Fresh Leaf Indigo Fiber Dyeing

Debbie modeling her poncho.

Gwen’s warm and cozy hat.

Kristie’s Little Weaving Company weaving.

My friend Kristie Strasen came up and helped me with the first harvest. I only grew 120 plants but they thrived in my Hoop House and the harvest was more effort than I expected. Kristie happily volunteered her day harvesting, processing and making fresh leaf indigo. Kristie is a weaver, her work is stunning, and she wanted a few tidbits of fiber to play with on her loom. We had so much fun making the fresh leaf indigo and dyeing the fiber she brought with her that we got the idea to co-teach a workshop for fiber lovers. I work with textiles and although I dye fiber for my stitching I am not well versed in fiber itself, the different weights, sizes, etc. that knitters, weavers and crocheters would prefer so that is where Kristie’s expertise came in. We decided to host 10 friends we knew in the local area that would love to play and experiment with dyeing fiber in indigo and try out our idea.

We were lucky that the workshop was held on a gorgeous fall day and we harvested the last of the indigo. Everyone produced beautiful fiber in an array of colors. The depth and range you can achieve with fresh leaf indigo is amazing. Our workshop was a success and everyone went home with their mini skeins scheming of pieces to create. Kristie had launched us off at the workshop with a cap she had made from our first harvest and over the next few months I received updates and images of what people had created. The creativity amongst the group was amazing and it was pure joy to see all their creations.

We are hosting another Indigo workshop for fiber dyeing on Sunday, July 21 and we would love for you to join us! REGISTER for the workshop →