A Collection made for nesting, dreaming, and laying in the sunshine.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
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NATURAL INDIGO
THE COLOUR THAT CONNECTS US
The fact that green plants can give us blue colours is something that never ceases to amaze us. We try to get to know as many kinds of blue as possible. From the natural indigo we sell and use in all our clothing, bedding and cloth: (indigofera tinctoria) which is grown and harvested in India, to the robust and remarkable persicaria tinctoria, which will thrive even when planted in our research garden in the Pacific Northwest.
INSTRUCTIONS
We believe in sharing information. Find everything you need to get started in dyeing with indigo — Free online!
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
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THE NATURAL INDIGO FRUCTOSE KIT
A great way to get started. This kit is used for the 'Fruit Vat' the 'Banana Vat' and 'Fructose Vat'. This kit contains 100g natural indigo, 250g fructose, 250g calx, and instructions.
Monday, August 25, 2025
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Thoughtfully Designed, Thoughtfully Made
This artisan cloth begins with threads dyed in natural plant indigo. To achieve the greens and teals, the indigo is layered with dye baths of myrobolan nut and pomegranate rinds.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
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HANDWOVEN SHEETS
We exist to create beautiful artisan cloth. The idea of creating handwoven naturally dyed bedding sheets to sleep under...well it sounded absolutely dreamy.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
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The Indigo Botanical Coat
Naturally Dyed - Handwoven
A Maiwa piece that you'll reach for over and over again. Sewn from exquisite artisan cloth; thread dyed with natural indigo and handwoven by village artisans in India.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
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Maiwa Kits. Everything collected in one box.
Thursday, February 20, 2025
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Kahani means "Story"
This is a well-named dress. We brought it to the shore and matched its colour to the sky and the distant mountains.
Tuesday, July 09, 2024
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We've spent years developing this handwoven fabric. We encouraged a small group of famously talented Bengal weavers to return to natural dyes. They accepted the challenge - combining dyeing skills with their hereditary talents in transforming thread into cloth.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
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AJRAKH
HAND BLOCK PRINTED
WITH NATURAL DYES ON ORGANIC COTTON
Ajrakh is a traditional block printing technique practiced by artisans living in India's Kachchh Desert. For centuries, wooden blocks have been used to print eloquent geometric patterns on cotton. These patterns are timeless, revealing a remarkable play between figure and line. All block prints are hand printed with natural dyes on organic cotton.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Natural indigo
Dyed in the thread
Handwoven
Thursday, February 22, 2024
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Thursday, February 08, 2024
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Maiwa's Journeywoman Calico Dress Handwoven in Mulberry Silk.
Nicola dyed this dress with natural indigo from persicaria tinctoria. She is standing in the 2023 persicaria crop growing at the Maiwa Dye Garden.
Thursday, September 14, 2023
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THE WAY OF INDIGO COMES TO MAIWA
For the entire month of May 2023, visiting artisans Takayuki Ishii and his wife Tomoe Ishii instructed Maiwa staff in a remarkable set of Japanese textile techniques.
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
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Tuesday, June 20, 2023
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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.
Wednesday, September 07, 2022
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