Indigo blue - growing, harvesting, processing and marketing indigo dye plants

Wow, what an amazing thread! I wish I were able to grow my own woad or indigo and have the time and patience to create my own dye. You all are inspriing!

My guy asked for one thing for Christmas - navy blue organic cotton socks. The problem is, Paul's feet are size 15. The only organic socks I have found in that size are natural or black (his/our favorites are at Maggie's Organics). He doesn't like black socks, so I looked for dye. He assumed I'd just use a chemical navy dye on the natural colored socks, though I searched and found an indigo dye at Knitpicks.com! As R found and tried with her dye kit, it did come with some chemical fixatives (? I really didn't pay attention to what they were). This kit came with gloves, though unlike R's experience, the dye did not burn my skin when I got the dye on my skin despite the gloves.

This kit recommended repeat dippings (as I called it) to increase the color intensity, though I see that others will leave the fabric in the dye for lengths of time. And the kit said the dye would be good for a couple of days. If I recall the instruction correctly, the reason for the "dipping" - just squeezing the fabric in the top liquid of the dye bucket, doing your best not to oxidize the dye too much - was because the dye powder would settle or be uneven in the bottom. In retrospect, that would be important for a lighter color, not for the dark color I was going for. I dyed the socks right before Christmas - and only had time for 2 or 3 "dips" so the color was not as dark as Paul wanted. So a week or two later, I tried two more "dips" which didn't seem to darken the color much, if at all.

I found this thread because I wanted to share this 3-minute video "The Link Between Japanese Samurai and Real Indigo." I tried to read through the thread to see if these attributes of indigo (flame resistance! anti-bacterial!) were mentioned previously though I didn't see it.



So now we say that Paul has Samurai socks!

While I had a 4 gallon bucket of dye for less than a dozen pairs of socks, I had two formerly white shirts of my own, that were now that dingy off-white (complete with yellow armpit stains!) from loads of use and no bleaching, but the fabric was still fine. So I "dipped" them in indigo to give them new life. The picture below came out very dark and dingy - the lighting was really bad - but you get an idea of how much better they look!

Paul still wants his socks darker, so I've ordered more dye and will try again, since I'm not sure if the first batch works any more (it oxidized, perhaps?). (FWIW, I tried giving him Darn Tough socks, figuring trading buy-it-for-life for organic made some sense, though the nylon in them makes his feet sweat which is not a happy thing. See permies.com threads on Darn Tough socks here and here.) I'll try to get better pictures to post here with the next round on the Samurai socks!

Jocelyn, I think the 'trick' is in the quality of the indigo vat itself, the number of dips and also the duration of each dip.
Catherine Ellis says:

I often receive questions about indigo dye that fades very quickly on a textile. When I ask the dyer how long the textile was immersed in the vat the response is usually “1 or 2 minutes”. That is not enough time! Each immersion in the vat needs to be long enough to permit the indigo to penetrate into the fiber: at least 10-15 minutes. Otherwise the dye simply sits on the surface of the textile, making it susceptible to fading and rubbing off.

 (from her blog Here )

Her 20 hour dip cotton sample is fairly dark at only  one dip.
I've only dyed once with indigo...others had prepared the vat and I only came to dip my hemp warp a few times.  The results were very pale and I thought I might not have washed/scoured the yarn well enough but now think I didn't dip for a long enough time...it seems like we were drying in between dips?  I don't know...my woad adventure was a pale blue also.  I'm anxious to try woad again with enough to ferment first.

I can't pass up another example
Vintage, handwoven Mossi indigo cloth from Burkina Faso.

That is a gorgeous cloth, Judith!

I will try letting the next dip sit in the indigo for some hours. Until then, here's the "before" picture, which really doesn't do the color justice (what IS with my camera?!). These aren't all the socks, just the ones that were in the current load of wash. The socks were dipped 4-6 times (I lost track) and the shirts were dipped just once, if I recall correctly.

Paul had hoped for a navy color closer to the navy cloth hanging next to the socks in the second picture. I think the indigo color is far nicer, so was pleased to hear he's a little less disappointed now that he knows they are "samurai socks!"

Jocelyn, I think you got excellent results...that is a beautiful indigo blue!

Possibly there is something that could be added to 'sadden' the blue and it would be closer to the navy t-shirt if it is necessary to have a blacker blue...I wouldn't though.

I think they are wonderful samurai socks!

