Indigo

Last week a friend had told me that she had a pot of indigo dye, and if I wanted to use it to call her. So yesterday I did. Just in time, as it turned out, as she was ready to throw it out. She invited me over right away. It was a little surreal. She had this big, black pot simmering on the stove, but at one point her son also had a big pot simmering on the stove as he and a friend were making beer. Since the indigo requires lye, I sure hope no-one got the pots confused. So I cooked two pieces of fabric and a hank of cotton yarn ( DMC Floche, if anyone wants to know.) After taking them out of the pot, and exposing them to air, they slowly appeared to darken, but not as much as the yarn she had done awhile back. Once I got them home, I hung them in the laundry room so tht they would be well exposed ot air and oxygenation. By the time they were dry, the colour is really quilte pale, so I have to assume that the dye bath was pretty well depleted. I think my best bet is to overdye them in some way, although I seem to remember reading in her instructions that there is some reason that indigo shouldn't be overdyed.