Aquarelle Liquid Indigo – Saxon Blue

Description

The legendary Aquarelle Liquid Indigo – Saxon Blue is now available to natural dyers. First created in Germany in the 1740s, it is made from natural indigo converted with a strong acid to mimic an acid-type dye. It is not a vat dye and you do not use it like vatted indigo. It is an easy and marvelous color for wool fibers. Saxon blue is greener than traditional vatted indigo. In addition, it is a great base for teal, aqua, cornflower, periwinkle, lilac and medium value purple.

To use, simply measure out the amount of liquid indigo and add to the dye pot. Add mordanted fibers and heat gently. Enjoy the beautiful blue! 50g of Saxon Blue will dye about 1.25 pounds of fiber (570 grams) to a very rich blue shade. For more instructions, please see our page on using liquid dyes. 

Note

Saxon Blue works best on wool fibers that are immersion dyed, and satisfactorily on silk; however we have observed occasional color instability on silk fabrics and yarns. The dye is pH sensitive and may shift with techniques such as eco-printing, bundle dyeing and other dye methods.  Please test first to ensure that Saxon Blue will work with your project. On cellulose (plant) fibers the color will be quite pale and unstable.

Aquarelle liquid natural dyes are easy to use colors made from plants and dye insects. The combine easily and produce beautiful shades and may be thickened with print paste thickener and used for printing, painting and other surface design applications on wool fabrics.

From FEEDBACK FRIDAY:

“I’m searching for information on color mixing with Saxon Blue and other Aquarelle dyes. Do you have any info to share? I am especially interested in mixing for a teal or lilac dye.”

For teal, and sea glass shades on wool (Saxon Blue does not work on cellulose):

• Use 1-2% Saxon Blue
• Use 3-5% liquid cutch
• More Saxon Blue and less cutch will make a more teal shade.
• Less Saxon Blue and more cutch will shift the color slightly greener, resembling Sea Glass

For Lilac:

• Use liquid madder extract at 5%
• Use Saxon Blue at 1%
• You might need to raise or lower the amount of liquid madder to suit the shade you are looking for.