Fabrics > Naturally Dyed Fabrics > Charmeuse

Indigo Blue Charmeuse

 

Midnight sky, summer, Paris, 1962: that’s when I first fell in love with this colour. I was 16, studying French at the Sorbonne, listening to Edith Piaff and going by the name of "Gauloisse!" (goal-waz) because of my lace up to the knees sandals. A few years later I saw it in Cairo, where I got to study Arabic for a summer. It was flitting across boulevards, always too far in the distance, always as traditional robes, worn by portly but agile men. I had no idea it was Indigo, blue as only true Indigo can dye, until I myself dyed it and learned to recognize this luminous quintessential BLUE - Cheryl

This lovely fabric is a 16 mm mid-weight and flowy charmeuse, lustrous satin on one side and matte crepe on the other. An extra special fabric because it is woven in India from silk raised in India. *

This Aurora Silk Indigo Blue is hand dyed in the Aurora Silk workshop studio, using only the finest Indigo and the time honored and environmentally best Natural Fermentation Vat. The vat takes a week to prepare and the colour is built up through several successive "dips." The indigo used for this colour was raised in El Salvador by small farms, mostly women owned. It has been brought to us by a chain of women, all loving beings.

This Indigo Blue colour is used therapeutically to calm the nerves, and symbolically to represent Peace with Justice. That is why sometimes I will refer to this dark Indigo as "Peace Blue". - Cheryl

I am the only Professional Natural Dyer in this country, that I know of, that uses the traditional European Natural Fermentation Indigo Vat. Everyone else uses harsh and dangerous chemicals to reduce the Indigo, so it can be permanently dyed. In my vat I use only bran, Madder and washing soda. The bran and Madder provide the fermentation, and the washing soda (same as is used for washing clothes) provides the alkali needed to dissolve the reduced Indigo. - Cheryl

In addition to being environmentally firendly, this type of vat allows Aurora Silk to dye the extra dark Midnite Indigo. Only a natural fermentation vat, using the best quality Indigo, can acheive this colour. A chemical vat is so strong, it begins to re-dissolve the colour once it gets to about a medium dark shade, and it will never dye really dark.

While every effort is made to dye this colour evenly, the true hand dyed, naturally fermented Indigo will always display the subtle variegations characteristic of hand work. This adds a qaulity to the colour called Abrajz and highly valued in the Oriental Carpet trade. You will see Abrajz in all old Indigo dyed textiles. It adds a subliminal visual excitement to the colour.

Also to be noted is that true natural Indigo, dyed in a true natural fermentation vat, using the finest Indigo, has a clarity and vibrancy to it that is instantly attractive.

I consider this colour one of my signiture colours and, as you can probably tell, am very proud of it! - Cheryl

Maximum 10 yard dye lots. Orders for more than 10 yards will be dyed in lengths of 10 yards.

Note: To order multiple yards, update quantity in shopping cart

 

1 yard

Peace Indigo Blue on 16 momme (medium weight) Charmeuse Satin from India

$60

5 yards (one dye lot)

Peace Indigo Blue on Charmeuse Satin from India

$250

to order a small sample of this and black and red on silk Charmeuse, click: Rose Red on Charmeuse.

 

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