Japanese Indigo Dyeing Kit

The humble beauty of natural Japanese indigo or aizome was revived during the country’s 20th Century Mingei folk crafts movement, and now the tradition of indigo dyeing has been simplified into this DIY kit with English instructions.

Traditionally, a vat of dye is made from indigo plant leaves, with wheat husk powder, limestone powder, lye ash, and sake added. The liquid is left to ferment for days to create the rich blue liquid. This easy-to-use kit uses real indigo plant dye, allowing you to make your own dye bath at home in just a few minutes. You can experience the magic of the indigo dyeing process, watching the dye oxidise and turn fabrics dark blue when exposed to air.

The kit has been created in collaboration with a fourth generation indigo dyeing master, Nakajima Yasuo of Busyu Nakajima Konya.

You can also experiment with Shibori, which involves clamping the fabric before dyeing to produce beautiful patterns in the dyed cloth.

The kit contains ai indigo crystals and reducing agent, colour fixative, rubber gloves and English instructions.

Each kit makes about 5 litres of dyeing solution, enough to dye about 200 grams of dry cloth (about 5 t-shirts or scarves). The dye can be reused up to four times on the same fabric in order to create an intense 'Japan Blue' colour.