If you have ever taken a dye class with me you are welcome to join Club Indigo.
I will open up my indigo vats on the first Sunday of every month in the dye studio at the Electric Needle from 11 am to 3 pm.
This is NOT a class. I will be dyeing but will be happy as always to give you my advice. If you want to work in shibori or batik, you are welcome to, but I can’t help a ton as my hands will be blue. Books, resources and tools will be available.
Bring your own fabric – limited to about 5 yards of fabric a club day. All fabric MUST be made of natural fibers. The Electric Needle is closed on Sunday so there will NOT be availability to purchase fabric on club days.
Pre-registration is required. After you have registered you will receive an email explaining how to join us.
The registration fee includes a minimum of 2 hours of dye time and 1/2 hour for clean up.
Be advised the dye studio is in the basement, you will need to be able to navigate a flight of steps to get to the studio. If this is impossible for you please call so we can arrange a private lesson.
A creative weekend getaway including: All food, beverages and lodging plus piles of fabric and paper to play with, unlimited access to prepared indigo dye vats, and gifts and prizes all for one low price!
Join a us at a creative indigo dye retreat in Westby, Wisconsin. Located about two hours from Madison Wisconsin, you’ll be able to shed the grind of your daily life, and immerse yourself in the study and play of dyeing with indigo.
Yesterday was so fun! I love the Aldo Leopold Sale. The vendors are really talented, the location is gorgeous, the people are nice and I get to support the nature center. What could be better?
Matt took a quick shot of me with my tunics and other awesome blue things for sale. Now I can relax for a little while, which is awesome.
The tunics will soon be available at Blue Bar Quilts in Middleton so be sure to stop by.
I recently acquired a box full of itajime blocks. I plan to have them available at the Deep Into Indigo Retreat. The Retreat is a blast. This year, to ensure our sanity, we have decided to ask for a $150 deposit due by January 30th. If we get 10 people by then, the Retreat will run. If not, we are going to focus on other events. But we reeeeeally want the Retreat to run. So if you plan to wait until the last possible minute to register, that minute is coming up really soon.
You don’t need access to acrylic blocks to make gorgeous work, simple rubber bands will do the job very nicely. Itajime is a very simple, yet beautiful and sophisticated technique. Like all shibori techniques, it has a bajillion possible variations.
First you accordion or fan fold your fabric. Then you do it again. I like to use a triangle fold but you could totally use a square or rectangle. My favorite triangle fold is the equilateral triangle. You make it using a fold and a flip.
As you fold it, you need to go on as you began…finally that advice makes sense to me. Meaning, if your first fold is away from you, after you flip it, all of the folds need to go away from you. Not that “away from you” is the only way, any way is right as long as you are consistent. Now, that’s some good advice.
It’s easier to show than to tell, though, so I made a quick video about it. It’s less than two minutes long.
Once you have made your triangle bundle, you get to pick how to place your resists and which resists to use. This is also half the fun. Every slight variation you make in where you put it, will totally change the look of your pattern. Mighty cool.
Let me know if you have questions about the technique or the Deep Into Indigo Retreat. Happy dyeing!
Come and learn several traditional Shibori folding techniques.
We will not be dyeing anything during this class but rather focusing on the folding, wrapping and stitching techniques.
We will be experimenting with a variety of Shibori techniques to make beautiful patterns on fabric.
The fabric bundles you take home from class can be dyed at a future time. There will be an indigo dye class for you to dye your bundles on Saturday, November 18th, but it’s not required.
We will Shibori as much fabric as we have time for and there will be plenty of time for Q&A with Jennifer. You will leave with enough knowledge to continue on your own at home.
Six fat quarters of prepared quilting cotton will be included. Feel free to bring additional fabric, which must be made from natural fibers.
Students also taking the indigo dye class can take home Jennifer’s dye tools and return them after the November 18th class.
Get to know the Deep Into Indigo Retreat Sponsors!
We have a few and really want to thank them and ask for you to check them out. They are all super awesome and have so much to offer!
We are huge fans of Quilt Basket n’ Creations. It’s local to Viroqua and we hope everyone joining is stops by to shop. We just walked in off the street last year and asked Carol, the owner, to sponsor the retreat and she was super open and welcoming.
QBNC has loads of fabric and notions..I’m a sucker for notions and pick something up every time we stop by.
They have sponsored the Deep Into Indigo Retreat with a bolt of sexy linen-cotton blend. It was the belle of the ball at last year’s retreat.
Get to know the Deep Into Indigo Retreat Sponsors!
We have a few and really want to thank them and ask for you to check them out. They are all super awesome and have so much to offer!
I was lucky enough to go out to Seattle to learn from Kathy Hattori of Botanical Colors last spring. My luggage never arrived and she was especially nice to me considering I stunk and wore the same clothes for three days straight.
I’ve been aware of her and have shopped from her for years. They carry many different kinds of natural dyes in addition to indigo. Check them out and tell them Jennifer sent you. 🙂
Kathy publishes Feedback Friday on their blog when they answer customer’s questions and also share many tutorials for free on how to use their various dyes.
She’s incredibly generous (both in person and online) with her knowledge and resources. Also with the Deep Into Indigo Retreat, she is sharing chemicals for us to experiment with three different kinds of organic vats! Thank you, Kathy and Botanical Colors. They are awesome!
Get to know the Deep Into Indigo Retreat Sponsors!
We have a few and really want to thank them and ask for you to check them out. They are all super awesome and have so much to offer!
The first time I walked in to Lynn’s in Madison WI, I fell in love. It’s like a store made for textile loving, multi media, stitching artists. There’s a fabulous supply of perle cotton, wool, linen and every kind of fancy pants thread you would want, painting supplies, gelli plates, print making stuff, books and many, many things that I’m not thinking of tight now to fuel your creativity. Also, they frame art for you. I just really dig it there.
The people who work there are lovely too. They are sponsoring the Deep Into Indigo Retreat with a tasty bag of threads and beads for us to play with.
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