The Indigo Dye Kit - Bringing ancient craft to contemporary fashion. Natural Indigo, and Synthetic Indigo, takes a considerable amount of effort to get it into a working dye bath. First off, it is not soluble in water. It has to be ground, pasted up, then most recipes call for reducing it chemically with Sodium Hydrosulfite or Lye (caustic stuff). It is very involved and can be time consuming. As an alternative, try this Synthetic Indigo (chemically identical to natural Indigo) Kit! The packet of indigo has been pre-reduced chemically, then dried, so it dissolves in water right off the bat. Indigo dyeing is one of the oldest (thousands of years!) dye procedures used for coloring fabrics and the one still used today to color blue jeans. The unique characteristics of indigo dyeing make it easy to create wonderful resist patterns on fabric. This kit brings the ancient art of indigo dyeing to the home dyer in a user friendly formulation. With a resurgence of interest in indigo and ethnic patterning in the fashion world, this kit is sure to be a winner! Because of the fact that the dye has to be reduced to get it into solution, and oxidized to have it turn blue again, it is a fun science project too! A unique feature of this kit is that it is not a one time dyeing experience. The dye vat can keep up to several weeks and dye more than 15 yards or 5 pounds of fabric or 15 shirts. This allows the dyer several sessions to experiment and discover the magic of indigo! Indigo is for use with natural fabrics and clothing that haven't been treated with any finishes. Each kit contains: 20 grams Pre-Reduced Synthetic Indigo 100 grams Soda Ash 50 grams Sodium Hydrosulfite Gloves - 1 pr. Rubber bands 2 wood blocks Instruction booklet with dye patterns and historical and cultural overview of indigo You'll also need: 5 gallon bucket w/ lid Pole or stick for stirring Natural fabrics, clothing, or yarn to dye Kit ingredients are also available separately so you can continue dyeing with indigo. For more dye refer to pre-reduced indigo crystals, #PRIC, and the reducing agent is a mixture of about 70% soda ash (#FIX) and 30% sodium hydrosulfite (#JACSH).
