To do this, a reducing agent like sodium hydrosulfite, Spectralite, or Rit Color Remover is added at a rate of 1 tablespoon/gallon of water. The next step is to reduce the dye molecules in the dyebath. I found this image of workers in Asia adding oxygen to an indoxyl-laden dyebath at. They still won’t stick to fiber in this state, but we’re getting there. The liquid turned a deep green-blue. During this process, the indoxyl is transformed into very fine insoluble blue particles. We scooped up and poured bucketfuls of dyebath over and over again for 20 minutes to add lots of air bubbles. Next, we oxidized the dyebath by introducing oxygen in the form of air. Some people use baking soda, wood ash, or lye to accomplish this. We raised the alkaline level from 7 (the pH of water) to 9 by adding household ammonia at the rate of 2 tablespoons/gallon of liquid used. It needs to be chemically modified by alkalinizing it with ammonia, oxidizing it with oxygen until it becomes blue-green in color, and reducing it by adding sodium hydrosulfite and allowing it to rest until it becomes neon yellow. The indoxyl will not stick to cloth in its current state. The indican molecules had broken down into blueish-indoxyl and sugar. Robin scooped up a jar of the tea to show us the desired color. We poured the tea through a sieve to remove dirt and debris. The leaves went into the orange compost bucket. We put on heat-resistant gloves and used a short rake to scoop out the leaves and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. We used a long compost thermometer to keep track of the temperature.Īt 145º you could smell the wilted copper-tinged leaves and see why the dyebath is referred to as “indigo tea.” When the tea was 160º, we cut the heat. The water was heated to 160º over a two-hour period. She poured 12 gallons of tap water into each pot (enough to cover the leaves with water) and lit the burners. Robin placed the pots of leaves over propane burners. The black buckets were full of fresh stems, the red baskets held the stripped stems, and the two 80-quart stainless steel pots held the fresh leaves. Once cut, they need to be processed immediately before naturally occurring enzymes in the leaves start to decay the indigo pigment (aka indican). To create the brightest color, the plants are picked just before they start to flower. Our first job was to strip the basil-like leaves from the 24 pounds of indigo stems harvested that morning. Here is what she wrote: strip leaves, steep in water to 160º (measure water first), alkalinize, oxidize and reduce water, wait for reduction to be complete, dye and send me pictures! Robin had walked us through all these steps with humor and grace … and hospitality she and her husband, Paul, fed us every step of the way. Two weeks later, when I went to try it myself, I texted her to ask for a quick cheat-sheet version of the directions. Robin explained the steps we were going to go through. Upon arrival, I immediately fell in love with her farm and her sheep. It turns out every summer when Japanese indigo plants are ready for harvest, Robin hosts all-day long indigo workshops at her farm in Breeding, Kentucky. Principles of Chemistry– the only course in college that made me call home crying.īack I went to the Farmers Market, now three years later, to find Robin to look for the help I needed. The color was in the leaves. I read up on how to extract indigo pigment from leaves, and I saw words like alkalization, oxidation, and reduction in the directions. Three years later, I had a bumper crop of volunteer Japanese Indigo plants.ĭuring the summer, I noticed there were hints of blue on some of the bruised leaves. Little did I know how easily they would self-seed here in Tennessee. With winter approaching, I left my small crop of indigo to die, in situ. The leaves were green, the flowers were pink, and the stems were a bronzy-red. By September, the plants looked like this.Īs the plants matured to the flowering stage, I was surprised to see there was no blue in sight. I bought four of her seedlings and planted them that day. I wanted in on this exciting blue action. The yarn is milled from wool shorn from her own flock of Jacob sheep. On that June morning, owner, Robin Verson, was selling Japanese Indigo plants the plants she uses to make indigo dye for her gorgeous yarns. Three summers ago, I was cruising the Nashville Farmers Market when I spied Hill and Hollow Farm’s vegetable, flower, and hand-dyed yarn stand.
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