blue indigo fabric dyeing

So, have you ever heard the myth that blood is blue? I have too. I always had some romantic notion of the ‘old fashioned’ idea of blue-blooded aristocrats. But in truth we don’t have blue blood. Only horseshoe crabs and octopuses have blue blood. Octopuses are super cool, which their 8 arms, 3 hearts and 9 brains!

But really I’m talking about fabric dyeing with indigo. I love blue and do feel it must be in our bodies, even if our blood isn’t blue. We are from the depths of the ocean, so there must be some blue still in our hearts and minds.

I find that when I dye with indigo I spark up with the results as soon as they come out of the dye pot. Indigo is green until it oxidises which makes it more magical. Green to blue. Oh my.

I wanted to share some of the hues from my indigo vat. Recently I started using a fructose vat rather than an iron vat. It’s been easier to keep it tended and the colour results are more consistent. I’ve been able to update and refresh the vat as needed over the past months. With the iron indigo vat I had to keep starting again. Whereas the fructose vat can be revived and heated gently again and again. The colour is also more intense - which is an added benefit of the whole part.

Here’s some colours for you to enjoy.

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