In early July I mixed up an indigo dye vat and have been enjoying dipping things here or there over the last few weeks.
This is my fifth year experimenting with indigo dyeing. Now that we're in a house with a backyard, I have plenty of space, access to a hose, and space to store and maintain my dye vat. I've always had to dye a ton at once to get the most out of a dye vat and then dump it. Being able to store it and dye a little at a time has been amazing so far. I've never really been able to do much experimenting, with so much time in between dye sessions. Having access to a vat all summer has already allowed me to work through ideas. I feel like I've made so much progress and learned a lot.
You'd think I'd be tired of dyeing things blue, but I'm not. The entire experience is still so magical to me. The mystery of how a piece will turn out is still so exciting.
I use the Jaquard pre-reduced indigo, which is available on it's own and in a kit. For more on everything I use/do when I indigo dye, see my DIY Indigo Dyeing Tutorial.
If you're interested in trying out indigo dyeing, I highly encourage you to do so! It's really fun, a great group activity, and not hard.
Below I have photos of each piece I dyed this time in it's resisted (pre-dye) state, and then after it was dyed and washed.
Accordion folded and secured with clamps.
Accordion folded into a square and secured with clamps.
Accordion folded and then folded into triangles and secured with a clamp.
Accordion folded into a square and secured with clamps.
Long skinny tucks secured with several rubber bands each.
Accordion folded into a triangle and secured with wooden resist and clamps.
Accordion folded into a triangle and secured with clamp.
Accordion folded into a square and secured with clamps.
Long skinny of different sizes tucks secured with several rubber bands each.
Honeycomb folding using this tutorial.
Honeycomb folding using this tutorial.
Dipped with ribbon still intact holding squares together. (mini charm pack)
Long skinny tucks secured with several rubber bands each.
Long skinny tucks secured with several rubber bands each.
Long skinny tucks secured with several rubber bands each.
Check out my DIY Indigo Dyeing Tutorial for more.
This will not be my last indigo dyeing this summer, but I'm also looking forward to doing some dyeing with Procion MX dyes too!
Happy Dyeing!
Wow!! You got some AMAZING results!!! My quilt group keeps talking about shibori, but only one of us has gotten around to giving it a try. Next year is Barn Quilt painting, but maybe group shibori will be the event for 2020!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful blues, and lots of interesting effects--great results from having fun! Next we'll want to see what you've made with them, of course. susanprincess at att dot net
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all your Shibori, I find it so inspiring. So much so I've bought the kit with a view to making an indigo quilt for my brothers up-coming 40th birthday....I really must get a move on! Thank you for providing so much helpful information x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing so much of yourself and work with the world. I look forward to reading all about what is going on with you, each time. Your indigo work is so inspiring to me. I hope to get to do some myself, before summers end. Thank you again !! <3
ReplyDeleteI decided a long time ago that this is NOT for me, but your results are beautiful.
ReplyDelete:) One of the first looks like an electrophoresis gel. Science nerd in me saw that! Great job on the dying process. Looks like a lot of fun to create!
ReplyDeleteOh! Thank you for sharing this! And for the tutorial. I love this! I have to learn how!
ReplyDelete-Jean💟
wonderful...and so happy you have a yard...love the dying results
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing these techniques and I've never seen that honeycomb tutorial before! My guild does a dying day in August every year (when I'm on holidays...grrrr...). I'm going to pass on these ideas to them and see what they make :)
ReplyDelete