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Sukumo indigo holds a special place as a time-honored dyeing technique. Sukumo indigo has deep roots in Japanese culture. The name "Sukumo"  すくも - sukumo - means dye made of fermented indigo leaves. Aizome 藍染め means Indigo Dye. The Indigo Plant Polygonum tinctorium, commonly known as Japanese indigo, Persicaria, or dyer's knotweed

She has been growing a field of it behind her house, together with Indigofera Tinctoria. with ample water they do grow enthusiastically and it as time to trim them a bit and do some fresh indigo Done; Light fastness; still under review, but based on my experience with dried indigo leaves there is Ps; if you do not have fresh indigo, use the dried ones and skip the blender.

SETTING UP YOUR FIRST INDIGO VAT The eternal blue of indigo, one of the most ancient dyes. For setting up this indigo vat I used the ingredients of our Indigo Starter Kit, that has enough ingredients to set up and maintain your indigo vat. Indigo Vat Ingredients 25 grams indigo powder, that is enough to dye a kilo of textile a medium shade Dyeing with your indigo vat. Dyeing in an indigo vat is called 'dipping'.

Now I will show you how to create more variated shades of green using indigo instead of logwood. I made the indigo vat using sodium hydrosulphite and the last of the Indonesian indigo blend I had, which After the indigo dyeing, the samples got neutralised with a bit of Ph neutral soap and dried. The results; Silk organza FLTR indigo, indigo + weld 10%, indigo + weld 30% From top to bottom 1-2-4- 6 dips of indigo Silk satin FLTR indigo, indigo + weld 10%, indigo + weld 30% Each sample fRTL 1-2-4-

Now I will show you how to create more variated shades of green using indigo instead of logwood. I made the indigo vat using sodium hydrosulphite and the last of the Indonesian indigo blend I had, which After the indigo dyeing, the samples got neutralised with a bit of Ph neutral soap and dried. The results; Silk organza FLTR indigo, indigo + weld 10%, indigo + weld 30% From top to bottom 1-2-4- 6 dips of indigo Silk satin FLTR indigo, indigo + weld 10%, indigo + weld 30% Each sample fRTL 1-2-4-

This colour would have been the result of using compound colours of Indigo and a yellow, but not everybody wants to keep an indigo vat, or maybe you have not started one yet. beautiful names to describe the different greens; Verd Canard, Parrot-Green, Verd Naissant, all done with indigo I have gotten a gorgeous and lasting sea blue from green indigo (see this blog), but otherwise the lasting So indigo vat-less green it is today, inspired by the screen printing I did combining leftover logwood

I had seen already beautiful results of people using fresh indigo on silk and I was mesmerised by the But I have never been able to grow sufficient indigo in my balcony planters to give this a go. Ground unfermented indigo leaves It seems people are using this as a dye for hair, but I had never tried The green indigo works really fast and gives blues within 5 minutes, Henna loves to sit around longer Green Indigo Powder I have stocked up on especially for you, available here.

Some traditions like working with Cochineal and Indigo, have been faithfully passed on from mother to The production of organic indigo has gradually been lost, however, the last 20 producers of Santiago , they continue to use the deep fermentation and aeration pools built over 100 years ago to produce Indigo The work is hard, a day's work produces only 4-5 kilos of concentrated indigo, and this is only during The indigo vats themselves are made with organic reducers that can be all sorts, I have heard: Muitle

Alkaline loving dyes like madder, woad and indigo powder can be mixed with the lye powder before making For blues; Use either woad or indigo, this soap here is made with some indigo. traditionally used for treating a red and swollen face, skin infections and has anti-bacterial properties while Indigofera

If we were commanded to have sky blue, then why not just use indigo, or woad? discuss all the minute details, but you will have to take my word for it, that using regular plant based indigo so that under the influence of UV rays, the 'dibromo' part gets disconnected and what stays is the 'indigo ' and we all know how that indigo behaves in a vat (and if you do not, I refer you back to this blog) Also; your fibers need much longer in the murex vat than they would need in a regular indigo vat.