Do the directions have you do a vinegar rinse at the end?

I love the blue of the blouses also...you've done a lovely job

Judith Browning wrote:Jocelyn, I think you got excellent results...that is a beautiful indigo blue!

Possibly there is something that could be added to 'sadden' the blue and it would be closer to the navy t-shirt if it is necessary to have a blacker blue...I wouldn't though.

I think they are wonderful samurai socks!

Do the directions have you do a vinegar rinse at the end?

I love the blue of the blouses also...you've done a lovely job

Aw, shucks, thanks Judith! The color really does have more depth, more green undertone to it than these photos show. It's really a more vibrant indigo like in the videos and other photos in this thread, not just flat variants on denim.

(And now, as I'm looking at my haphazard photos, I see I didn't even smooth out or straighten the crumple-y line-dried socks for a better picture. Ah, well. )

I did soak all the newly dyed items in vinegar plus salt in an attempt to set the dye. The directions didn't mention any kind of dye setting, and my Google results for dye setting were kind of all over the place. I'm open to dye setting suggestions!

By the by, since that Samurai indigo video suggested that indigo dye imparts fire resistance up to 1500 degrees, plus other added protective benefits, Paul wondered about dyeing raw tipi canvas in indigo for our RMH tipi. Wouldn't that be kinda cool?

I did soak all the newly dyed items in vinegar plus salt in an attempt to set the dye. The directions didn't mentioning any kind of dye setting, and my Google results for dye setting were kind of all over the place. I'm open to dye setting suggestions!

I've used vinegar with other natural dyes and rarely measure (like never)...usually a few glugs in one of the near last rinses and a soak for awhile.  I wasn't sure if indigo needed that but looking around it seems so....there is mention of heat treatment also but I would want to check into that more thoroughly.  
Catharine Ellis says in her Blog

All samples were neutralized in a vinegar/water solution and “boiled” to finish and remove excess dye.

I'm not sure what 'boiled' means, being in quotes like that?

Judith Browning wrote:Catharine Ellis says in her Blog

All samples were neutralized in a vinegar/water solution and “boiled” to finish and remove excess dye.

I'm not sure what 'boiled' means, being in quotes like that?

Interesting. Maybe "boiling" means agitating in the vinegar water, maybe without so much heat. Or perhaps it means adding near-boiling or boiling hot water to it without actually boiling it in a pot over a heat source. Hmmm.

Here's a link to a blog post about dyeing with fresh indigo leaves.  
John Marshall is leading the experiment so it has to be good

https://www.tienchiu.com/2014/10/dyeing-with-fresh-indigo/
Tien Chiu says...

I’m up in Covelo, where the three of us are studying katazome with John Marshall. But we’ve been doing a lot more than that! Since the katazome paste needs to cook for quite awhile, we spent a good chunk of yesterday playing with fresh indigo leaves from John’s back yard. (Luxury!)

She has a great series of photos to show the process at her blog...here's just one to show the beautiful color achieved...

There is also a definite green tinge to the finished cloth. John explained that fresh indigo used this way produces a distinctly turquoise color, as opposed to the navy/slightly greyish blue from a conventional indigo vat.

Awesome thread! I’m trying to find Indigofera tinctoria seeds/plants (not persicaria or isatis) I’m not having any luck 😩 Does anyone know of any resources?

Ruth Cook wrote:Awesome thread! I’m trying to find Indigofera tinctoria seeds/plants (not persicaria or isatis) I’m not having any luck 😩 Does anyone know of any resources?

Hi Ruth...welcome to permies!

Richters.com has indigofera tinctoria seeds.    Their seeds are always good quality, I've grown a lot of them although not the indigo.

Judith Browning wrote:

Ruth Cook wrote:Awesome thread! I’m trying to find Indigofera tinctoria seeds/plants (not persicaria or isatis) I’m not having any luck 😩 Does anyone know of any resources?

Hi Ruth...welcome to permies!

Richters.com has indigofera tinctoria seeds.    Their seeds are always good quality, I've grown a lot of them although not the indigo.

Thank you!!! I ordered them!! Im so excited!!!

I played with indigo on linen.  I think it turned out quite nice.

This is a sample I'm weaving to see if this yarn will work for towels.

The blue was dyed with an indigo kit from Maiwa.  I'm amazed how many vats this one kit has made.  

