Woad +Brazilwood and Madder+indigo

Here are the pics i mentioned. Lighting is bad, colors sorta true.

The woad + brazilwood

 

The madder + Indigo. The woad I’ve since been using doesn’t really give a much different color, just takes more to get a medium shade of blue

(the orange/yellow samples are osage orange) Dyed 1990, standard 5 mordants (had’t made up lead acetate yet)

Color is a bit darker than the samples, they are a dark warm purple.

Here is the madder (bottom samples) from the same set (1990)

Revived Indigo Vat

So this indigo vat sat lonely and abandoned over 2 freezing winters. Needed to dye something and did not want to waste the vat. So I revived it. Heated it up to temp, checked Ph (good for wool) and added fresh RIT color remover. Got the purple bloom and put the fuzzy hat in. And it is a nice and glorious dark blue…

Maiwa

Dyes, instructions, supplies, textiles
www.maiwa.com/

Japanese Indigo, polygonum tinctorium

http://rickettsindigo.com/indigo/Farming/IndigoFarming.html
A loverly photo essay of indigo production. From seed to plant to processing the dye to the dyeing process.
The plant is a tender annual that self seeds in south central PA.
Yes, you can harvest the leaves, dry and compost them to remove everything that is not the indigo dye.
You can also dye with the leaves to get “indigo pink” and a light turquoise blue.
Seeds are viable for about 2 years, but you should grow them out every year so as not to lose them.