Discover the ancient magic of the organic indigo vat, where blue pigment lies waiting in yellow liquid, turning fabric green and then blue in the air! Indigo is one of the best-known and longest-lasting natural dyes, discovered independently by cultures around the world. We'll set up a vat using all natural ingredients, and then learn to cut stencils and make small screens, which we'll use to screen-print resist pastes (they resist the indigo dye) for a wide variety of white-on-blue designs. Students will leave this course with all the skills needed to prepare fabrics, make an indigo vat, and continue creating new stencils and designs to their heart's content. Take this course on its own, or with combine it with Renegade Screen Printing to add the rest of the color wheel (red, yellow, and brown) and use the same screens to print dyes in vibrant natural colors.

Working with natural dyes is a great way to reclaim a sense of place and individuality in our clothing and textiles, as well as a more sustainable craft practice. You'll be able to use the tools and processes from this course almost anywhere as you continue your own explorations of natural color!