Photos of Indigo Dyeing

 Thao took some photos of me when I tried my hand at dyeing a shirt.  I made a leaf pattern on the front, but first I had to pick my leaves.

In the picture with me is the professor who teaches these classes.  All of those pots are indigo plants.  They seem to grow like mint - a weed that once it gets established is very hard to get rid of.  But you need a lot of the leaves in order to do anything.  Hanga said these plants are for "playing games."  The school purchases many kilograms (hundreds, probably) of leaves every year to make the dye.

Here I am pounding away with a small, flat faced hammer to crush the leaves into the fabric.

I brought a white undershirt to dye.  There is a board placed inside the shirt and the leaves are taped in place.  Then a sheet of plastic wrap is placed over the leaves.  You tap on the leaves repeatedly to press them into the fabric.  I didn't do a great job of it, but the "spirit" is there.  When you finish this step you carefully remove the leaves, then take the fabric off the board.

The leaf pattern is wrapped in a plastic bag to keep it from getting dyed, then the whole shirt was soaked in water to get everything wet.  Including the leaf pattern.  If that fabric stays dry it will wick the dye up to it which defeats the purpose of wrapping it.

When we did the dyeing at the apartment it was with fresh leaves.  This process used fermented leaves.  Fermentation is done in vats either on the floor or in a raised container.  I'm not entirely clear on the fermentation process.  Is there seed bacteria you need?  Are there bacteria on the leaves that take over?  Is it like sourdough?  I do know that depending on the temperature and humidity it can take anywhere from 5-10 days for fermentation to complete.  There is always an optimal time to use the dye.  Go too soon, and the color is not going to be a deep.  Wait too long, and it will have spoiled and end with a less vivid blue.

The top is Hanga helping me keep the shirt off the bottom of the vat where dirt and leaf debris sits.  In the bottom photo I'm working at one of the floor vats.  I'm going to boast a little and point out the excellent squat I am doing.  Heels and toes both on the ground.  Knees bent.  It's much more comfortable than sitting or squatting on toes with heels up.  

"Do not fall or drop anything in" was a warning to me.  These are fairly deep holes and it would be difficult to recover items or yourself.  But it also means there is less chance of getting caught in the debris on the bottom.  I did one go in the "above ground" vat, and three in the "in ground" vats.  Between each soak in the dye you need to rinse the fabric with hot water.  That encourages oxidation of some chemical in the plant leading to the blue color.

After you feel the color is good, rinse one last time and dry.  The Indigo House has a spin drier to speed up the process.  I was told to rinse the shirt another time, let it dry, then rinse in hot water.  After that, wash it with a little detergent.  It is important to start wearing it soon so that it gets washed a few more times.  The green leaf pattern will turn brown otherwise.

There's my shirt.  As I said yesterday, I will wear it to a faculty meeting.  I'm planning to wear it on Monday or Tuesday of next week, and maybe Thursday of this week.  Thao didn't think she would have anything to do, but Susan had asked if I could have a mask dyed for her.  So, Thao did that one.  When the Roberts Fellows come again, I think the International Office Staff should be "forced to" go with them to do the whole process.

Zoom class is about to start.  I need to open things up.