This is an nice blog article titled 'Where is Your Indigo Grown?"   October 31, 2018 ~ Catharine Ellis about Stony Creek Colors

...quotes and a photo from Catharine's blog

I first met Sarah Bellos of Stony Creek Colors in 2016 when she spoke at the Growing Color Symposium at the NC Arboretum in Asheville. She presented her vision for growing and extracting indigo in Tennessee. Her goal was to introduce natural indigo to the denim industry, which is currently a huge consumer of synthetic indigo (a serious source of environmental pollution). She was partnering with Tennessee farmers who had previously grown tobacco and planned to process indigo dye locally.

the test farm was a densely planted, multiple acre farm tract where several strains of Persicaria tinctoria are growing next to the tropical varieties of indigo (Indigofera suffruticosa and Indigofera tinctoria).

Tropical indigo plants (Indigofera suffruticosa), harvested and continuing to grow in foreground, not yet harvested in background

This is an excellent article.  
I so admire his dedication......more indigo!
How a Japanese Craftsman Lives by the Consuming Art of Indigo Dyeing

KANJI HAMA, 69, has quietly dedicated his life to maintaining the traditional Japanese craft of katazome: stencil-printed indigo-dyed kimonos made according to the manner and style of the Edo period. He works alone seven days a week from his home in Matsumoto, Nagano, keeping indigo fermentation vats brewing in his backyard and cutting highly detailed patterns into handmade paper hardened with persimmon tannins to create designs for a craft for which there is virtually no market. Nearly identical-looking garments can be had for a pittance at any souvenir store.

A collection of Kanji Hama’s beautifully hand-patterned and indigo-dyed fabrics along with tools of the craft.CreditPhotograph by Kyoko Hamada. Styled by Theresa Rivera. Photographer’s assistant: Garrett Milanovich. Styling assistant: Sarice Olson. Indigo pieces courtesy of Kanji Hama

Judith Browning wrote:I am excited when I hear of larger scale production of natural dyes.  
SEA ISLAND INDIGO is doing it.

The dying process in commercial clothing manufacture is extremely toxic, so any small attempt at replacing that is 'progress' to me.

I also hope this trend, that I think that I see, leads to homegrown natural dyes having a more significant place in a homestead income stream.

Does anyone in south carolina know of this farm?

This is very cool!

While indigo dye has been being created since the 19th century in Japan, it was only in the early 20th century that it became widespread. It took off most prominently in Tokushima, 600 kilometres from Tokyo on the island of Shikoku. At the time, there were almost 2000 cultivators, today there remain only five. Among them are the craftsperson collective Buaisou, whose mission is to preserve the ancestral art of indigo blue dye.
Buaisou was created in 2015 by Kakuo Kaji who responded to an open call from the Japanese Ministry for Education, offering to train up two people in the craft of indigo dye. The aim was to preserve this art form before it was lost forever. Buaisou was born, establishing itself as a collective of farmers and dyers who follow through the whole process from start to finish.
According to Kaji, the various processes all take place at Buaisou, from cultivating raw indigo, to fermenting the leaves, the dying, the design and the production.  

Buaisou, Indigo Dyes from Leaves to Jeans

Ricketts Indigo has their seed for sale now!

Description
Persicaria tinctoria/Polygonum tinctorium seeds for 2020 planting are here!
We have large packets of 15g with over 6000 seeds in them as well as smaller 5g packets. If you're growing a lot you'll want to order 15g. If you're growing in a smaller area, 5g (2000+ seeds) will be more than plenty - it's really a lot of seeds!

Ricketts Indigo

I have Japanese Indigo seeds for trade. Looking for disease resistant Appalachian squash or okra.

Judith Browning wrote:

John Elliott wrote:I hadn't heard of it before, but I am not surprised.  There are all sorts of little craft enterprises keeping old traditions alive in out of the way places in South Carolina.  I know there is a tea plantation (the only one in America! according to them) on Wadmalaw island, a couple islands up from Kiawah.  

Do you want me to keep my eye open for Carolina Indigo plants?  You may have some success growing it in Arkansas, although to compare Arkansas to South Carolina, the Ozarks are equivalent to "upstate", and the swampy "delta" area along the Mississippi would be the equivalent of the Carolina "Low Country".

