This was my indigo work-station. It stinks so I had to do it outdoors. I volun-
teered Sara to guide me in this venture, which she undertook gamely, and in questioning the caretaker about a suitable space, she discovered this one outdoor outlet - table included. That's my $15 Goodwill roaster, money well spent.
The various shades are based on the number of dips into the dye bath and the natural color of wool that I was dipping. I had a couple of skeins that were previously dyed yellow with lupine. Sara said that indigo dyers she knew never tainted their pots with previously dyed skeins - always the other way around. Skeins are first dyed with indigo, then dyed with lupine. Point taken.
Indigo isn't like other dyes - time in the bath doesn't mean a deeper shade. It's times dipped into the bath that determines the depth of shade. It was a great learning experience. The darker blue on the left was on grey wool. I'll hang onto several of these skeins and when rabbit brush blooms, see if I can't come up with a green. Also, Sara said that indigo that crocks, i.e., has too heavy of a load of dye and it flakes off, can be neutralized by a vinegar bath, should you ever need to know this.
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7 comments:
Look at all the shades of blue! I've got to try that one day.
Beautiful blues! I didn't know much about indigo dyeing -- what a neat process.
Lovely! I love indigo, even though it's tedious to work with. Well worth it though, don't you think?
So pretty!
Do you grow your indigo? I've been thinking about doing some natural dyes.
Did I just type that? {head hits table}
The blues look like your sky pictures! Beautiful!
I have an extra roaster, I am going to do that some day! I work too much right now :(
Beautiful colors Sharon!
Such a lovely tub of colors - right up my alleyway!
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