanks for dropping by.