Indigo recipe

Indigo is a challenging dye to use because it is not soluble in water. To be dissolved, it must undergo a chemical change (reduction). When a submerged fabric is removed from the dyebath, the indigo quickly combines with oxygen in the air and reverts to its insoluble form. This is the process that binds the blue pigment to the fabric without the use of a mortant.

Making an indigo vat is just like cooking in a way. You need certain ingredients and equipment to get started but in the end, it really just depends on each batch of indigo and the artist's personal taste.

The trick is to dissolve the indigo in an alkaline solution and remove all oxygen. There are many different ways to achieve this effect. Here, we used Spectralite, soda ash and caustic soda.

This is the stock solution - a super-concentrated indigo solution.

Add some stock solution into larger dye vat, being careful not to introduce oxygen.