Made-In-Studio: Indigo Dyeing

For thousands of years, humans have extracted blue dye from Indigo plants. Its history and longevity is not surprising - it's a truly beautiful color that is at once both peaceful and alive. A range of hues, from cobalt to sky blue can be achieved and there's a good chance you actually have something in your wardrobe that was dyed with either Indigo or a synthetic imitation (hello, blue jeans)! But have you ever wondered how it works? How to get BLUE DYE from a GREEN PLANT?

 Spend the afternoon with Caitlin Robinson, owner of Sungold Flower Co., and learn the INs and OUTs of making an indigo vat at home, giving you endless opportunity to make things BLUE. Caitlin will go through a bit of the history of Indigo and demonstrate the process for setting up a vat in a 5 gallon bucket. Afterward, we'll take turns dipping textiles into an existing vat and marvel at our results. 

You're welcome to bring an article from home (white or off-white, must be a natural fiber) or dip a provided cotton bandana. Either way, you'll leave with a gorgeous, naturally dyed textile and the knowledge to do it again (and perhaps a new obsession).

Riverworks' Made-in-Studio Program is funded in part by generous contributions from the Butz Foundation.