indigo vat Archives - Botanical Colors

You Asked, Kathy Answered: Overwintering An Indigo Vat

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email [email protected] with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I’ve moved to a new place and don’t have room to bring my buckets of indigo indoors for the winter (Seattle area). I’m pretty sure that I will need to re-start any ferment in the spring, but will my indigo vat survive otherwise? Somewhat of a beginner here. KATHY ANSWERED: Survivability … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: Indigo To Get Green + A Ruined Vat

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email [email protected] with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I am curious how to achieve a light shade of blue green with natural dyes and am assuming it would be dyed first with weld and then over-dyed with a few dips of indigo? Is there a natural dye that will do the same in one step? KATHY ANSWERED: We like to … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: What’s The Indigo Setup?

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I’m trying to set up my indigo vat finally (I purchased materials from your store months back). My only confusion is whether or not I need to purchase a stainless pot to do the initial 180-190 degree temperature rise? I don’t have one, and have a 5 gallon bucket I was … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: The pH of Indigo

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: I set up an indigo vat a few weeks ago using fructose and lime. I dyed a few cotton items which worked well and now I want to dye some wool and silk. I’m having trouble lowering the pH. I’ve added more fructose but the pH is still 10.9. I tried … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: Using Madder Root In An Indigo Fermentation Vat

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! This is the same person asking multiple questions. We thought answering in sequence seemed best. Enjoy! YOU ASKED: I am trying to start up and use an indigo fermentation vat mainly because my materials preference is still silk and the alkalinity of organic vats is too alkaline for silk. I purchased some madder … Read more

You Asked, Kathy Answered: Sparse Amount Of Indigo To Make A Vat!

We get lots of emails from customers about challenges with dyeing and needing Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori’s help. Why not share the learning so we can all benefit? From our inboxes to you, it’s simple: You Asked, Kathy Answered. Email questions@botanicalcolors with your plea for help! YOU ASKED: In your instructions for setting your vat you add the indigo first, then fructose, then calcium hydroxide, then stir? And with the iron vat the same process? Not stirring until the wetted ingredients are added, in that order? I need to be sure, as I only have a little indigo left! … Read more

Seven swatches of blue fabric from very pale on the left to dark navy blue on the right

A Deep Dive into the 1-2-3 Indigo Vat

Indigo gradation from Aboubakar Fofana’s workshop on indigo. The vat is a 7gpl fructose vat. Diving into indigo blue We have been working with the 1-2-3 indigo vat for nearly 10 years and over time made some adjustments to the original recipe from Michel Garcia. Here we share a recent experiment where we set up 4 different types of 1-2-3 vats and present the results. New instructions are linked below for each vat type with hints for a successful indigo vat! You can also search our blog posts for information on indigo vats and answers to your many questions. Our … Read more

Video From LIVE FEEDBACK FRIDAY: 1-2-3 Indigo Vat

This week’s FEEDBACK FRIDAY was on the famous 1-2-3 indigo vat! Presenting this week? The best of the best, Botanical Colors Founder/President Kathy Hattori joined by Botanical Colors’ team member Kate Rosendale. Watch the video recording here: We get more questions about indigo than any other dye, so we decided to update our online information and also do a deep dive into the variations of the recipe based on Michel Garcia’s 1-2-3 indigo vat. we did some pretty extensive experiments with fructose, henna and iron that you won’t want to miss. Botanical Colors’ team member Kate Rosendale and Kathy tested … Read more

Video From Live FEEDBACK FRIDAY: The 1-2-3 Indigo Vat Using Iron

This week, we’ve got video from our live FEEDBACK FRIDAY exploring a version of the famous 1-2-3 indigo vat using iron. Watch the recording here: This time around we explored a version of the famous 1-2-3 indigo vat using iron (ferrous sulfate) as our reducing agent. This is a useful vat for achieving darker shades, but comes with a few caveats. We reviewed how to make the vat using the 1-2-3 method (the proportions are a little different than the fructose vat), and what to do when your vat turns purple (really). We also reviewed safety and best practices. Botanical Colors’ … Read more

madder root in different forms on a pile of deep red fabrics and yarns

FEEDBACK FRIDAY: Clean Dye Studios and Vinegar Post-Bath For Everything?

This week: Clean dye studios, saturated color and vinegar post-bath for everything?