Review: Indigo Workshop with Cornelia Blümli

Indigo can be extracted from different plants. In contrast to most other plant dyes indigo powder is water-insoluble under normal conditions. In order to change this it needs to be turned into an alkaline state and the oxygen must be reduced. Once this is achieved the dye vat turns yellow – the added fibres as well. They become deeply blue when they are removed from the vat and react with the oxygen in the air.
Traditionally stale urine was used to prepare the dye bath. It offers both, alkalinity and oxygen reduction. Nowadays there are a few less smelly and time-consuming recipes. Some of them more, some less or not harmful. One thing is for sure: Indigo dyeing is an art on its own.
In the framework of our pop-up store Cornelia Blümli – who was born and raised in Switzerland and now lives and works in Barcelona – offered a one-day workshop on indigo dyeing. Everyone interested got a chance to go through the process and the magic moments when the fibres turn from greenish yellow to a saturated blue. See the pictures of the workshop day (Saturday, September 15 2012) below:


Preparations – indigo powder:

Before…

… and after:

Silk:

More information on Cornelia can be found here.