DIY Indigo Dyed Blanket

DIY indigo dying

In browsing a few of my favorite stores recently I’ve noticed a lot of indigo or shibori dyed clothing and home goods. It’s an old traditional Japanese dying technique of twisting, folding, and binding fabric before adding dye that dates back to the 8th century (precursor of 80s tie dye!). Blue and white have long been one of my favorite color combinations for summer. The deep blue color from indigo dye is incredible and the possibilities for design and pattern are endless. No two pieces are the same, which makes them that much more special.

I thought for picnic week it would be fun to try our hand at indigo tie dying ourselves and make a summery picnic blanket to enjoy a day at the park or beach on this summer.

DIY indigo dying

DIY indigo dying

DIY indigo dying

Also, I noticed yesterday that if you go to J.Crew’s seasonal swim page everything above the fold is in indigo tie dye style. It’s a popular new trend (this dress from Madewell too!). Here are the step by step instructions…

In case you missed our other picnic themed posts this week: The perfect picnic sandwich, 3 favorite homemade veggie dips, what to wear to a picnic, DIY cloth picnic games. Stay tuned for one more tomorrow!

Photography by Liz Stanley. Assisted by Sara Albers and Jordan Wise

 

Supplies:
1 box of Indigo tie dye kit
Large bucket
Natural cotton fabric (we used 100% cotton sheeting)
Gloves
Clamps, boards, extra rubber bands

First off: If you’re looking for really specific tips and instructions, best to consult the very detailed instructions that come with the indigo tie dye kit!

DIY indigo dying

Step 1: Accordion fold your natural fabric in a variety of different methods (we tried lots of things, everything was successful as long as it started with an accordion fold). Clam with boards (those will ensure large white spots), or use a lot or rubber bands the way you would with tie dying.

Step 2: Following the instructions in your packet, mix the dye in a bucket. You start with 4 gallons of warm water and and pour the indigo dye in while stirring in a circular motion.

Step 3: Add the soda ash and reduction agent (all this is in your indigo tie dye kit!). Stir it again clockwise and then in reverse. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent oxidation.

Step 4: Let sit for 30 minutes. It’s going to smell terrible. It’ll be green and goop will form on top. You’ll think you messed it up but hang in there!

DIY indigo dying

Step 5: Dunk your fabric in water and then submerge it into the dye being careful not to let it touch the bottom of the bucket. Gently press and massage the fabric for a couple minutes in the dye mixture.

DIY indigo dying

Step 6: When you pull it out, once again, you’re going to curse me and think you’ve messed it up but hang in there! Now the fun part- let it sit out for about 15 minutes. The puke green color will turn a dark blue indigo. You can also put it back in the dye for an even darker color (we didn’t do this and left it the lighter blue you see in the final images).

DIY indigo dying

Step 7: Wash wash wash. Wash it all out, removing the bands and blocks. We still saw some greenish hue at this point but it will quickly oxidize away.

DIY indigo dying

Step 8: Throw all your pieces in the wash on cold, and then,

DIY indigo dying

Step 9: Air dry (it’ll look so pretty!)

DIY indigo dying

Step 10: Hem and iron!

Other resources/links on indigo dying: Some different binding techniques and how they turn out, a history of indigo dye, the current above the fold J.Crew swim collection is all indigo dyed, a gorgeous indigo dyed dress, amazing traditional indigo designs for inspiration

Comments

Where does one buy the indigo dye kit? Love the idea that all the “fix in’s” are included in the kit! Love the final design on the blanket!

I really love this tutorial!
I do have a question…What do you do with the leftover dye? Is it toxic?
Thanks!

This might be a silly question , but how many boards did you use one the large squared blanket?

Just two boards! In the images, the fabric with the two boards and clamps turned out the square design blanket 🙂

Really great! Your content has been fantastic lately, and the photos! 🙂

Hi Liz – can you provide the measurements of the cotton sheeting that was used for this project.

I’m dying a cotton dress next week with the same kit-this is a great option for the rest of the dye. Thank you for the tutorial!

I love it! I’ve been drooling over all the shibori lately and thinking of how I could incorporate it… this is a fantastic idea!

Super impressed, you’ve had terrific content lately. Refresing to see bloggers that are able to incorporate sponsored posts and also produce fantastic content. bravo!

Thank you Kim! This post isn’t sponsored but I appreciate your kind words. I work hard to make sure all content, both sponsored and not is high quality

HI! We used 100% cotton sheeting, but you could absolutely use something thicker, but just remember it’s hard to bind and clamp thick fabric.

Ours was pretty thing, cotton sheeting. Just be sure it’s 100% cotton and that you have clips or rubber bands that will fit around it!

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