Plant based dyes: blue

The best blues are not born, they’re grown (in the garden) and it’s easy. This workshop will teach two processes for extracting indigo from three different plants–Indigo Indigofera tinctoria, Japanese Indigo Persicaria tinctoria, and Woad Isatis tinctoria. Indigo is different from most color pigments which dissolve in water and then affix to fabric. Instead, Indigo is a solid in water…

The first technique uses only salt water and elbow grease to affix the indigo to the fabric and yields light blues. This is a fun hands-on technique to use with Japanese Indigo and takes advantage of the plant's succulent leaves.

The second technique will require some potions skills to extract the color blue, dissolve it in water (by changing pH), then sticking it to your fabric as a yellowish dye. Finally, like magic, it will change to blue as the fabric is exposed to oxygen.

This project will include a handy reference, an indigo growing guide, and allows you to take home one dad hat in light blue and one tee shirt in a slightly darker shades. One reason we enjoy working with indigo is that it does not require the pretreatment of fabrics and can be readily utilized with natural fabrics–cotton, wool, linen, and silk–you may have at home. 90 minutes.

General Information:

We recommend navigating to the Observatory Drive and Babcock Drive corner. Plan to head north on Babcock Drive. The entrance to the garden is on Babcock Drive. You are welcome to drop off in the circle but we are not allowed to park there. Google maps will sometimes confuse the garden’s address (620 Babcock Dr, Madison, WI 53706) and navigate to Leopold Residence Hall.

Street parking can be found for free after 4:30 pm near the Garden on Babcock Drive (lot 34), near Porter Boathouse on Babcock Drive (lot 35), and near Babcock Dairy (lot 40). There is paid parking in the Observatory Drive Ramp next to Steenbock Library (lot 36). Lot 36 costs $4 for the first two hours. More information about parking on campus can be found here: https://transportation.wisc.edu/visitor-parking/

Workshops are held rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather, we will move inside the DC Smith Greenhouses and do things there. Should this need arise before the start of our program, then participants will be notified via email two hours prior to the event. If the weather looks unfavorable please check your email before heading out. All the needed plant materials will be brought to DC Smith Greenhouses (465 Babcock Dr, Madison, WI 53706).

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Allen Centennial Garden, 620 Babcock Drive, Madison, United States