This is our last day of our natural dye workshop at Jane Stafford Textiles. It is the day when we teach indigo. Indigo sits alone in the line-up of natural dyes. It has its own unique chemistry and behaviour. When items emerge from the dye pot it is nothing short of spectacular.

Charllotte Kwon opens up the last day with instructions for gathering the samples.

The workshop opened with explanations on how to gather and label samples. Students make a comprehensive swatch book with the combinations of dyes used carefully annotated.

The group moves outside where we have a perfect day for dyeing.

Many of the techniques that Charllotte taught can be found in the Maiwa Guide to Natural Dyes. Check out our posts on Indigo and our recent posts about the Organic indigo vat.

Charllotte explains how to make an indigo dye pot.

Charllotte and Gale Anderson-Palm check the pH in a dye pail.

Gail demonstrated some clamp resist. To see what goes on she used clear plexiglass. You can see the dye creeping in on the edge.

Yarns and swatches overdyed with indigo.

Students divided up their samples and a certain number of them were overdyed with indigo. After the required overdyeing the pots are opened up to individual pieces. Students worked with some stitch and clamp resist. Indigo is always an exciting end to a workshop.

Jane Stafford herself - unfurls her scarf after a dip in the indigo.

That wrapped up our Salt Spring Island workshop. If you are a resident of Salt Spring or the nearby areas and would like to take a workshop like this keep your eyes on Jane Stafford's web site and make certain you subscribe to her newsletter.