Learn to make a personal natural indigo vat without worrying about toxicity or cost of heavy chemicals.  These vats use a natural chemical reduction process to produce a quick, reliable, long-lasting indigo blue.  I’ll provide a brief overview of indigo’s historical highlights and chemical quirks, and guide you through making a natural reduction vat.  We’ll explore simple resist techniques to produce patterns on silk and cellulose fabrics and then introduce the added beauty of rust prints in combination with the indigo.  Finally, we’ll cover care and maintenance of the vat and give you the option of taking one home.

Learn to make a variety of personal natural indigo vats without worrying about toxicity or cost of heavy chemicals! These vats use a natural chemical reduction process to produce a quick, reliable, long-lasting indigo blue. I’ll provide a brief overview of indigo’s historical highlights and chemical quirks, and guide you through making a natural reduction vat. We’ll explore simple resist techniques to produce pattern on fabric and thread. Finally, we’ll cover care and maintenance of the vats and give you the option to take one home.