4/13/2011

The process of hand-dying using natural indigo is a labor intensive traditional method which nearly became a lost art as the mass production method of synthetic indigo dyeing allowed larger amounts of product to be dyed providing similar color with a lower cost. Thus, natural indigo products which require more time and effort have been gradually decreasing.In the mass production method of machine dyed using synthetic indigo, dying occurs only on the yarn's surface, which is why the core part of yarn is still white. As a result, the indigo dyeing will fade from the fabric's surface. However, in hand-dyeing the fabric is repeatedly dipped into indigo vats, indigo coloring is squeezed out, and dried up in the air, and the process takes a long time as it is done by hand. This is why with hand-dying the yarn is completely dyed even to the core part of yarn. Consequently, it makes less color fade and delivers deeper indigo blue color.

In the above video, watch how the tedious process of hand-dying is achieved. It is a labor of love. This video shows the indigo dying process of Rampuya's denim which is used on the Momotaro Jeans label.