Thanks for the offer, John....A few years ago I would have said sure, keep an eye out for seeds but i've tried growing it here...a few different varieties...and we just haven't got the long season that it needs.  I am focusing on woad now.  It was the blue before indigo many places and actually grows well here.  It has high fertilizer requirements but I have found it thrives on a frequent watering from the pee bucket and a bit of ash.   I know when large fields of it were grown they say it depleted the soil badly.
If you hear anything more about this farm could you share it here?  I think it is outside Charleston.

Judith where do you get the seeds for the woad? I would love to buy some.
thanks

AngelinaGianna Maffeo wrote:
Judith where do you get the seeds for the woad? I would love to buy some.
thanks

The last I bought was from Richter's....they are in Canada but shipping wasn't bad last year...not so sure now?

I bought both Isatis tinctoria and Chinese Woad Isatis indigotica.  I have two of them that survived and are flowering now... not sure which is which. Germination was good but I set the seedlings out too soon I think and lost most of them in the bermuda grass.

I planted what I had left of the chinese woad seed this spring and have lots of seedlings to transplant again...will grow them in pots until they are bigger this time.  

Depending on location, some worry that it spreads too much from the prolific seed load it produces.  I would love to have that problem

https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X6920&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&source=799158.29456

https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?searchterm=Isatis+indigotica&search_catalogue_button=Go

They have a wonderful selection of herbs...I am never able to order just one thing.....

I get lost in HandEyeMagazine...lots of wonderful art and craft.

Here's a photo from an article by Susan O. Fennell about her work with indigo

(ice bath indigo)
So it is just past the peak of summer and I decided to do some testing with my Japanese indigo (seeds obtained from Blue Light Junction in Baltimore, https://botanicalcolors.com/shop/dye-seeds/persicaria-tinctoria-indigo-seeds-from-blue-light-junctionr/ )
I don't know when to expect them to peak, as I've never grown them; so far no flowers, really, even though our temps have been all over the place. They seem to love the weather here in 9b and I have them in a garden bed that floods, since I read they don't mind getting wet.
I chopped 3 plants, stripped the leaves, and blended them in cold water with a shot of white vinegar. I only had a nasty old dishtowel and a pair of cream-colored cotton/acrylic blend socks, since this was only a test.
I blended the leaves, then immediately plunged the fabric in, left about 5 min after agitating and then hung to dry.
The fabric was immediately soylent green. I hung the items in the shade.
I wasn't particularly hopeful til later in the afternoon, when I noticed my cuticles and fingernails were bluish....

Later in the afternoon, the socks were dry, and I washed out the green mess til the water ran clear (although there were still leaf particles on the fabric.... next time, I'll strain the slurry before using!).
Hung to dry again, and by the morning the color had changed from a minty green to a bluish-gray.
The tea towel, which I had thought was 100% cotton, did not really take any color, just got even dirtier looking. I'll save that for a further trial when I have fermented indigo to try.
Interesting: the socks were a blend, cream colored with orange foxes with white details, the cream and white took the dye the same way. But I noticed that the pills on the socks took the color better than the actual fabric, so this method might be better off on brand new items or non-jersey fabric.

Notes: the rabbits ate the stalks, quite happily.

I'm interested in growing siberian pea shrub (cargana?) For dye as well as a green veg (green seed pods), possible animal feed, shrub/windbreak/privacy hedge, soil improvement (nitrogen fixing, hard soil break up, etc). From what I understand it makes beautiful blues and was being used in northern arid places for ikat etc.

The Nov. Dec. 2022 Smithsonian issue has an article on indigo growing in S.C.. I remember seeing indigo vats when I lived there but didn't know the history. S.C. at one time pre Civil War exported 1 million lbs of indigo cakes/bricks a year. Indigo I guess has medicinal properties as well. Indigo probably won't grow in my current climate but Siberian pea flourishes. I find my black hollyhocks give an excellent blue near purple dye.

White wild indigo plants are quite frequently seen around my area with tall spikes of white flowers.  I collected some seeds and broadcasted them around my property but it will take years to reach flowering size. Has anyone try making dye out of the leaves?

webpagehttps://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/ww_indigox.htm

I took a walk in the neighborhood and spotted quite a few false indigo plants. Cream wild indigo (Baptisia bracteata) is currently in bloom. White wild indigo (B. alba) is just begining to emerge with dark asparagus like shoots. Blue false indigo is less common around here. I am going to collect a few pounds of plants and see if I can extract indigo dye the traditional way.

I found this website, even though it's in French, that got detailed process of creating what I think shall be the color indigo by traditional way.

https://www.wecandojougron.fr