Weekly Roundup - Indigo Week!

It is Indigo Week on the ChemKnits Tutorials YouTube channel!  Stony Creek Colors sent me some of their American grown, plant extracted indigo so I could start my first vat.  This project was full of up and downs, but I am so happy that I was able to publish SIX fun videos with my indigo journey this week on the ChemKnits Tutorials YouTube channel. 

It is Indigo Week on the #ChemKnitsTutorials YouTube channel! The first three videos of my adventures feature my failed attempts to set up an iron vat, and then how I successfully reisolated the indigo to set up a hydrosulfite vat. Thank you so much @stonycreekcolors, for your beautiful plant derived Indigo and for helping me troubleshoot my way to a working vat. 💙🌿 If you want to follow the whole journey, check out the indigo week playlist, or you can start with Dyepot Weekly #66 to watch me make my first successful indigo dyed yarn. . . . . #indigovat #naturaldyeing #dyepotweekly #stonycreekcolors #indigo #dyeingchemistry #dyewool #dyecotton #indiedyer #fiberartist #summercrafts #outside #indiedyersofinstagram #dyestagram #playwithcolor #dyeallthethings #yarn #yarnlover #yarnie #trysomethingnew

A post shared by ChemKnits (@chemknits) on Aug 21, 2018 at 6:20am PDT

A few weeks ago, I talked about my first indigo vat fail in the weekly roundup. I was so excited to try this out, but unfortunately my first attempt to set up the iron vat just did not work.  The indigo didn't reduce and I was unable to dye fiber.    Stony Creek worked with me that week to come up with a plan to convert my failed iron vat into a successful hydrosulfite vat.  I am so happy that I decided to stick with the project and get something that worked! 

Oxidation is still in progress but LOOK AT THAT BLUE! 💙🌿@stonycreekcolors this is totally working! Granted, I'll have a lot of rinsing to do (oh the sediment), but watching the colors shift from yellow to blue is so exciting. I am in LOVE with indigo! I rescued the vat, and I am so so so so so happy. Can you tell? 😉 Look at this color after ONE dip! . . . . #indigovat #naturaldyeing #indigo #oxidation #indiedyer #indiedyedyarn #fiberartist #fixedit #nailedit #hydrovat #fiberarts #dye #dyewool #dyecotton #science #dyeingchemistry #keeptrying #yarn #yarnie #yarnlover

A post shared by ChemKnits (@chemknits) on Jul 13, 2018 at 7:34am PDT

As I was preparing for my first indigo vat, Stony Creek Colors was working on developing their own 5 gallon kit to sell through their website.  They recommend Graham Keegan's protocols, which unfortunately did not work for me.  They, too, ran into issues with Graham's protocol. Graham has been selling an indigo kit (using Stony Creek Colors' Indigo - which is why they directed me to those instructions) for a while.

Stony Creek Colors now has their own protocols for a few different types of indigo vats.  They have their own iron vat protocol (this one works!) and a hydrosulfite vat protocol which is very similar to the one that I used successfully.  You can even buy a kit so you can get everything you need to start dyeing with their plant derived indigo yourself. 

I spy an indigo gradient! 4, 3, 2, 1 dips into my vat with 100% organic cotton yarn from @knit_picks. @stonycreekcolors these colors are SATURATED. I know they will lighten as it dries but I am super impressed. 💙🌿📽️ . . . #indigo #indigovat #indigodye #yarn #cottonyarn #stonycreekcolors #dip #gradient #fiberartist #dyeyarn #fade #simplycotton #knitpicks #dyeingexperiments #ChemKnitsTutorials #filminginprogress #dyepotweekly #yarnie #maker #madebyme #naturaldye #naturecolors #makermade #makersgonnamake #yarnlover #yarnaddict #yarnstash #knit

A post shared by ChemKnits (@chemknits) on Jul 13, 2018 at 12:37pm PDT

I greatly appreciate Stony Creek Colors working with me while I was troubleshooting this vat. Without their help, I would have thrown this away and given up.  Instead, I was able to isolate the indigo and convert my iron vat to a hydro vat where I successfully dyed yarn with indigo.  HORRAY!

It is so fun to see the range of blues that can be created with this technique!  I plan to re-start my vat again so I can try a few other yarn dyeing techniques and also play around with dyeing some fabric.  What would you dye with indigo?  

Indigo Week continues in Dyepot Weekly #67 where I tried to make a gradient of blues by dipping cotton skeins of yarn into the indigo vat a different number of times. I bet I could have gotten a paler color if I had done one super super fast dip. I love playing with indigo so much. 💙🌿💙 Thank you @stonycreekcolors for sending me your plant derived indigo and helping me turn a fail into a success! . . . #dyepotweekly #indigo #indigovat #chemknitstutorials #dyeingchemistry #dyecotton #cottonyarn #yarnfade #yarngradient #fiberartist #indiedyer #handdyedyarn #naturaldye #summercrafts #yarn #yarnlover #yarnaddict #yarnie #playwithcolor #dyestagram

A post shared by ChemKnits (@chemknits) on Aug 22, 2018 at 6:54am PDT

Sometimes things don't work as expected.  Watch as I attempt (and fail) to create my first ever indigo vat.  This video is edited as I proceeded.  You will see my hope, doubt, and disappointment.  Thank you so much, Stony Creek Colors, for not only sending me the indigo, but also working with me all afternoon when the first protocol I followed didn't work for me.  You helped me reach a strategy to resurrect this vat (switching from an iron vat to a hydro vat) so I could successfully use the indigo to dye yarn.

You can watch my whole indigo vat journey in the indigo week playlist here:

KnitCrate Flash Sale!

KnitCrate flash sale is still going on!  If you sign up for the August 2018 KnitCrate Membership Subscription you will get a BONUS free crate for just the cost of shipping charges.  This is two crates for $29.99!  When you got to the website, wait for the pop up and click the "Get My Free Crate" button.  (Note, the free crate will vary based on availability, but you will see a preview of the free crate in the popup.)  

Disclaimer: I am a KnitCrate Affiliate and they send me the KnitCrate Membership and the Sock Crate every month so I can share them with all of you.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.