A Blue You Can Do – Persicaria on Cloth – Artisan Colour
Green to Blue in an Afternoon
with Persicaria Tinctoria
Before dawn breaks we are out in the dye garden leaning over the beds of persicaria tinctoria. Everything is deep green. This robust plant is also known as Japanese indigo and the seeds are sometimes listed for sale under the name polygonum tinctorium. This is the same plant that is used in the Sukomo process mentioned in Takayuki Ishii's book "The Way of Indigo"
Maiwa maintains a number of beds of persicaria to test planting and growing strategies. We look at different techniques to measure, not only the vitality of the plants, but also the yield and quality of the dye. We work with different extraction methods and some ways to direct dye cloth and garments.
We mix fresh leaves, the cloth to be dyed, and a little salt. It takes about half an hour of constant squeezing and squishing to obtain a strong even coverage. This techniques is called fresh leaf dyeing — and it is very satisfying. You can harvest your leaves in the morning and dye a garment the same day.
This technique - sometimes called the salt rub method - is easiest on silks, but it will work on any fibre that will take natural dyes. We've done it light and dark and also combined it with weld and marigold grown in our dye garden to produce these gorgeous teals.
DYEABLE CLOTHING & BLANKS
See all of Maiwa's Natural Dyes
OUR WEBSITE DEDICATED TO NATURAL DYES
This journal has been an idea of ours for a long time. It is a little like a combination of a travel journal and a natural dye journal. It is the journal we have always wanted!
To our U.S. customers – don't forget that the exchange rate works in your favour, it's like an extra discount.
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