In 1880/1882 (there are disagreements on the date, so we'll keep everyone happy), Adolf Von Baeyer produced the first synthetic indicator for the BASF company (the famous audio cassettes of our youth...).
Today, we no longer count the number of synthetic pigments. Each created for a very specific use (clothing, painting, construction materials, etc.), indigo blue remains one of the most used and prized .
Adolf Von Baeyer, or the guy who launched the hipster beard trend.
Indeed, blue defines the little boy as opposed to pink for the little girl, cold water on the taps, hypertext links, the flag of the European Union, the UN and UNESCO, it's the color of the peacekeepers who keep the peace...
In short, it is the universal color par excellence, and this universality is also found in indigo dyes.
Indigo dyeing techniques around the world
Indigo dyeing techniques in Africa
The African use of indigo is characterized by ancestral techniques of tye & dye (dyeing techniques after weaving), dyeing work on leather and other basketwork, as well as on wood, particularly in Mali. Many countries have each developed their techniques and traditions around indigo, and its cultivation was an important source of income depending on the period.
This has been the case for a very long time, since 2,500 years BC, the Egyptians cultivated quite a lot in present-day Sudan of we-don't-really-know-which plant (researchers do not all agree , once again) with which they produced dye pigments.
Artisanal indigo dyeing in Mali.
Older still: in Mesopotamia, 3,000 years BC, we find traces of indigo on textiles, and written stories indicating blue tunics.
Edit: The Egyptians would no longer be the first to use indigo! A 6,000-year-old indigo-dyed fabric has been found in Peru . This does not exclude that another country is the first to have adopted it... To be continued 😉
In short, Africa, the Middle East and indigo are a long story. And I won't tell you about the indigo crops imported from Asia by Europeans into the colonies in the 19th century...
Indigo dyeing techniques in South and Central America
In pre-Hispanic civilizations, indigo had great importance . Aside from medicinal uses, blue was one of the most widespread colors. The Ancons, Tiahuanacos, Warsi, Chimus, Chancays and Incas weaved loincloths, tunics, coats, etc. using this shade.
Today, in Peru - especially in Cuzco - we find an “indigo culture” through wool and cotton fabrics, as well as on houses painted with natural pigments. They perpetuate the culture of Mayan blue (one of the most stable indigo blue pigments in existence).
The use of indigo pigments in pre-Hispanic art appeared very quickly. “Mayan blue” is also the dominant shade on this fresco.
For the record, they also used other processes to obtain blue, including mullaca flowers and a type of potato.
Indigo dyeing techniques in North America
Are we talking about denim culture? Otherwise, Native Americans liked to smoke and drink amorpha (false indigo) infusion, but very few tribes (mostly in the South) apparently knew how to make the pigments , or at least make them soluble for use as a dye.
On the other hand, from the 16th century, the Spanish began to produce indigo for Europe, thanks to favorable climatic conditions. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the French and English followed suit.
Archive document, dating from 1688, from the Virtual Museum of New France (corresponding to part of present-day Canada), attesting to French interest in indigo.
With cheap labor (slaves, etc.), production exploded - as did demand - thanks to new industrial techniques, which lowered the price to the point of almost eliminating pastel production.
Indeed, even by importing pigments from the “New Indies”, it was more profitable than producing in Lauragais given the quality, the intensity of the pigments, and above all the exploitation of slaves.
Indigo dyeing techniques in Oceania
There are very few, if any, trees producing indigotine in Australia (they don't do anything like everyone else...). No matter how much I searched, I didn't find anything particularly interesting to talk about on this continent.
Indigo dyeing techniques in Europe
Europe and indigo, a great complicated love story. Complicated, because there is a love/hate relationship depending on the period.
Worshiped during Antiquity, and imported at great expense by the Romans and Greeks , the pigments came from India and passed through the great trading cities of the Middle East of the time.
The Romans even cultivated quede, particularly in Pompeii which was a major production center. It then fell into disuse until the 12th century , because it was considered a barbaric color.
Remember, barbarians painted their faces blue to frighten their enemies. Even Mel Gibson was there in “Braveheart”.
Even more, it was misunderstood... “The Devil’s dye”, why does it change from yellow to blue on contact with air? However, it will slowly return “in fashion” thanks to the culture of pastel, to the point where Louis IX made blue the royal color . Demand has been growing over the years, and is exploding with the arrival of the indigo palm, but we have already talked about it.
