Magic Indigo #1

Safety first.

The first steps for successful indigo dyeing are maintaining a safe work space and following safe practices.

Begin by keeping your dye tools, equipment and materials separate from all of your kitchen wares. So tempting to grab a wooden spoon to stir a dye pot instead of only using it to stir spaghetti sauce.  Resist the temptation.

 

Silk hemp fabric dyed with indigo, resist wrapped and ready for another dye bath.

The main pieces of safety equipment you need are a respirator mask and rubber gloves.  Whenever you are working with fine particles wear a mask and work in a well ventilated area. Outdoors provides good ventilation.  

A pair of oven mitts are helpful for handling hot water and warm vats.

I try to purchase supplies locally.  Ace Hardware and Harbor Freight stock most of the equipment.

Me as a young 16 year old artist.

Following safety precautions has meant a long and incident free creative career.

Next fabric, what to buy and where to buy it.