Alchemy and awe collide in the bubbling vats of fermenting indigo

 

 

 

By Jill Lowe

 

 

How so? What is so mysterious?  

Knowing a little of the extraordinary process needed to produce the magnificent sixth color of the rainbow will illustrate the justification for the awe in the vats. Because, until late 19th  century when synthetic indigo became available, any extracting of the dye from the tiny leaves of the  indigo plant was extremely difficult  

This color of deep midnight is intoxicating and no color has been prized so highly or for so long, with  such a power to bewitch. 

 

 

 

Who would know that the magic of indigo dyeing, combined with the french phrase “bleu de Genes” (blue of Genoa) – referring to the Genoese navy’s durable pants sold though the Harbor of Genoa, would give us BLUE JEANS? It was those pants for sailors from Genoa around the 1800’s, combined with cloth from the French town “de Nimes” (denim) which would give us the ubiquitous piece of clothing. 

The development of what we now know as blue jeans was the work of two enterprising immigrants. In California in the 1850s, a German dry goods merchant named Levi Strauss sold blue denim work pants to local workers. One of his customers, a Latvian tailor named Jacob Davis, regularly bought cloth from his Levi Strauss & Co. wholesale business. After negotiations and patenting, business was commenced by the two men on May 20, 1873. Some consider that day to be the official “birthday” of blue jeans.  

 

With all natural indigo dye coming from the leaves of the plants, much was to change when in 1883  Adolf von Baeyer, identified the molecular structure of indigo enabling the synthetic version of  indigo.  

And so today almost all indigo is from synthetic processes, resulting in deeper indigo being available  with a more uniform color. 

 

 

Denim is blue on the front and white on the back because only the warp yarns are dyed  while the weft yarns are left naturally undyed or bleached.

 

 

The very special distinction of indigo dyes from other dyes.  

 

 Indigo is a “vat dye” meaning  a chemical reduction process is needed in water, to allow the dye to become soluble, in order to bond with fabric fibers. This is unlike most other dyes that simply dissolve in water and attach to the fibers directly. 

One extracts the dye from the tiny leaves of the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria) – a precarious,  time sensitive endeavor. Or one can purchase the pigment in cakes or powder from natural indigo  companies. Some enterprising home gardeners keep “dye gardens” for the purpose. 

 

The tiny leaves of the indigofera tinctoria plant from which the dye can be extracted

 

Cakes of indigo pigment- the Indigotin

 

The insolubility of Indigotin (the dye component of indigo powder) as described above, has resulted in various recipes to achieve solubility. 

All indigo vats need three things and Michel Garcia the botanist chemist in France has a well known  recipe and is followed by very many dyers of indigo. (one can find much of his wisdom on the  internet) The 3 necessities for an indigo vat:-  

1) indigo pigment  

2) warm water with an alkaline base such as pickling lime – to help dissolve the indigo  3) reducing agent such as fructose- to remove excess oxygen  

That’s why indigo is magic! From tiny green leaves, a succession of chemical reactions transforms the  plant material into a blue indigo fabric -the most famous blue of all time.  

The pathway to our blue jeans of today commenced at least 5000 years ago.  

Around the world, plants that form the indigo pigment are the only natural sources of the blue dye.  The processes to set the pigment into soluble form that can attach to a textile have developed  independently in many cultures, especially China, India, Iran, Greece and Rome and from  approximately 1400 years ago in Japan. The global migration of indigo not just as a commodity but as  a body of knowledge is a result of countless scientists and practitioners mastering the art.

 

 

 

Shibori indigo (tie-dyeing) in Japan

 

In Japan, the dying with indigo is known as Aizome and initially was exclusively used in the  garments of the Imperial Court in the Heian Period (794 – 1185). Over time, the colors of aizome  were adopted by the warrior class who started to wear indigo-dyed garments with the dye having  the added benefit of strengthening the fabric.  

By the 17th century indigo production had increased exponentially in Japan, to be one of the world’s most prolific indigo manufacturers. At its peak the country held over 1,800 indigo farms.  During this time, indigo tones became so widespread that an itinerant travelling scholar from  Britain labeled the colour “Japan blue,” a name that has stuck ever since.  

As synthetic variants took over, the traditional manufacture of aizome in Japan has slowly faded  away, with only four sites dedicated to this fine art still in production today. One of these is the Tokushima Prefecture on Island of Shikoku which dates back to the 12th century. One of the hallmarks of the indigo dyeing in Japan is the shibori tie-dyeing technique. Visitors to Tokushima can immerse themselves in a world of indigo. One can experience the  traditional art of aizome and return home with some unique, traditionally crafted Japanese items.  Aizumicho Historical Museum (Ai no Yakata) in Tokushima is an historical museum where  visitors can dye their own fabric using aizome techniques under guidance and supervision. Put this on your “must do” list for your next visit to Japan? 

The impact of indigo is worth delving into and is most easily done through publications such as these.

 

 

Indigo – in search of the color that seduced the world by Catherine McKinley is  brimming with rich, electrifying tales of the precious dye and its ancient heritage.

 

 

Indigo – The color that changed the world by Catherine Legrand  

 This is the ultimate reference on indigo dyeing techniques across the world.  

