As part of the hybrid homeschooling we are doing with our local school district, the boys get to attend the farm at the school in person. Last week we had an instructor come and teach tye-dyeing with Indigo leaves. I hadn’t done it before, so it was very fascinating to learn. Glad we had cover at the school farm though, because the fall rain showed up that day, and was very heavy.
Indigo.
We were given a couple plug starts in late spring and I potted it up. It grows easily, and needs nothing more than sun and water. I am hoping to get seeds from it before the cold comes.
Soaking the fabric in the dye slurry. The boys opted for gloves, as it does stain your hands (but not synthetic fabric).
Rinsing it well in tubs of water.
Finished product.
Gorgeous color from nature.
I borrowed the hand out we were given, with the details below to do it yourself. We used silk fabric scraps to dye.
Dyeing with Fresh Indigo leaves
The plant we are using is called Persicaria tinctoria (also called Polygonum
tinctoria) or Japanese indigo.
Inside the leaf of indigo plants is a molecule called Indican. The leaf also contains
enzymes. When blended together, these two things combine to create indoxyl.
Indoxyl plus oxygen combine to create indigotin. Indigotin is the main blue
substance of the color indigo.
Indican + enzyme = indoxyl
Indoxyl + oxygen = Indigotin or indigo or Blue!
Materials and equipment:
Indigo leaves
Buckets
Blender
Cold water
Protein fiber (silk or wool) – washed
Gloves (optional)
Salt (optional for process #2)
Process #1:
1 – Harvest the indigo plants about 6 inches above the ground. Do this first thing
in the morning when the plants are coolest and contain the most juice.
2 – carefully strip the leaves off of the stalks
3 – put some leaves in the blender and fill halfway with cold water. Blend on high
until well pulverized like a smoothie.
4 – Pour this liquid into a container and add your fiber or fabric. Depending on the
size of your fabric, you may want more than one blenderful. Note – you may
want to strain the liquid through a fine mesh or cloth bag if you are dyeing
something like wool yarn to prevent the plant fibers from sticking to the yarn.
5 – Gently rotate the fabric in the liquid for 20 – 30 minutes
6 – Rinse in cold water and hang to dry
Process #2: Salt method
1 – Harvest the indigo plants about 6 inches above the ground. Do this first thing
in the morning when the plants are coolest and contain the most juice.
2 – carefully strip the leaves off of the stalks
3 – Put a big handful or two of leaves into a large bowl. Add some salt (like a
tablespoon). Massage the fabric and leaves for 20 -30 minutes. Until the leaves
have released their juice and the fabric has turned blue.
~Sarah
