Jennifer Falkowski
Drying the finished patterned fabric.
“Indigo is so magical,” says Jennifer Falkowski of the once-rare blue dye. She likens the process of working with the natural plant dye to alchemy. “The liquid in the bucket is not blue at the start,” says Falkowski. “It’s yellow-green, like Mountain Dew. When you pull your fabric out, it comes out yellow. Then the air hits it, it oxidizes, and turns blue. There’s nothing else like it.”
A Madison-based artist, Falkowski had been searching for something that would give her a new creative outlet. First, she tried regular fabric dyes, but found them boring, because all that happened was the fabric turned a different color. Then she learned about shibori, one of the oldest known Japanese dyeing techniques, and was intrigued. Shibori involves folding, clamping, stitching or blocking off parts of the fabric so that patterns are created where the dye can’t reach, akin to tie dye.
Using indigo to dye dates back thousands of years in Japan (it’s used in many cultures around the world). Samurai wore indigo-dyed fabrics under their armor to ward off infection from battle wounds, due to indigo’s antibacterial properties. Dyes other than indigo can be used to do shibori, but indigo is traditional.
Soon after learning shibori, Falkowski started teaching it herself. Indigo dyeing is messy, and usually requires an outdoor space. She works with local businesses like Blue Bar Quilts in Middleton, the Electric Needle in Madison and Mill House Quilts in Waunakee to hold classes for students at a range of experience levels.
“It’s a really great way to get over being a perfectionist because you have to let go of knowing exactly what’s going to happen,” says Falkowski.
Haley Hundt Photography
The dyeing process is messy: (from left) hydrating the indigo, to dyeing fabric.
Falkowski sells her indigo pieces at shops in the Madison area. Her infinity scarves are sold at The Regal Find in Middleton, along with baby onesies with a one-of-a-kind pattern. At Blue Bar Quilts, shoppers will find her indigo fabrics cut to size for quilt-makers, as well as some of her upcycled tunics.
This summer, Falkowski will host a weekend-long “Deep Into Indigo Retreat” in Westby, Wisconsin. (It’s already sold out.) Her next local class will be held at The Electric Needle on March 24. “I’ll talk a bit about the interesting history and chemistry of indigo, and I’ll show several different techniques for shibori patternmaking and then we’ll dye the fabric,” she explains. “And then we’ll have the reveal!”
Shibori Experience Class
Jenniferfalkowski.com, March 24, Noon-3 p.m., $80, at The Electric Needle, 4281 W. Beltline Highway