Quintessential Blue: Dyeing with Indigo

Indigo has been used for centuries to obtain vivid blues on textiles. Indigo dyeing is one of the most intriguing, requiring an oxidation to turn blue after removing the textiles from the dye bath. In this class, we will make and use 2 types of indigo vats: "organic" based on the work of M. Garcia and a "thiox" indigo vat using thiourea dioxide as a reducing agent. We'll talk about how to maintain an indigo dye vat and the various types of indigo vats. Students will make an indigo sample card and will be able to dye 2 50 gm skeins of yarn for a small project. Yarn will be combination of natural white and naturally dyed colors for over-dyeing.