From the blue stripes on the first flag of the US to the extraordinary textiles of the Edo period in Japan to the blue of your favorite pair of jeans, indigo is a color at once exotic and familiar. Indigo dye has been used for centuries in cultures across the globe to produce the shades of blue that were once impossible to find elsewhere in the dye palette. Today, indigo is much more readily available and offers dyers the various shades of blues, green and purples and the possibility of over-dying other natural dyes. In this half-day workshop, students will learn to set up and maintain an indigo vat, a process that is a bit more complex than other dyes, but very manageable with a little know-how. Students will head home with instructions on how to dye with indigo and many samples.

You will need the following tools for this class:

• rubber gloves
• apron 
• several old towels 
• plastic wrap
• zip-lock bags
• hang tags 
• notebook and pen

Feel free to bring your favorite tools and whatever materials you might feel appropriate for this course.