Dyeing with fresh indigo leaves

Polygonum Tinctorium

Over the summer our first graders became second graders, and the baby indigo they planted grew to become beautiful mature plants!

So on one of our first days back I took the second graders to the garden to harvest. Apparently the dye is stronger before they start to flower, so I asked the kids to try and only take stems with no flowers when possible.

We brought a pail back, which I stripped into our trusty blender. I put a few ice cubes in the bottom and more on the top, along with just a little cold water. We then blended this up for as long as we could stand it. I then poured their "indigo smoothie" through cheesecloth set over a strainer to filter out the little leaf bits. The students worked on another project at their tables while this was happening, occasionally taking a break to come help with or observe.

I don't have great pictures of the next bit because I was too busy with my hands in the indigo, but each table was given a pre-prepared skein of yarn that had been mordanted, rinsed and then soaked in plain water before class. The skeins were tied up with some cotton thread to keep them from tangling, and to provide a "handle". I gave the first kid alphabetically at each table the handle for their skein, and then showed them how to lower the yarn into the indigo bath gently and push down any errant bits with their other hand. They petted it gently for a minute, and then slowly pulled the skein back out. I helped them wring out the extra liquid, and then they swung the skein in the sink for another minute to aerate the yarn before passing the handle to the next kid. Once all of the kids at a table had dipped the same skein into the bath (each dip making the yarn a little darker) they put them into a bowl. I hung them over the sink for the rest of class, and then rinsed them out and hung them up to dry. The children watched as their yarn turned slowly from bright green to a pale aqua color! Every class had a slightly different color, and once they were done I put a few additional skeins into some of the leftover indigo bath and left them over the weekend in the refrigerator, which produced a much greener color even after rinsing and drying thoroughly. The students are now proudly weaving little pouches with all the yarn we have made over the years!