Dyeing for Blue

Indigo is one of the oldest dyes used for textiles and printing. People from many different countries have utilized this organic compound to create a distinctive blue. This workshop will familiarize you with a creative, multicultural practice that utilizes predominantly plant-based materials. After the workshop, you will be able to replicate the techniques and processes. The vat-making method is safe for (supervised) children to use. The objective of this class is to introduce students to shibori and natural indigo blue. You will use a basic shibori technique and dye a cotton scarf. Shibori is a Japanese, manual, resist dyeing technique. We will prepare an organic, fermentation dye vat utilizing indigo powder, an extract prepared from the plant Indigofera tinctoria. Ages 14 & up.