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So if you’re looking for information to demystify the process, start there. I’ll say it now (and say it again later), in my opinion, the best, English language published single source of practical information on many of the processes mentioned on this page is actually a publication by John Marshall which is available in my shop. For the sake of organization, I’m going to break down extraction options into three different categories in order from simplest to most complex: first - direct indican dyeing, second - aqueous extraction of indigotin, third - dried leaves and composting extraction. This page is meant to point you toward a whole bunch of different resources for information about indigo pigment extraction. Other indigo species contain pigment in other parts of the plant, but not these.
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The methods I’m mentioning here apply to the processing of the LEAVES ONLY on these plants. If you got your plants from me while on tour, then you’re either growing Persicaria tinctoria OR Indigofera suffruticosa OR Isatis tinctoria or a little bit of each. Chances are, you’ve grown only one of a handful of plants that contain enough indigo to actually work with. Congratulations! You grew some indigo plants! Now what the heck to do you do to get the color out!?įirst things first, it kind of depends what you mean by “indigo”.