Over-Dye a Garment in Our Community Indigo Dye Vat

Each attendee is invited to dye to bring one garment to Indigo Dye in the courtyard between the E and F Wings at Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto, CA. Please ensure that your garment is clean and made of natural fibers (cotton, linen, wool, silk, etc). This is is a great opportunity to refresh a faded denim garment, give new life to a stained shirt, or overdye an under-utilized item in your wardrobe. Note: fabric softeners, starch, dirt, or debris can contaminate the dye vat and synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon, acrylic, etc) are not compatible with natural dyes, so only clean, natural-fiber garments can be allowed in the Indigo Vat.

Some rubber bands, clamps, and thread will be available to play around with shibori or tie-dye patterns independently, if you want to get fancy. No instruction on pattern or resist techniques will be provided at this dye event. If you have a particular vision, you're welcome to do your own research on how to acheive the extensive patterns possible through folding, scrunching, tying, and clamping (a quick google of "shibori techiques" will yield SO many resist strategies!). Or you can keep things simple and dip-dye with no resist at all. Depending on how much prep you choose to do, your process might be very quick, or as long as you choose.

Dye can be messy, so it's suggested that you wear stain-friendly clothes. There will be a few pairs of gloves and aprons to share, but if you have your own, please bring them. There will also be some plastic grocery bags to take home freshly-dyed items, but if you're worried about leakage in transport, bring a water-proof bag or tub that meets your own personal standards. All ages welcome, but children must be accompanied by an adult.

Jaya will have prepared our Indigo vat in advance, but she'll be happy to share how she did so, for anyone who wants to make their own vat in the future. Space is limited, so sign ups are necessary. Contact Jaya directly at [email protected] with any questions. Looking forward to dyeing with you all!

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