The virgin Indigo dyer - everyone has a first time

Indigo seems to be the natural dyers staple, with variations of icy blues you can't really go wrong. I thought that perhaps it was time for me to try it out myself after spending months gawking at the stunning colours i had seen dyers produce. Here's how it went....

RECIPE I USED

12.5g indigo powder

50g THIOX

50g soda ash

A big pot of warm water

An old wooden spoon

DIRECTIONS: Mix your indigo up in the warm water, add thiox. Dissolve soda ash in separate container with warm water, and then add to your pot. Leave to sit for 15 minutes and begin your dyeing process. I purchased my ingredients from eBay separately, however you can purchase a full kit to make your life a little easier. Here is a link to Wonky Weavers indigo dye kit who also provide an instruction manual.

TIPS

Make sure you put an old cloth down when you are dyeing, indigo stains everything, oh and that includes your hands! Do wear a pair of gloves or risk looking like a smurf for the next week. Indigo vats also do not like oxygen! When dipping your fabrics, try not to introduce excess oxygen into the dye, as this will result in the whole thing being spoiled. Indigo vats can be kept running for weeks, even months if properly cared for- and a little foamy bubble on the top should form which is known as 'the flower'. This is something you wan't to gently remove each time you dye, and then pop back in once you have finished. Indigo is very much a living thing! I would almost compare the process to kombucha making.

Please make sure you pop an old cloth down! You can see the splatters i made on the cloth, imagine if that was the wooden floor..! It's so fascinating watching the colour develop as it oxidises, you see indigo blue only comes through once in contact with oxygen, so after your first dip, you'll notice your fabric is a lush turquoise green, but slowly as it oxidises, that deep indigo blue comes through.

I feel that indigo dyeing is something that you must put time and effort into. You must research before hand and learn the basics. I can't recommend this article by Graham Keegan enough. He talks about the very basics, and different types of vats you can use. I personally used the Wonky Weaver recipe however there are other options out there.

The fibres i dyed were 100% wool, cotton, and bamboo silk. I'd always recommend using natural fibres, and often when natural dyeing, synthetic fibres simply won't work. I left my fibres to drip dry for 24 hrs before dipping again, and then i left them for another 8-24 hrs before rinsing. My indigo stank, which i'm assuming is the thiox, so i had to use some scented soap to rid the smell! There was a little colour lost in this process, but it was hardly noticeable. The dyed fabrics when submerged in water remind me of the deep ocean, and cool glacial scenes; incredibly satisfying.

Above are my fabrics after one dip. I did proceed to double dip a couple of items and boy did i get some pretty blues. You can stay up to date by following my instagram stories over at @eleanorgracedesign :) Good luck on your indigo venture!