An indigo-dyed hank rinsed under running water, spray rising from the bath.

The marks left by the hands that made it.

Hand dyeing

Colour applied by hand, one piece at a time.

Hand dyeing places a person in the middle of the process. Judgement — how long, how deep, how many times — is made in the room, against the material in front of them.

Process

Six stages

01

Preparation

Undyed cotton skeins laid on a concrete floor before dyeing.

02

Dye

Dye liquor poured in an amber stream from one vessel into another.

03

Immersion

A dyer wrings a hank of indigo-dyed yarn over a basin.

04

Oxidation

A skein of indigo-dyed yarn coiled in a shallow terracotta basin, seen from above.

05

Drying

A long rack of indigo-dyed skeins drying under a timber roof.

06

Finishing

A braided hank of madder-dyed yarn resting on undyed cotton.
Indigo skeins hang close on a line against a white wall, with marigold-dyed yarn beyond.
Variation

No two pieces need to carry colour in exactly the same way.

Differences in tone, depth and surface are a record of how a piece was made. They are read here as character rather than as fault.

Explore dyeing