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Instructor: Polly Piergiovanni
Office: 264 AEC
Office Phone: 330 5431
Email: piergiop@lafayette.edu
This course may be used to fulfill the ES 225 requirement.
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How did your jeans turn blue, and why do they fade as you wear them?
The mysterious dye, indigo, has an intriguing history. Its unique production methods and the beauty of the colors produced on a wide range of textiles have lent an aura of mystique, which lingers today.
*Ancient Romans believed that their precious imported blue dye was a magical stone. Actually, the dye came from a common shrub in India. The leaves are fermented, and the extract is processed to obtain compact cakes of indigo dye.
amovablefeast.blogspot.com
*Indigo was a major export crop in the southern American colonies in the late 1700s. The majority of the laborers had been born in Africa and purchased from merchants.
Chemical Formula for Indigo
*German scientists developed synthetic indigo in 1865. By 1913, synthetic indigo had replaced natural indigo-dyed fabrics in the Western world. This affected villages throughout Asia and Africa.
www.studio-aikoen.com/indigotiedye.html
The shade of blue achieved depends on intricacies of the dyeing process
In Indigo: A World of Blues, students will
* Learn the history of indigo, beginning with ancient times
* Discover the societal impact of synthetic indigo
* Extract indigo from Indigo tinctoria plant leaves
* Ferment natural indigo in a vat
* Produce synthetic indigo
* Dye natural fabrics (wool, silk and cotton) with natural and synthetic indigo
* Make decisions to design a factory that will produce indigo
Course Description: Dip white fabric in the muddy-colored indigo dye vat, and the cloth emerges green, then slowly turns azure, cobalt or sapphire before your eyes. The chemistry behind this reaction will be revealed - and practiced - in this course. This mysterious dye has an intriguing history, and we will study its societal and environmental impact. We will learn about the equipment used in producing indigo dye, and the three sources of indigo: synthetic, natural, and biosynthetic. The course will culminate with the design of a new indigo production facility.
