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Indigo on Wood | |
Introduction to Indigo on Wood | |
Introduction | |
This section of the Indigo Page web site describes techniques for staining wood using Ancient Blue Crystal indigo. The introduction discusses the properties of indigo and of wood to enable the user to get the best results from their work. The application pages show how indigo used in combination with resist techniques can create decorated wooden items, like those shown below. | |
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The Dye | |
Shown below indigo dye in two different forms has been tested for potential use as wood stain. Vashma indigo is part processed leaf material from the bush Indigofera tinctoria. The leaf material contains indican a soluble chemical that will convert to true indigo when the solute of the dye contacts air. | |
Tested on pine the Vashma was mixed with water to a paste consistency and left to stand for ten minutes to allow the indican time to withdraw from the leaf material. The dye was then spread thickly onto the wood and left for an hour. The photograph shows that where the dye paste was in contact with the wood a discoloured purple/brown stain has been left. Where the dye bearing solute has spread away from the paste along the grain of the wood a clear blue stain is visible. | |
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Fig 1. Vashma Indigo stained pine (long grain) | |
Ancient Blue crystal indigo is a freeze-dried indigo vat, mixed with water it can be applied to the wood like paint. This type of dye gives a true blue indigo stain without discolouration. Both types of dye must be rinsed off the wood to remove excess dye that will rub off with handling or contact. | |
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Fig 2. Ancient Blue Crystal Indigo stained pine (long grain) | |
Considering Grain | |
Wood is a material with a very strong structural make up. The properties of the material differ according to how it has been cut. Dye will absorb very strongly when applied to the end grain because the structure of the wood permits vertical penetration. Where the wood presents long grain then the dye will move along the direction of the grain as the structure of the wood facilitates lateral rather than vertical penetration. | |
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Fig 3. Wood Grain | |
Working with Indigo a darker, sharper and more even stain is achieved working on the end grain. In Fig 4 below you can see on the left hand example how the dye has bled along the grain underneath the resist. The blue colour is also uneven in density, this can be very attractive it's not necessarily a disadvantage. On the right hand sample the end grain has taken the dye into the wood vertically, the resist has a sharp clear boundary. The stain is also even is character and the colour nearly black. | |
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Fig 4. Long-Grain and End-Grain stain charachteristics. | |
Note: The same observations produce the opposite results when working with henna on wood. The lawsone molecule is so small that it will migrate into the end grain to a depth of several millimetres unopposed by the structure of the wood. The resultant stain at the surface is quite weak. Used on the long grain the dye piles up against the structure of the wood and gives a darker stain at the surface. | |
Introduction to Indigo on Wood | |
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© Alex Morgan. Indigo Page 2004 | |
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