Fresh Leaf Indigo Dyeing

Students harvested 1/3 of the Indigo plants in our plots to promote growth of healthiest plants... and immediately set to work stripping the leaves and plunging in cold water

Next,

Leaves were blended with ice to retain dye potential and strained through cheesecloth

Working quickly, students massaged the fabric in dye and salt

Other students worked with the ground leaves to pull every bit of color from the plants

This process allows the dyer to see the color shifting in realtime, without multiple dips needed when using a vat

The ground leaves produced strong color too

Fresh Leaf Indigo is an immediate process and produces a greener shade than the indigo vat process...