Early Indigo Dyeing & Printing Methods

Indigo is one of the oldest Natural Vegetable Dyes. It is derived from a plant called Indigofera Tinctoria. It became popular worldwide from the very beginning because before Indigo, Natural Indigo Dyes were very rare. Along with that Indigo has a distinctive blue color, which is also a major reason for its wide usage. Also, numerous shades of blue can be prepared from Indigo. India features among the top countries involved in the production of Indigo in history.

The Oldest Way Of Indigo Dyeing Is Vat Dyeing.

• In the process, a chemical reduction of Indigo takes place in a reducing bath, done in a vat or container either below or above the ground.
• The chemical reduction is done to make the insoluble Indigo plant soluble in water.
• Next fermentation is done of the plant extract with a solution of alkali.
• Then the solution is boiled, cooled and stirred. After cooling the solid impurities are removed.
• Now the fabric or the yarn is added to the mixture in the vessel.
• Lime and copperas is added and with that the dye-bath becomes yellow. And along with that the yarn or the fabric also turns yellow.
• After lifting the dyed piece, oxygenation takes place and the color turns blue.
• With the oxygenation, Indigo again becomes insoluble and hence it lasts for really very long even after rigorous washing.

Three Important Points For Indigo Dyeing

• Adding more dye to the dye bath does not mean that the shade will become darker and darker.
• For darker hues, the step of submerging the fabric or the yarn and then oxygenation, has to be repeated as per shade requirement.
• For dyeing particular parts of a fabric with Indigo, the other parts have to be applied with a resist paste of either wax or flour. The paste will prevent the Indigo Dye from penetrating into the fabric and it will retain the original color wherever required.

Though modern synthetic dyes have been introduced in the market, but still Natural Indigo Dye holds its place firmly in the Dyeing industry. Sam Vegetable Colours Pvt. Ltd is a name of a reliable Natural Dye Manufacturer and Exporter in India. The company is a trusted Textile Dyes and Dyed Yarns Supplier In Uttar Pradesh. Natural Indigo Dye, Natural Vegetable Dyes and Organic Cotton Socks are some of the varied range of products made available by the company. In order to contact Sam Vegetable Colours Pvt. Ltd now or to know the details of the products offered by it, one can go to the website www.samvegetable.com.

Author is representing this article on behalf of Sam Vegetable Colours Pvt. Ltd. an eminent Herbal Dyed Garments manufacturer, offers vegetable dye colors, Herbal Dyed Stoles etc.