Day 31 - Indigo Mystery Fabrics in America

 


Some form of indigo manufacturing and its use appears on every continent and is prized by every culture. Indigo also has roots in America, starting with Eliza Pinckney's plantation in South Carolina where indigo was introduced in the United States to textiles now preserved in  museum collections. Our history has a fabric mystery.  In the book America's Indigo Blues by Florence Petitt, she examines a rare eighteenth century collection of indigo blue resist prints.

image: afanews.com

No one knows who produced the indigo blue resist prints or what process was used to make them. Many examples were discovered in New England collections, while still others can be seen at the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Linda Eaton, textile curator at Winterthur writes that paste work or paste resist printing techniques, which create sharp edged designs were used.  However some evidence of printing the fabric then applying a  bleaching agent which was used to create softer edged designs and lighter  blue shades. Eaton notes that plans are underway to try and mimic different Indigo paste resist and bleaching techniques with the hope of  discovering how these fabrics were created. 
  

The two fabrics shown  here are examples of indigo dying, paste resist printing, and bleaching techniques.

Hopefully America's fabric mystery can be solved and reveal the origin of the fabric designs and the combination of techniques used to create them. 

In the mean time they are preserved for many to study and enjoy. 


left image: afanews.com