An Indigo Dye Workshop with Flora Arbuthnott

Research
Written By Ria Burns

Note before reading: This blog was written in 2017, when I was studying for my MA (hence the Harvard referencing!). Where needed, I have edited these posts to correct any factual inaccuracies. This post was last edited Jan 2025.

There is a chapter on dyeing with woad and indigo in my 2023 book Dyeing Yarn Naturally - buy a signed copy here! (Also available from all good online and physical booksellers).

Following on from my semi-successful attempt to create a woad vat, I wanted to have a go with indigo (a tropical source of blue dye). Instead of creating my own vat, I booked onto an evening workshop in Bristol where I could use a pre-made indigo vat, and also learn how to make my own. I also wanted to test how knitted fabric would react with indigo, and whether shibori-style resist techniques would work well on a stretchy textile.

Flora Arbuthnott facilitated the workshop. She is a printmaker, forager and natural dyer, and says this about her dye practice:

"Being in nature is an important part of my practice. I go out foraging regularly, observing, and learning about the wild plants that grow around us. I use many of these plants for natural dyeing. Gathering meadowsweet and buddleia flowers, oak galls, and dock roots, or growing more exotic dye plants in my garden such as madder, woad, and coreopsis." (2017, online)

Her ethos is fantastic and very much aligned with mine - using locally foraged plants and growing her own.

Burns, R. (2017). Indigo Workshop 1. (Own Collection)

Burns, R. (2017). Indigo Workshop 1. (Own Collection)

Flora started the workshop by showing us how to make an indigo vat from dried pigment powder. I learnt that Flora uses Michel Garcia's organic 1-2-3 method to create her indigo vats. Described by Botanical Colors below:

"Michel’s technique, which is based on the traditional indigo vats of Morocco, India and Provence, relies on the chemical reactions between a mineral alkali and a natural reducing agent to remove excess oxygen (a chemical process called reduction), which liberates the indigo dye molecule, allowing it to attach to fibers and bond." (Botanical Colors, 2017, online).

The recipe is as such:

  • 1 part powdered natural indigo

  • 2 parts calcium hydroxide, also known as lime

  • 3 parts fructose

She maintains her vats by adding more of this mixture every now and then, and also reclaims the used indigo powder by sifting the rinse water through a muslin so that it can be used again. This is not only great from a sustainability perspective, but also a financial one! Indigo does not require a mordant to fix to the fabric, which reduces preparation time and the need for more chemicals. The materials still need to be scoured, however.

After learning some basic shibori-style techniques with wooden blocks, clamps and pegs, we began to dip our fabric in the vat. As with dyeing with woad, the fabric is dipped into the vat for short period of time (about a minute), then carefully removed, so that the fabric can oxidise and turn from green to blue. You then keep dipping until you achieve the shade of blue desired. The resists worked on my knitted fabric much better than I expected, and after a couple of ‘splodgy’ outcomes, I began to get the hang of the resist technique and produce clearer shapes.

Burns, R. (2017). Indigo Workshop 2. (Own Collection)

Burns, R. (2017). Indigo Workshop 2. (Own Collection)

My swatches were knitted in pure wool, and I was told that the alkaline nature of the vat would did make the wool a bit 'crispy'. To counteract this, I was advised to soak them overnight in a vinegar solution. I followed this advice, then washed with a pH neutral soap. The swatches had lost a bit of their softness, but not so much as to have ruined the textile. It is worth considering this, if using indigo to dye wool in the future.

I'm really pleased I booked onto the workshop, as I learnt so much more through doing than I would have done by reading a book. It suits my learning style and just goes to show how valuable learning through doing and knowledge sharing is to learning a subject with such a rich history. 

 

References:

Ria Burns
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