This year we're learning all about dyeing with indigo and trying it out for ourselves. Last time we used our indigo dye vat for basic dyeing (see Basic Indigo Dyeing). We used the Jacquard Indigo Tie Dye Kit (Natural Dye Method) to mix our dye vat. This time we are overdyeing fabric that was previously dyed with weld, cochineal or logwood. This project was filmed on the third day of a four-day dyeing session, and the dye vat had lots of color. Note that this video builds on our previous indigo dye videos, so please see them for details
Equipment
For equipment you need the indigo dye vat, water for soaking and rinsing, a tray to hold dyed fabric, latex gloves to protect hands, and prepared workspaces for dyeing and drying the fabric.
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| Prepare the workspace for dyeing |
Preparing the Fabric
Following is the pre-dyed fabric that I’m planning to overdye:
- Cotton dish towel dyed with weld (yellow)
- Cotton dish towel dyed with cochineal (pinkish-purple)
- Cotton tee shirt dyed with logwood (very pale purple)
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| Preparing fabric for overdyeing |
For the dish towels dyed with weld and cochineal, I'm planning to do multiple dips, using rubber bands to mark the dip lines. The goal is to end up with a band of the original color, and bands for each of the dips – one, two, and three. For the cochineal-dyed dish towel, I'm placing the rubber band markers on the bias for variety. For the logwood-dyed tee shirt, I'm planning to dip the tee shirt twice.
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| Water for pre-soaking the fabric |
To prepare the fabric for dyeing:
- Add warm water to a bucket.
- Soak the prepared fabric in water.
- Squeeze out excess water and air from the fabric before submerging into the dye.
Overdyeing with Indigo
The basic steps for overdyeing:
- Presoak the prepared fabric.
- Dip the fabric in the dye vat.
- Squeeze out excess dye.
- Set aside fabric to oxidize.
- Then, either:
- Redip to achieve darker shades, or
- Remove bindings, rinse, and hang to dry.
By now we know that these steps are iterative and flexible.
Dyeing (Multiple Dips)
Next dip the fabric in the dye. You can keep the fabric in the dye vat for as long as you want. I used one-to-two-minute dips. I wore gloves to protect my hands from being dyed blue. For both weld and cochineal, I left the original color and then dipped the marked off sections once, twice and three times. This will provide a sampler of the colors that are possible with multiple or longer dips. I dipped the tee shirt twice.
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| First dip |
Once dipped, squeeze out excess dye, then place in the tray. I left the fabric in the tray for about 20 minutes between dips. This gives the fabric a chance to oxidize.
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| Second dip |
After 20 minutes I rinsed the tee-shirt to remove excess dye. I removed the rubber bands from the towels and spread them out to oxidize a bit more. This exposes the bunched-up fabric to oxygen to further set the color. After another 20 minutes, give the fabric a good rinse.
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| Exposing the fabric to the air after three dips |
Hanging to Dry
The hanging projects look so festive as they dry. Colors are always darker when the fabric is wet.
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| Hanging to dry |
Rinsing, Washing, and Hanging to Dry
After everything was dyed and dried, I ran the fabric through the washing machine using a cold cycle and Professional Textile Detergent. You could also use a mild detergent like Synthrapol. Again, I hung the fabric to air dry.
Reviewing the Results
Let's look at the outcome.
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| Left to right: logwood+indigo, cochineal+indigo, and weld+indigo |
Weld + Indigo Dish Towel
The original weld color is a vibrant yellow. The section that was dipped in indigo once is a yellow-green. The section that was dipped twice is a darker yellow-green. The section that was dipped three times is almost an emerald green. The dipped sections have quite a bit of streaking. This is from the fabric being bunched up, preventing the dye from permeating the fabric. The rubber bands prevented dye from bonding with the fiber, so the yellow bands of color are like tie dyeing (resist dyeing).
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| Weld + three dips in indigo dye |
I like the streaking effect and the multiple dips on this sampler. In the future, I'd like to try overdyeing to to produce solid blocks of colors.
Cochineal + Indigo Dish Towel
The original cochineal is a lovely pinkish-purple. This towel was dipped on the bias for variety. The section that was dipped once is also quite pinkish-purple but not very distinct. In reviewing the film clip, I noticed the rubber band wasn’t pulled tight, so that may be the cause. Still, the color on the sides is almost a lavender color. The section that was dipped twice is a darker purplish blue, especially on the sides. The section that was dipped three times is a deeper purple-blue. This towel isn’t as streaked as the weld-dyed towel, but it still has some interesting patterns and mottling. And again, the pinkish-purple bands of color are like tie dyeing (resist dyeing).
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| Cochineal + three dips in indigo dye (on the bias) |
Logwood + Indigo Tee Shirt
The original logwood color of the tee shirt was a very pale purple. I dipped the shirt in indigo twice, letting it oxidize between dips. The resulting color is a pale blueberry color, but it doesn’t photograph well. It looks more like a pale blue instead.
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| Logwood extract 2 + two dips in indigo dye |
I did the overdyeing on day three of my four-day indigo-dying weekend. The dye vat seemed to hold its own and produced some vibrant overdye colors.
In the next video, we’ll see more of the projects that we tackled when the dye vat was in its prime!
Learn More
- “Indigo Dye Kit Instruction Manual”, by Jacquard Products.
- “Indigo Quick Start Instructions”, by Jacquard Products.
- “Indigo: A World of Blue”, documentary by Maiwa Productions.
- “Indigo Workshop”, by Michel Garcia. Natural Dye Workshop II, by Studio Galli.
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