The Indigo vat that has lots of love, but definitely limits!

I am in the midst of experiment dyeing with an indigo vat. This is a bucket that has ground indigo (in my case) fructose and calcium chloride, heated, that then sat for a few days fermenting and which I can now use. As I look back at previous blogs, “its not hard its new” and “ a thing worth doing is worth doing so-so,” I appreciate the sentiments.

The vat was not difficult to put together, but I did have to gather supplies from various vendors. Bucket, bucket warmer, the ingredients, the yarn all wetted and warmed, and my giant stirring stick. And once heated and aged it wasn’t quite balanced so I added more fructose and so on. Then I got my 12 skeins of yarn and dipped, dipped again and again, until I got my blues. But they just wouldn’t set. So now I have blue skeins and blue hands.

I took a few skeins and put them in chafing dishes and added some more colors. The results, meh. I soaked them in vinegar to set the dyes, but of course that alters the plant dyes. So several are sort of blue with splotches of mud color. I am going to use the rest of the vat to try a shibori dye on a table cloth I have. Hopefully it will go better. So far, although I love the blues I am getting, I am underwhelmed by the potential for dyeing yarn that won’t bleed. Others have done it. I have lots of stuff to try with, but for now I will consider it an experiment failed. I guess I am singing the blues. Next time I will mordant the yarn and maybe it will help getting the additional colors to stick and I can get some more interesting skeins. 

Stay tuned!
Christine Weiss, The Darling Yarn Company & Shop Staff Member