I have had an irrational fear of indigo dyeing for a number of years.   I think it could be a blue hands phobia.  Indigo dyers all seem to get blue hands and I hate blue hands.

Here is how I persuaded myself to start and my results

Indigo is the only solution for green.

For my new series of pieces, I need naturally dyed green wool fibres and fabrics.   A variety of greens.  Many native plants give yellows, but not many give good greens.  Green is usually achieved by over dyeing yellow with weld or indigo.  I reluctantly decided that I had no option but to use indigo dyeing or abandon my whole project.

Indigo requires chemicals

I would have liked to have used a fermentation vat if I was going to dye with indigo as it is more environmentally friendly.  This can only possibly work in the summer, and here in the Northeast of England on probably only a few days a year.   I have not got time to wait for the weather.   Not wanting to use sodium hydosulphite was a really good excuse not to move forward. The only solution was to order the chemicals.  I can always make a fermentation vat another time.

I ordered the chemicals I needed from the very helpful Wild Colours

Indigo dyeing will not work for me.

I was convinced Indigo dyeing would not work for me.  My solution to enable progress was to plan a trial. This way I convinced myself could not ruin lots of fabrics and fibres. Just a relatively small quantity of fibre, you understand,  due to my nervousness.

Am I being a bit crazy?

I should have really dyed all my yellows ready for turning them green in my indigo vat. But I was so certain that the indigo would not work that it was stopping me doing anything.

Time to stop the excuses and start dyeing some greens and also some blues, as a trial.

My First nerve-racking steps in indigo dyeing

This was a week ago, wool soaking and indigo dissolved. I had overcome my fears and started.   Hurrah !

Then the phone rings. My heavily pregnant daughter needs me to urgently look after my grandson while she goes to the hospital for some checks. Of course, I just dropped everything and left.
All is well with her and the baby and today I actually did the dyeing.  I picked up my dissolved indigo and carried on as if I had not had a break.
Here us my vat,  nearly ready for action.

Why was I so nervous?

It was really quite easy.

Here are my finished products. The dyeing is not bad for a first attempt and the greens are just what I am looking for.

I could have certainly dyed more, but at least I dyed something and the only thing that was blue apart from my fibres and fabrics were my trusty marigolds.