H20-01 - Habotai 20" x 20" Square - Cotinus, Woad
H20-01 - Habotai 20" x 20" Square - Cotinus, Woad
There are few plants in my yard that offer blues: only Cotinus and Woad. Like Indigo plants, Woad needs an elaborate process, that purists claim needs 3 years to create true blue*.
In 2016, I attended a lovely workshop in Toulouse, France, with Natalie Chanin, of Alabama Chanin. She had invited a woman who dyes fabrics with woad for Paris fashion houses. That's how I learned about this extensive process.
A few years ago I tried growing Dyer's Woad. I was happy to discover that the stem and flowers do eco-print, straight after picking them! I'll have to wait until next spring for the new Woad flowers to print this lovely flower again
*That's why historically, Indigo took the place of traditional blue dyeing in Europe, for it was a way shorter and less costly process to create blues with Indigo plants.