Gloriously pieced together, much like the fine garments it portrays, this colourful  volume takes the reader on an international tour of indigo-coloured textiles.

Here follows some glorious images of the magical color of indigo, its dye processes and  some products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art and Indigo  

 In 2020 at the SAAM – Renwick Gallery in Washington DC (Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Contemporary Art branch) was held an exhibition of Rowland Ricketts.  

Valuing the indigo dyeing processes, the Tokushima prefectural government in Japan had  invited Ricketts to create a public art installation using indigo. He placed pieces of indigo cloth in boxes that contained a small hole for light exposure and sent them to people in nine countries. They lived with the cloth for five months in 2017, and each piece of indigo returned looking  diferent. Here below are the 450 pieces of indigo cloth, hung in the Ricketts Gallery. Added to  the visual was a sound installation by Norbert Herber with hundreds of sounds of recorded  processes of historical indigo production. 

 

 

Meet Eliza Lucas Pinckney  

A 16 year old widely credited as the driving force behind indigo becoming second only to rice  as a cash crop in the Carolina colony. 

And a founding Mother who raised 2 revolutionary sons..  

 

Born 1722 in Antigua (where her father was Lt. Governor) and educated in England, Eliza Lucas  moved to South Carolina at 16 with her mother and sister Polly. The family owned three plantations  in the Charleston area. Eliza turned her love of botany into an effort to develop indigo as a cash crop  to complement the areas dependence on rice.  

A committed enslaver, she soon discovered that her slaves had skill with indigo cultivation and  indigo dye production.  

 At the time natural indigo was dominated by the French and Eliza sought to compete with this domination to benefit South Carolina. Indeed she had to manage some sabotage from nearby  French-owned Montserrat in her development of the indigo pigment. This entrepreneur’s riveting  story is told in the narrative fiction book The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd.

 

 

Eliza was the first woman inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1989. She joined the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2008. 

Her sons, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney andThomas Pinckney, were both among the Founding  Fathers. Charles signed the US Constitution in 1787 and Thomas negotiated the treaty with  Spain that assured our new nation the right to navigate the Mississippi River. Each ran  unsuccessfully for vice-president with the Federalist Party.

 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney – Founding father of the Republic.  

Oil on canvas, by Henry Benbridge (c. 1773), in uniform of a militia lieutenant; National Portrait Gallery.

 

Here is a list of the 39 signers of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787

 

Connecticut 

  1. William Samuel Johnson 
  2. Roger Sherman 

Delaware 

  1. George Read 
  2. Gunning Bedford Jr. 
  3. John Dickinson 
  4. Richard Bassett 
  5. Jacob Broom 

Georgia 

  1. William Few 
  2. Abraham Baldwin 

Maryland 

  1. James McHenry 
  2. Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 
  3. Daniel Carroll 

Massachusetts 

  1. Nathaniel Gorham 
  2. Rufus King 

New Hampshire 

  1. John Langdon 
  2. Nicholas Gilman 

New Jersey 

  1. William Livingston 
  2. David Brearley 
  3. William Paterson 
  4. Jonathan Dayton 

New York 

  1. Alexander Hamilton 

North Carolina 

  1. William Blount 
  2. Richard Dobbs Spaight 
  3. Hugh Williamson 

Pennsylvania 

  1. Benjamin Franklin 
  2. Thomas Mifflin 
  3. Robert Morris 
  4. George Clymer 
  5. Thomas Fitzsimons 
  6. Jared Ingersoll 
  7. James Wilson 
  8. Gouverneur Morris 

South Carolina 

  1. John Rutledge 
  2. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney 
  3. Charles Pinckney (cousin of Charles Cotes)worth) 
  4. Pierce Butler 

Virginia 

  1. George Washington (President of the Convention) 
  2. John Blair 
  3. James Madison 

 

 

To underscore just how highly regarded was Eliza Lucas Pinckney, President George  Washington was a pall bearer at her funeral in 1793 at St Peter’s Church in Philadelphia.

 

Image from the Indigo Art Museum in Ahmedabad in India  

 

The mysterious allure of indigo: more than just a color, it puts mystic in everything it comes in  contact with, symbolizing royalty and spirituality in some cultures, standing as one of humanity’s  oldest dyes embodying a legacy of innovation.

 

 

Notes and Links:  

Photo of Jill by Joe Mazza, Bravelux inc.  

Photos copyright © 2025 Jill Lowe. All rights reserved  

Images from Shutterstock license  

Links, sites and persons informing this article.  

Vibrant Acres 

Indigo in Japan- the magic of Aizome with Jeannine Cook  

Aizome– the making of Japanese Blue  

Daniel Island historical Society  

Faye Jensen Phd : Life of Colonial Women  

The Indigo Leaf Shepherd Textiles  

Michel Garcia is a botanist, chemist, dyer, and naturalist.The founder of Couleur Garance (1998) in Lauris, France, has been  instrumental in revitalizing the natural dye scene in France and abroad.  

Indigo Art Museum In India  

Smithsonian American Art Museum and Rowland Ricketts 

Natural Dyes – an amazing resource for supplies and education