Summer Indigo Dyeing

I mentioned in my last post that I had done some indigo dyeing recently and I thought I'd share more of that dye session today. I wasn't originally intending to, but I've always documented all my dyeing here, so it didn't seem right to gloss over it without a proper post! Especially since I haven't done much dyeing the last few years!

The main reason I wanted to dye this summer was to dye some pieces of lawn fabric for a quilt. I used Cambridge Cotton Lawn* for these pieces. I've dyed lawn many times over the years, but have used very little of it. They are some of my favorite pieces I've made, the lawn takes the dye so well! I originally meant to use it for clothing, but that just never happened. So now my plan is to make an all lawn indigo quilt! I only needed to dye about 2 yards worth to have enough for the quilt.

If you're interested in trying out indigo dyeing check out my tutorial: DIY Indigo Dyeing


If you've ever dyed with indigo, you'll know it's more fun with friends! Last year I did some ice dyeing with our neighbor and her daughter so I thought they might be game to try indigo, and they were! We made a day of it and dyed all kinds of things: fabric, tea towels, t-shirts, and even a sweatshirt and jeans. A big thanks to my neighbor for most of the in-action photos in this post! :)

We used these indigo dyeing kits*. They make it so easy!



Introducing people to indigo dyeing in particular is so fun because it's a pretty magical experience. When you first pull the pieces from the dye vat, they're neon green! Slowly over about 20 mintues the dye oxidizes and turns deep blue.



Unwrapping the resisted pieces is like opening little presents. You don't know what you're going to get! Still so fun, even though I've been doing this for about 10 years!


It was a very successful dye day! The weather was perfect and we all came away with pieces we liked.


I tried dyeing a pair of really light wash jeans that I had picked up on clearance last month. I couldn't get them quite dark enough for my taste (even after a few dips), so I did end up overdyeing them with RIT dye. But it was a fun experiment!


Here are the pieces we made with shape resists! The one with the circles was made with plexi circles* by Rossie Hutchinson.. Rossie created a coupon code (Jeni20) to use through the end of September to save 20% off her itajme shapes in her shop*.

Here are my four pieces of lawn, and after you can see them each alonside the resisted fabric:






Fabric was scrunched into big messy balls and then resisted with rubber bands.


Accordion folded into a square and secured with circle resists and clamps.


Long skinny tucks of different sizes tucks secured with several rubber bands each.


Accordion folded into a rectangle and secured loosely with twine.


I love to use white sheets as drop cloths when dyeing because then they become a bit of a magical dyed piece too! This sheet has seen some ice dyeing and some indigo!

Happy Making!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.