Introduction to Dyeing with Indigo
Workshop Fee: $110.00
Dyeing with indigo is unlike any other dye. When you experience it for the first time it feels like magic! Watching the color develop as the fiber oxidizes when it leaves the dye pot has to be seen to be believed. There are several varieties of plants that contain indigotin pigment that are used by traditional cultures all over the world to obtain the color blue. At Sanborn Mills Farm we grow Persicaria tinctoria, also known as Polygonum, or Japanese indigo. For this pigment to be accessible to dyers, it must be extracted from the leaves and then put into an alkaline solution with a reducing agent. In this one day class we will begin by harvesting fresh indigo from our dye garden and dyeing silk scarves a brilliant turquoise. This quick process can only be done on silk. Then, in the afternoon, we will work with the established indigo vats we have in the studio to dye cotton bandanas a deeper blue. How to build and maintain a natural indigo vat will be explained. For people who have only ever used synthetic indigo, this will be interesting, as you learn there is nothing difficult about using natural indigo. Some simple shibori techniques will be taught. Students are invited to bring one piece of natural fiber clothing that they would like to dye as well. All workshops run from 9AM- 5PM with an hour for lunch in the middle of the day.
Materials Fee: $25 Paid at time of workshop. Includes 1 silk scarf & 1 cotton bandana, all dyes and assists, handout of recipes and instructions
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