The Life of an Indigo Vat
By Catharine Ellis (Reposted blog from Natural Dye: Experiments and Results , on 26 February, 2021) Over the years I have built, used, and discarded many indigo vats. Sometimes I … Continue reading
Colloquium: The Botany and Chemistry of Natural Dyes
In September 2017, Slow Fiber Studios partnered with the University of California Botanical Garden (UCBG) to host a colloquium on the botanical taxonomy and phytochemistry of natural dyes with three leading experts: … Continue reading
Why I Switched from Synthetic to Natural Dyes
Originally posted on Natural Dye: Experiments and Results:
The Surface Design Association News Blog just published a piece I wrote on dyeing. Here is the link. The transition from synthetic to…
Natural Dyeing with Lichens by Barbara Schey
Active WSN member Barbara Schey recounts her journey of natural dyeing, textiles, 60s , TAFTA (the Australian Forum for Textile Arts) and more… in this Natural dyeing note that she emailed us. Enjoy! … Continue reading
Making an indigo vat: Part 2 of 2
GL, one of our readers wrote to us with questions about her indigo vat. In Part 1, we shared WSN President and producer of Natural Dye Workshop DVDs, Yoshiko Wada‘s response. In … Continue reading
Making an indigo vat :: Part 1 of 2.
Recently, one of our readers wrote to us with questions relating to her indigo vat. Here’s her message verbatim – “Before I bought the video, I tried mixing the indigo vat … Continue reading
Colors of America: Cochineal workshop with Yoshiko I. Wada
Textile scholar and WSN President, Yoshiko I. Wada recently taught the art of natural dyeing with cochineal, at the beautiful UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley. Cochineal has been used in the Americas over … Continue reading
Natural Color: Fiber and Dye with Catharine Ellis
Last fall, I was in China for the 9th International Shibori Symposium (9ISS). Following the conference, I joined 20 other adventurers for a remarkable tour of the Silk Road in … Continue reading
Maintaining and Troubleshooting an Organic Indigo Vat with Catharine Ellis
Sometime ago Yoshiko asked me to occasionally provide some useful input to the Dye Nerds Blog. I thought that I might offer the following tutorial on how I solved a … Continue reading
Natural Dye Study Group Gather in Asheville, NC!
From far and wide, natural dye enthusiasts and studied practitioners gathered this month for a retreat focusing on the science and creative practice of natural dyeing. Organized by Catharine Ellis, … Continue reading
Natural Dye Workshop with Michel Garcia and Sustainable Dye Practice 