Indigo dye, famous for its rich blue color, was historically sourced from plants and crustaceans. Today, synthetic dyes are used for their color and fade resistance. Indigo has been used since 1600 BC and was popular for its saturation. The dye required chemical treatments and multiple cycles of dyeing. Synthetic dyes are stronger and more predictable. Denim is traditionally made from indigo, with the wear patterns of the dye creating distinctive jeans.
Indigo is a rich blue dye used extensively in the ancient world, from Indonesia to Europe. The distinctive dark blue color made this dye famous, with a variety of synthetics used today to produce indigo that is color and fade resistant, as opposed to the naturally sourced one used historically. Many craft stores sell it in their dye sections for people who want to work directly with this dye.
The earliest records of indigo date back to about 1600 BC and seem to suggest that the use of this dye originated in India, spreading to the Middle East and China and spreading from there. The name, in fact, derives from the Latin indicum, which means “of India”. Indigo quickly became a very popular color due to its depth and saturation, making wool, cotton and linen garments incredibly dark.
This dye was historically derived from plants in the genus Indigofera, a member of the pea family native to Asia. Indigo could also be extracted from woad, as was the case in the British Isles, and from some crustaceans of the genus Murex, also used by the Phoenicians to produce another famous dye, Tyrian Purple. The compound that creates the color blue isn’t actually soluble in water, so to turn it into a dye, people had to put it through chemical treatments. Some of these treatments were quite harsh, causing health problems in textile manufacturing plants and occasionally attracting the attention of social reformers.
Historically, many people simply soaked their indigo in stale urine to turn it into a dying compound, leading to the dyes being exiled to the edge of cities in some regions due to the smell. Indigo could also be fermented to make a dye, as was done in Asia, and some people simply painted it directly onto the substances they wanted to dye. The fabrics also had to go through multiple cycles of dyeing for the color to take, and it usually only penetrated the top layers, leaving behind a white core.
Since 1900, most companies that want to work with indigo have used synthetic dyes. These dyes are stronger than natural ones and also more predictable, ensuring that batches maintain consistent coloring. Denim is a popular product traditionally made from indigo; The jeans’ distinctive wear is a result of the wear patterns of the dye, which fades naturally through repeated washing.
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