Indigo
Denise >
Having a rummage through my dyeing supplies, I discovered I’d more in stock than I thought I had of two very important, useful, and interesting dye materials – Logwood and Indigo. So today I set about making good use of that Indigo.
As well as dyeing some natural white Cheviot, I thought I’d experiment with top- or over-dyeing skeins previously dyed with other colours, particularly those of which I had a generous quantity in stock. For this session I selected skeins of Cheviot previously dyed with Bog Myrtle (leaves and twigs) ; Tomato (pinched out side-shoots) ; Rhubarb leaves.
Dyeing with indigo on natural white produces blues – the various shades being from successive batches, each leaving less of the colour in the liquor for the next batch. Top-dyeing over the various shades of beige and brown produces greens – also in diverse shades, according to the succession of batches.
Next time, Logwood ? It’s certainly one of my favourites to dye with – all those rich purples.
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How gorgeous…there’s something wonderfully comforting about wool, and yours looks fabulous
Wool addicts love the smell, too
Lovely!
Lovely colours! I’m curious, which colour does tomato produce?
D > A useful but unexciting beige. Useful as a foil to stronger colours, but also as base for over-dyeing, where the base colour can have a surprising effect in altering the shade or tone of the final colour.
Yummy, yummy colors!!
Such subtle colours, beautiful! And so very satisfying I imagine 🙂
D >Thanks, Sandra. There’s a theory that all natural-dye colours go together well. Broadly, I think that’s true, because they have a particular quality in common : complexity, or if you prefer, subtly. Every colour has hints of other colours in it, so it is easy to find complementary colours – even defying what is generally considered the rules of design with colours.
Yes, I can well believe that theory, Denise 🙂
Those are beautiful, soft colors. I would love wearing them. Too bad I don’t knit or crochet.
D > Never too late … but you’ll have been told that before, methinks, perhaps even told others!
Just gorgeous! I was just watching something about dying fabric with indigo. I’d never seen the plant that it comes from before… now my interest has really been piqued!
D > Danielle, you need to do some simple natural dyeing with your children, as it opens their eyes to the fact that no-one has a monopoly on beauty – it’s a gift that lies in the hands of everyone!
That’s a great idea. They toy with “finger knitting” which is crocheting with hand, and they do some sewing with me from time to time, but it would be fun to do a weaving project or something to that effect with yarn that we dyed ourselves! I just might need to make a trip to the store for supplies since I don’t have what I need here right now…
What wonderful rich blue colors! Aren’t indigo dyepots so much fun?! You pull your skein out of the scummy looking dye bath, and like magic, it turns blue as it oxidizes with the air. It never fails to amaze me!
D > So true!
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