I will not tell the story of Genoa blue or Nîmes blue twill. If you don't know these stories, look it up and you'll understand. And you will learn some of the basics of modern textile history.
To show off to your friends, the first traces of indigo in Europe date back to 800-700 BC. , in the Nordic countries and in Germany, notably with the famous Thorberg coat (yes, yes, it seems that it is famous...).
Okay, it's black and white, but Thorberg is supposed to proudly display his indigo coat on his longship.
Indigo dyeing techniques in Asia
So there is a LOT to say! But I'll be brief.
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago (more than 4,000 years) in a distant country (India), the beginning of a culture... Yes, it's that old. And our Indian friends, in their great generosity, shared their knowledge with all their neighbors: we find indigo on fabrics, textiles, clothing and everything you want, in all Asian countries.
In China - in the mountains of Guizhou - for 2,000 years, the same blue fabric has dressed peasants. They use a technique without fermentation, Ryukazome or “dragon tincture”, because it rubs off leaving purple marks on the skin.
In Malaysia, the “savages” stuck the tips of their arrows in indigo to ensure that they would reach their destination (animals or enemies). Beliefs and religions...
It's a holiday in this village in the Guizhou mountains. Note the depth of the blue shades in their clothing.
The subject of indigo and Asia is so vast that it would take a post on its own, or several. I therefore advise you to read the very good book by Catherine Legrand “ Indigo ”, published by La Martinière. It's much better explained and documented than I could do.
On the other hand, if there is a country that deserves the title of “indigo country”… it is Japan . Besides, indigo is a “national treasure”, yes, yes.
The list is established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The works are national treasures and the Master Dyers are “National Living Treasures”, elected each year.
For us, this basically represents the competition for Meilleur Ouvrier de France. But hey, TVN is still much classier than MOF! This shows if indigo is important in this country.
Ayano Chiba, former Living National Treasure, now deceased, is an emblematic figure of indigo (the photo was also taken in her plantation). And when we know that she lived to be 91 years old, one wonders if the pigment does not have miraculous properties...
If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know a little about the history of denim, with the traditional dyeing of cotton in vats - as some "mills" or Momotaro do. So I won't come back to it.
For a long time, indigo-dyed fabrics were reserved for the people for work clothing : the nobility preferred brighter colors, and above all those that did not bleed. Indeed, and as I have already said, indigo does not really attach to the fibers. We will come back to this.
It is a product prized by farmers. Not only are the clothes inexpensive, but they have a repellent effect (the color would keep insects away). This is why we find nets protecting dyed crops, as well as small cups with crushed pigments on the tables, just to eat in peace.
It is surprising to see to what extent the wearing of indigo is almost systematic among Asian peasants.
Over time, it has gained recognition, with craftsmen demonstrating more and more mastery and skill with Aizome: “Japanese blue”. An old saying even says: “Aizome represents the blue of the sky, water, sea and Japan”. Traces of it can be found as early as the 14th century, although the process must be older.
This dyeing technique was practiced for textiles - whether silk, cotton or linen - which were then used for work clothes, outfits of the nobility, kimonos of samurai and martial arts practitioners (kendogi , hakama, dogi, bogu...), their equipment and traditional fabrics (furoshikis, curtains, sheets...).
Having fallen into disuse in the middle of the 20th century due to industrial techniques, Aizome was preserved thanks to passionate master craftsmen and the culture of tradition, dear to the Japanese.
Masanao Shiroma is considered one of the few artisans who have mastered Aizome dyeing, which produces a particularly deep blue.
Master Dyers say that a fabric dyed with indigo lives and has a soul . In fact, the pigment never really attaches to the fiber, it fades with successive washes, the material develops a patina, the color fades and reveals multiple nuances; like a man growing old and wrinkled with the years. Jeans lovers will understand.
This is why these experts take the time to refine their knowledge to arrive at the desired color, monitoring their vat like a child, with great attention, living almost in osmosis with it, seeking perfection. It is perhaps also this long wait, allowing time for reflection, which inspires creators so much .
This perfection is also found on dyed fabrics. Many techniques, mostly Tye & Dye ( shibori , in Japanese), make up the mastered palette. I'm not going to explain them all because it's particularly long, I'll leave it to you to search for yourself. We will only see the main ones.
