I first fell in love with indigo dyed fabrics when I was studying textile design at college. On my first trip to India I was lucky enough to visit a small indigo dyeing workshop in Jaipur. Once dyed, the men spread the lengths of beautiful fabric out on the roof to dry in the sun, the monkeys looking on with complete disdain. There were lots of imperfections and no two pieces were the same. How wonderful!
One of the lovely things about indigo dye is the gorgeous range of blue tones which can be achieved, from the deepest inky blue to the palest faded blue which has a wonderful quality of age, like a favourite pair of jeans which have been washed to within an inch of their lives.
Indigo dying is one of the oldest forms of fabric dyeing and traditionally the dye stuff was extracted from the leaves of a variety of plants. Today most of the indigo dye stuff produced is synthetic, which for me makes anything which has been dyed using the vegetable dye all the more precious.
Here are a selection of vintage indigo dye pieces available from Etsy.
Vintage Batik table runner from Tribal Collection, you can find it here.
This beautiful vintage African throw is available from Amy Vintage Treasures and you can find it here.
Antique Japanese hand loom fabric from Furugi Star. You can find it here.
This beautiful vintage Kantha embroidered bag is available from Textiles Not To Forget, you can find it here.
Decorate Decorate 