"But why are you putting up a recipe here Suzanne? Is this not a site about natural dyes?" You are 100% correct. But it is also Rosh HaShannah, our Jewish New Year, and I am cooking up a storm. All the food revolves around 'simanim', tokens for the new year. For example: Apples and honey, so we may have a good and sweet new year. Pomegranate, so our merits will be abundant like the seeds of the pomegranate. A fish or sheep's head, so we may always be the head and not the tail in life (I am just having a whole fish minus the tail). I am always making apple cake recipes and also making lots of green vegetables like peas, to symbolize renewal and abundance. This apple cake recipe is our family's favorite because it is so easy to make, and so delicious that I decided I must share the recipe with you. Prep time is 20 minutes and 45 minutes in the oven. What you need: 4 or 5 large green apples like Granny Smith (if you are Dutch you will take those sour baking apples) 1 pack (200 grams, 7 ounces) of butter, or a non-dairy alternative like Naturina. 1 cup (200 grams, 7 ounces) white sugar 1 cup (200 grams, 7 ounces) self-raising flour 3 large eggs (or 4 medium) I weigh them to be 200 grams. a small sachet of vanilla sugar a teaspoon of cinnamon. a baking dish (buttered, or lined with baking paper. a pan or skillet Start by pre-heating your oven at 190ºc (370 Fahrenheit) Take a regular pan or skillet and start melting the butter with your sugar. Once the sugar is completely dissolved stir in the self-raising flour and take off the heat. Peel your green apples, quarter, and remove the core. Cut each quarter into three. The batter is now cooled down a bit, quickly mix in your eggs. until they are fully dissolved and the batter looks even and glossy. In your baking dish, lay down a layer of apples. Pour half of your batter on the apples. Arrange your second half of apples. Pour the second half of your batter on the last apples. Shake the dish a bit to spread out the batter evenly. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 50 minutes. This is my cake, but also spot the handwoven tea towel from Oaxaca there. Let me know if you have tried this apple cake recipe, and how you liked it. From my family to yours: may you have a wonderful New Year, and may you be inscribed in the Book of Life. I wish you health, and lots of creative play, and may your hands be blessed to make the most wonderful creations. Much love, as always Suzanne

In the botanical printing groups online, you will read the term 'iron blanket' often. And I would like to explain to you what it is and how you can use it. In short: an iron blanket is a piece of fabric soaked in a ferrous sulfate solution. The ferrous sulfate reacts to tannins in the leaves, and sometimes tannins in the target piece. The target piece is the fabric we want to have printed as our final result. Ferrous sulfate and tannins always create different shades of gray to black, depending very much on the type of tannins used. The classic way of creating blacks and other dark backgrounds in botanical printing is the use of tannins in combination with ferrous sulfate (often called; iron). It's quick, easy, and does not contain too many steps which makes it a popular choice, but it must be said that the ferrous sulfate will inevitably weaken your fibers over time. One extra reason to use it with good measuring and not just in the 'rusty nails bucket', where we have no real control over the amounts of ferrous sulfate. How to make an iron blanket Take a piece of cotton or linen that is the same size as your target fabric and weigh it, this will be your iron blanket. After you have weighed your blanket material dry, and you have noted the weight on a piece of paper, you now have to soak it in cold water. This is called 'wetting out'. Wetting out makes sure your uptake of ferrous sulfate will be even and that will avoid blotches and stains. Weigh 1% WOF Ferrous sulfate and dilute it with plenty of warm water in a bucket. 1% Weight of Fiber means that for every 100 grams of dry fabric, you will need one gram of ferrous sulfate. Put your pre-wetted fabric in the new bucket of ferrous sulfate solution and soak the 'blanket' for about 10 minutes, working the fabric well in the water so to create an even distribution. Failing to do this will create dark spots in your final project! After soaking, rinse the fabric and wring out most of the water, leaving the fabric. Now your iron blanket is ready for further use. There are different ways of using this iron blanket. The first: Spread your target piece (mordanted with whatever you want. Add leaves Put the iron blanket on top of this Add a barrier Roll the bundle. This method creates black outlines on your tannin-rich leaves. We love this method for simple and quick botanical prints on silk. The second way to utilize an iron blanket: is to create a different colored background on your botanical print. Mordant your project piece (silk or wool) with the tannin of your choice at 10%WOF. Take a piece of cotton or linen that is the same size as your target fabric and weigh it, this will be your iron blanket. Measure 1% WOF Ferrous sulfate and dilute it with plenty of warm water in a bucket. Soak the 'blanket' for about 10 minutes, working the fabric well in the water so to create an even distribution. Failing to do this will create dark spots in your final project! Take the silk or wool out of your tannin bath and rinse it so there will be no powder residue left. Wring it and spread it out on your work surface. Take your leaves and lay them down side facing the target fabric. Take the blanket out of the ferrous sulfate bucket and wring well. Lay the iron blanket on top of your leaves. You now have a sandwich of target fabric, leaves, and an iron blanket. It is a good idea to now add a barrier of brown paper, or recycled plastic. Roll up the entire sandwich using a dowel and tie the 'sausage' well using rope or strips of cotton. Steam or boil for 90 minutes at least. The iron will create a dark background where there are no leaves.