Organic natural Indigo ~ Dye colour Blue 

[our Indigo is NOT synthetic]

Country of Origin: India 

The advantage in dyeing with Indigo is, that no mordant is needed.  The water doesn't need to be heated to more than 40 degrees Celsius and a little goes a long way. We can dye 3-4 kg of Wool using 50g of Indigo. 

There are many ways of dyeing with Indigo. Below you will find the recipe for a yeast vat.  For a straight forward no-waiting-required approach, you can use Hydros as an oxygen remover. Waiting time approx. one hour.

Colourfastness: Excellent for dark colours, good for lighter colours

------- 

Basic Recipe ~

It is possible to create a vat from indigo, lime (calcium hydroxide) and over-ripe fruit such as bananas or dates that relies on the chemistry of the sugars* rather than fermentation of the fruit. But it’s easier to simply use fructose shared in

Our Organic Sugar Vat Recipe

Or for a more lightfast solution go for the recipe below or for a quick Vat, use the Hydros Vat, but it does use a chemical oxygen remover.

Our Hydros Vat Recipe

Both recipe are also available as dye Kits

FERMENTATION USING YEAST:

For 500gr wool etc. at one time . (amount can be repeated several times using the same bath)

 9l water

dye container with lid
separate pot for the water bath to add the container
110gr sugar
50gr dried yeast with out preservatives etc.
30gr bicarbonate of soda
40gr ground Indigo
thermometer

This Method requires the dye bath to be on a constant 40 degrees Celsius and shouldn't exceed 50 degrees Celsius. Ideally put the dye pot in a water bath on a wire rack to ensure even distribution of temperature. 

1. Fill pot with 9l of water and heat to 40 degrees Celsius. 

2. Mix sugar and yeast and add to the water. Leave until dissolved and bubbly. 

3. Dissolve soda in a glass with hot water and add the dye, stir until smooth. Add to yeast mixture. 

4. Close lid and ideally put into a bin bag, you want it as air locked as possible. Leave at steady temperature for 8 hours. 

5. Lift lid and stir carefully until all the foamed Indigo has returned into the dye. Try to stir as little air into it as possible.

6. Close the pot up again and leave for 48 hours until the water is yellow green.

7. The water will show a metallic shimmer on the surface when ready. Carefully stir it back in.

8. Add the damp but not mordanted wool etc. make sure all are under the water add a plate or a metallic disc to press the wool etc. under the surface. Whatever swims at the top will be unevenly dyed.

9. Close it up and leave for 6 -12 hours. 

10. Remove wool etc. and press out back into the dye bath.  

11. Open wool etc. and leave exposed for at least 60min. All should turn blue. 

12. If you prefer a deeper blue add it to the dye bath again and repeat step 9. 

13. Wash twice with a mild soap, then rinse 4-5 times using vinegar in the last bath. 

14. Hang up and air for a few days or weeks. 

You can repeat this dyeing process using the same dye bath several times.

LOGWOOD ~ Available Cut or ground and as extract* 

(Bois de Campeche, Campeachy Wood) 

*Collected in the Wild (foraged) in Haiti

Logwood is a natural dye wood from Central America, used for producing blues and purples on wool, black on cotton and wool, and black and violet on silk.  

Logwood is PH sensitive.  

It is called by old dyers one of the Lesser Dyes because the colour was said to lose all its brightness when exposed to the air.

 Colour fastness: poor

------- 

Basic Recipe: 

65g bark, soaked in water for 2 days.

100g mordanted yarn/fibre (Alum 10g)

 

Bring pot with dye to simmer For 2h.

Strain through cloth, add yarn/fibre and dye bag to dye bath for 1h.

Rinse.

The logwood chips should be put in a bag and boiled for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, just before using or soak overnight, bring to the boil in the morning for 1h, strain and bind into bag.

 

* When using extract you only need to use 5-10% of the weight of your dry fabric. Logwood is one of the more excessive dyes - a little goes a long way - especially when using extract.

The Magic of Maya Blue ~ a turquoise pigment made from indigo and praised for its resistance to aging. First discovered and extensively used by the pre-Columbian Mayan and Aztec People the recipe and even the knowledge of this fantastic brilliant turquoise colour was lost for many centuries. When the colour was re discovered on archaeological digs, the puzzling question on how to create this pigment was finally solved by Michel Garcia, who created a recipe that could be made in the studio.

Maya Blue ~ made with organic Indigo, is a turquoise blue pigment that can be used for printing and painting on paper or fabric. It is not suitable for dyeing. Mayan Blue pigment is extremely light and age resistant and therefore suitable for paintings and wall hangings.

Mixed with a binder it can be applied to fabrics, canvas or strong paper.

How to?

First make your own Soya Milk

(much richer in enzymes than store bought)

25g dry soya beans

500ml water + extra to soak the beans overnight

• Soak the beans overnight.
• Strain and rinse well.
• Add the beans to a blender and blend with 500ml of cold water for about 5-7min. Strain and squeeze out through a muslin cloth. 

Fresh Soya milk will only last 2-3days in the fridge.

Application

• Brush your canvas with soya milk - Let dry flat or on the line, you don't want any cracks. Make sure you apply the pigment within a week while the enzyme are still fresh.
• Combine the pigment with a little soya milk: 1part pigment 3 parts soya milk
• Add stones or marbles to the jar and stir vigorously, crushing the pigment into smaller pieces and hydrating it evenly throughout.
• Remove marbles.
• You can add guar gum to thicken it, but it is optional.
• Apply the lovely pigment with a brush, stencil, roller or however you want to work it.

Allow the pigment to dry for 1-2weeks. Now rinse gently to remove any excess Pigment and soya milk. This is a surface application and vigorous washing may remove more pigment than desired. 

 

Have fun!

 

 

Black Mallow Rose Flowers, whole also known as Hollyhock
latin: Malvae arbor. Flor. tot.
botanical: Alcea rosea L.

Suitable for eco printing and dyeing. Black mallow will leave some gorgeous purple-blue, violet prints on fabric. I only have used them in eco printing and can confirm that Mallow prints will last for a number of years, depending on light exposure and washing.

Tips:
*use an iron mordant for deep to black prints
** use a standard mordant procedure for overall dye or print
*** only petals/flowers are used

Colour fastness: weak to medium (if a mordant is used and due to the presence of anthocyanin in the flowers)

Dyer's Broom cut

Traditionally used for dyeing yellow and green. The green will be more on the tan side.

Basic recipe:

100% Broom
10% Alum
3% Iron as green option

Mordant as required, extract broom in 85C degrees Celsius for 1h. Remove dye, switch off pot and add your item and leave overnight. Treat with iron as an after mordant. Rinse, wash.

Colour fastness: medium