Four 100% cotton flour sack towels are included in the class fee. If you would like to dye a t-shirt as well, bring one that is 100% cotton. No fabric dyeing experience is required. You will learn the fundamentals of Japanese Shibori techniques and indigo dyeing and about Indigo chemistry and history. Dress in clothes and shoes that can get stained blue.
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.
No fabric dyeing experience is required. Learn the fundamentals of Japanese Shibori techniques and indigo dyeing.
Shibori means to fold, clamp, stitch or in some way block off fabric to create patterns when the fabric is dyed.
We’ll be experimenting with a variety of shibori techniques to make beautiful patterns.
Then, you’ll dye your patterned fabric in an indigo dye vat. Feel free to bring along a tee shirt (natural fibers only) to dip into the vat.
Dress in clothes and shoes that can get stained blue.
o Learn about Indigo chemistry and history
o Experiment with basic Shibori techniques
o Fabric will be provided: 4 fat quarters (approximately 18’ X 22’ pieces) of cotton fabric to learn with
o You’ll get ample time to dye your fabric in an indigo dye vat.
Thanks to Kathy Hattori from Botanical Colors for sharing the chemicals for three different kinds of organic indigo vats at the Deep Into Indigo Retreat. I attended a workshop day in her studio in the spring and I learned so much. She’s really awesome; generous with her expertise, time and supplies.
For starters, you gotta hydrate that indigo before it goes into the vat. The directions often call for shaking it in a jar with water and marbles but a whisk is just easier and works as well.
We made an iron vat, a henna vat and a fructose vat. Like most things I get into, I made lots of really awesome messes and mistakes.
But that didn’t slow us down at all.
Here’s a dip from the iron vat.
To see if the dye is ready, you check under the flower to see if it’s clear and not at all blue-ish.
We put our fabric in stainless steel baskets to keep it from getting stained by the sludge at the bottom. Also, the liquid was hot and we didn’t want to keep our hands in there.
Oops. Here’s my favorite mistake of the weekend. I made a fructose vat. I tripled the recipe but didn’t triple the container size so it made a pretty awesome mess. Like a kid’s volcano experiment but deeply blue!
I scraped it into the vat and it still worked. Just a little unexpected adventure. And, yes, I did give myself a blue mustache.
There was definitely an “Organic Vat Posse” among the participants. I also had some pre-reduced indigo crystals from Dharma Trading Company for people to dye with but these ladies were super into the organic vats.
The whole process of using organic vats is really enticing. It smells way better too.
You can learn more about it on the Botanical Colors website. Like I said, Kathy is very generous with her knowledge and, along with really high quality dye stuff, her website is chock full of tutorials and advice.
Haley Hundt took all of these gorgeous pictures. She did such a fantastic job!!
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!
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