Intuitive Indigo Day Retreat
£160.00
Intuitive Indigo Day Retreat
At Botanical Inks studio, Southcombe Barn, Widecombe In The Moor, Devon. TQ13 7TU
Date: Saturday October 11th, 2025
10-6pm
Our Indigo day retreat is an opportunity to connect with indigo and develop a deeper relationship with this mystical and potent medicinal dye plant. To learn of its transfomative herbal attributes and work with Indigo to transform something of your own to hold a new frequency. Learn from expert natural dyer and author Babs Behan at her home studio and experience the magic of Indigo in a magical place on Dartmoor.
HIGHLIGHTS
Indigo tea ritual
Learn Indigo vat preparation
Learn Indigo dyeing best practise
Indigo Cloth Ritual
Dye a grid of Indigo shade swatches to keep
Learn Shibori Tie-Dyeing
Shibori tie dye a larger fabric piece to keep
Dye an iten of your own with Indigo and/or Shibori
Lunch at local Cafe on the Green (not included in price)
Indigo is unlike other natural dyes, due to be ing insoluable in water and requiring a special vat dye process to remove the oxygen and increase alkalinity to create a dyeable state.
During the course of this full day, you will meet Indigo through a guided embodying herbal ritual, you will learn about the alchemy and chemistry involved in working with indigo and how to make an indigo dye vat using 3 simple natural ingredients. With this knowledge you will be able to set up your own indigo vat at home to dye with. You will practise indigo dyeing with sustainably sourced cotton and be shown techniques for getting the best results from the dye on cloth.
Swatches of fabric are provided for you to sample different shades of blue with and a longer piece of cloth to make a larger finished piece to keep.
You will also learn how to create patterns on fabric using Shibori tie dyeing to make geometric repeat patterns.
You are welcome to bring your own additional small item to dye.
You are invited to bring one item with you of significant value. At the end of the day we will have an intentional Indigo Ritual to transform your item, into something new and different. This may be a very personal and profound experience or it may be something light and simply a joy to transform old clothing into something wearable once more. Indigo is excellent for covering stains!