EXPERIMENTS with INDIGO   1# Preparation

Traditionally indigo dyeing has taken place in locations much warmer than 

the Isle of Wight, so the unusually hot conditions here are perfect for my
 indigo experiments!

Preparations have been ongoing over the past weeks.
I'm using many fabrics -  cottons, linens and silks - left over from 
my Rust Dyeing in 2017, however this time my main focus is to experiment 

with indigo dyeing FELT…

I’ve felted a series of 3-D natural forms - pods, shells and pebbles shapes.

 They're all ready for dyeing and I’m keen to see how these felted shapes will 

react in the dye vat - I’m hoping for some totally random-dyed effects…

I’ve also prepared some pieces of felt which are tied, pleated and stitched with 

shibori techniques. I’ve tried this before with coloured prefelts 
and you can follow this link to Shibori Workshops.

 These latest felt pieces are pure white and ready to dye… 

along with the other cottons, silks and linen fabrics…

As with the rust experiments I also want to try dyeing paper.
 I've used a Khadi sketchbook, preparing the pages for dyeing with different 

‘shibori’ style pleats and folds, pegged and stitched into place

.

 Folding the hand-made 100% cotton rag paper has certain similarities to

the more traditional folds with fabric, but it also displays very different qualities...

I’ve been able to tear and cut the paper, wrap it around sticks, use wax and
 origami-type folds secured in place to form areas that act as resists,

 which prevent the dye colour from penetrating the paper, 
creating white patches + a range of lighter blue tones...

Indigo dyeing is a totally new adventure for me!

I’ve read as much as I can find in books and on-line. 

BUT this is extremely experimental and I’m really excited to see 

whether or not any of it works…

It’s been just as challenging to create all the different 3-D felt shapes

 AND the ‘pre-dyed’ paper book

So now all the fabric materials, utensils and equipment are assembled, 

prepared and ready to go to the next stage…  

BUT we have some very severe weather warnings ahead 

so I’m having to wait for the winds to drop and calmer, warmer days,

 when hopefully the indigo will be able to do it’s magic…..

EXPERIMENTS with INDIGO   2# Process

The weather’s changed, the wind has calmed down and I’ve been able to 

continue with the indigo experiments over the past few days… 

The vat’s up and ready, with everything assembled in the garden…

I began by dyeing the soaked fabrics, prepared with different

 shibori techniques - folded, stitched, tied and gathered with 

threads, elastic bands and clamps… 

Carefully submerging them into the vat, without introducing too much oxygen

soon the bundles were coming out of the dye,  

at first bright turquoise, quickly changing to deeper intense blues

as the indigo oxidised in the air…

The linen, silk and cotton fabrics all reacted so differently,

with varying shades of colour  

I did dip some a second and third time, here rinsed and left to dry….

The FELT pods and pebbles were always going to prove interesting!

I carefully siphoned small quantities of dye into shallow bowls using a pipette, 

(so the indigo didn't come into contact with too much oxygen) 
and allowed the wetted felt to soak up dye. 

I wanted random effects with some areas deliberately left white and paler…

After 10 -15 mins they were removed, left to oxidise, then rinsed.

Next came the Khadi sketchbook with all the prepared pages…  

The cotton rag pages had been soaking in water for about half an hour, 

to make them more receptive to the indigo once in the vat

BUT I was unaware that this had also weakened the glue binding…

Unfortunately, after about 10 mins in the vat, disaster struck...

The book was heavy, all the pages gave way and had to be quickly retrieved... 

Lots of lovely blue pages, but NOW loose leaf… 

And an unexpected re-binding challenge!!!!  

All the various pieces of fabric, felt and papers have now been left to 
thoroughly dry out. 

As is often the case the experiences and benefits of the practical 

PROCESS far outweigh any of the resulting PRODUCTS…

It's been extremely experimental, and enlightening!

I’ve learnt a lot and had great fun in the process... 

EXPERIMENTS with INDIGO   3# Products

After the exciting experiments of the past weeks it’s now time to look at the results 

and see how the different elements of FELT and FABRIC have worked together.

The felt pods and pebbles were made with the intention that they would be 
decorated. They were the last pieces to be dyed, and I was 

hoping for a pale, random-dyed effect to off-set the darker dyed patches...

  

Here are the finished pods amongst the rocks at Freshwater Bay...

One of the last sunny afternoons this summer, 
surrounded by a perfect indigo blue sea...

  

They have undergone several weeks of stitching and patching using the 

new indigo dyed fabrics, combined with sashiko stitch.

Sketches here show the original ideas, and the range of pod shapes I was 

hoping to achieve, with the free-style surface decoration... 
(click on any photo to see more detail)  

Most of the pods were felted using the same round and oval 2-D resists, 

some were felted over 3-D plastic forms made from bubble-wrap.

They were a perfect size to work with and I'm delighted with the 

 finished effects + combinations of felt, fabric and threads, 
even some vintage cotton buttons were popped in the dye vat!

The indigo dyed shibori fabrics have given me plenty of material to complete 

a number of projects, including my boro-style waistcoat, which has so far 

been over 2 years in the making… 

I now have some wonderful new indigo + rust dyed pieces to complete the

 back panel…  with another waistcoat already in the planning stage! 

I’ve previously decorated clothes with small boro-type patches and stitch 

so I shall continue with this, using my new fabrics….

All my indigo notes and samples, together with those from the rust experiments 
of 2017 have been written up in my dyeing notebook…

With all the indigo activity throughout the summer everything in my house 

and wardrobe has turned to shades of blue… 

As well as all the shibori fabrics mentioned, various items of clothing -

scarves and aprons found their way into the dye bath!

  

Finally my indigo BLUE khadi sketchbook is completely dried out,

but still waiting to be re-bound…

 ...another challenge for another time! 

It's been an interesting summer! 

The indigo experiments have left me with 

plenty of ideas and material to continue stitching into felt and fabric.

I've always loved 3-D felting, with it's endless possibilities! 

Now the scope has expanded even further when 

dyeing, stitching and applique techniques are incorporated into designs.