Indigo Dyeing Techniques from Tye & Dye
The Kanoko shibori technique : This is the most famous technique. A thread is tied around the twisted fabric, sometimes by first folding the fabric before tying the thread. The pattern depends on how tight the fabric is and where the thread is laid. Master Dyers can create extremely complex, regular and graphic geometric patterns.
The Miura shibori technique: We pinch a small area of fabric with a hook, before wrapping the thread twice around it, without knotting it. This is one of the easiest and quickest techniques to do, very popular, sometimes taught in primary schools in Japan.
The Itajime shibori technique: We place the fabric between two wooden molds (or plexiglass in industrial dye works) and we immerse everything in the tank. The pattern depends on the mold, with the graphics being very regular. These fabrics are quite common, and sometimes inexpensive.
I leave it to you to look for other types of dyes (Kumo shiburi, Nui shiburi, etc.) .
Other traditional indigo dyeing techniques
The Tsutsugaki technique : We draw with a “tsutsu” (a kind of pastry piping bag) filled with rice paste directly on the fabric, most often cotton, before dyeing it. The parts not drawn will be tinted, while those with the rice paste will remain blank. Then simply wash so that the paste disappears.
It may be rice paste, but you end up with beautiful patterns.
The Katazome technique : we make a stencil with the desired pattern, which is then placed on the fabric, then we apply the rice paste. We dye, and wash to remove the rice paste.
In Okinawa, there is a Katazome technique specifically used for ceremonial kimono fabrics, called “Bingata”. This technique is used between 9 and 18 times to obtain particularly elaborate and colorful patterns. This is similar, in spirit, to screen printing.
There are other techniques such as “Chirimen” (textured silk fabrics, sometimes very colorful). Shibari is a technique mainly used in Arimatsu, near Nagoya.
Dyeing with the Katazome technique: we can clearly see all the work done with the stencils and rice paste.
Certain cities tend to specialize in particular techniques: Kojima and denim (around thirty jeans manufacturers, with more than 200 companies in the sector which provide 40% of the total Japanese production of jeans), Rōketsuzome in Kyoto, Tsutsugaki in Fukuoka, the Hakama and other Dogi and Bogu in Saïtama north of Tokyo... I invite you to take a look.
Overdye Techniques
As you will have noticed, these are dyeing techniques after weaving. We are generally used to wearing clothes where the plant fiber (linen, cotton, etc.) or animal fiber (wool, silk, etc.) is dyed before weaving, which allows us to have colored threads giving the opportunity to make patterns with several threads - like the sublime jacquard sweater your grandmother gave you for Christmas - or to play with textures.
This is for example the case of denim, with its indigo thread and its white thread (a story of weft threads and warp threads...), but there is also another type of dyeing after weaving: overdye .
This is a type of dye that has come up quite often in recent seasons. To summarize, it is the action of dyeing a garment, fabric, etc., which already has dyed threads. But why ? There are different origins to this “technique”.
Indigo clothing, as we have already explained, loses its color over time and with successive washes. So it’s a way to give it some color, a little facelift. This was, and still is, used to hide a persistent stain that can no longer be removed.
Overdyeing process in Japan.
You can also directly re-dye a garment after weaving . We're seeing a lot of overdyed shirts and sweatshirts in collections lately, especially with indigo dyes. The color is stronger, deeper and quite popular: it takes on the “gray light” of winter very well.
Many Japanese brands like Blue Blue Japan offer overdye items, and some European brands like Norse Project , or American brands like Gitman Vintage , have overdye shirts in their catalog.
Indigo pigment: the final word
As you may have seen (or read), the subject is vast. It's not just about jeans, as some might think.
More than any other, this color allows you to create a completely monochrome look quite easily , by playing with textures and materials, but also with shades of colors and patterns , as the palette of pieces offered is large.
I advise you to favor clothes with natural indigo rather than synthetic because, as I (re)explained to you above, it will tend to fade over time, thus becoming unique thanks to signs of wear. . It will then reveal another facet of its “personality” (they have a soul, remember...) which will be close to yours, thanks to the successive ports.
When we tell you that an all-indigo look is possible ;). This one is taken from the Blue Blue Japan lookbook.
Like Miles Davis, run after the blue.
