indigo | wool

about indigo | wool

Isatis tinctoria, Woad (en), Wede (nl), Guado (it)

The leaves contain the colorign compound. Traditional european source of indigo in use until the discovery of more potent asian sources of indigo pigment. Used to be "couched": made into balls for fermentation in the sun, then stored and added to dye vats when necessary, 3-4 days before using the vat. Mixing once a day the vat to help dissolving and activating.

The plant looks like a weed or small salad the first year, the second year it flowers to then produce beautiful purple-grey looking seeds.


location |

year | may 2022

collection | project - SheMakes - TextileLab Amsterdam

colors | blue

compounds | indigo,