Natural Indigo Pigment Dye Powder for Coloring Soaps, Candles, Fabrics, as used by Vikings

Description

If you love natural, plant-based dyes, you’ll love this pure indigo powder.

USES:

• Soap coloring
• Candle coloring
• Fabric dye

Available in a packet of 100g (3.5oz)

Use tiny quantities of indigo powder to add a beautiful blue color to your home-made candles and soaps, or dye fabric. Indigo can dye all natural fibers. It gives beautiful shades of blue, from the palest summer sky to an almost purple black. The color achieved depends on the type of vat, the concentration of indigo, and the number of dips. To find out more about dyeing fabric with indigo, visit the Maiwa’s Natural Dyes website.

The botanical name of the indigo plant is Indigofera tinctoria. The plant has some other common names including True Indigo, and Dye Indigo.

If you have a garden, you could try growing this ancient dye plant. It’s a perennial plant reaching a height of 1-2 meters (3 to 6 feet) upon maturity. Indigo is one of the major sources of deep blue dye, which is obtained from the leaves.

How dye is extracted from indigo

The leaves and twigs do not actually contain indigo but colourless precursors that must be extracted and then processed in order to produce the indigo dye. The harvested leafy branches are placed in a tank containing water to which some lime has been added, and are weighted down with planks. After some hours of fermentation, the liquid is drained off and then stirred continuously for several hours. Afterwards the solution is left to rest and the insoluble indigo settles to the bottom as a bluish sludge. The water is drained and after the indigo has dried, it is cut into cubes or made into balls.

Shelf Life: seal and store in a cool dark place for up to 3 years.