Millicent Rogers Museum

Throughout the 19th century, Pueblo, Navajo and Hispanic weavers in the Southwest adhered to cultural traditions while innovating with new materials and design elements.  Despite the availability of inexpensive commercial dyes and yarns, one element that prevailed throughout the 19th century was the dyestuff indigo.  Combined with natural and commercial yarns and flannels, indigo-dyed Pueblo, Navajo and Hispanic textiles still impresses with its intensity, vibrancy and variety of color.

WHAT IS INDIGO?

Indigo dye is derived from the plant "Indigofera".   When subjected to fermentation, an enzyme present in the leaves produces the dye.  For commercial use, the fermented indigo is reduced, formed into bricks, and sold by weight.  To dye fiber, indigo bricks were dissolved in an alkaline fermentation-bath. 

 The bath most commonly used around the world, including the Southwest, was a urine-bath.  It was common among the Pueblo, Navajo and Hispanic people of the Southwest to collect the urine of children in large ceramic jars which would be cured in a warm, dark room for a few days before being used for dying. 

After the indigo dissolved in the urine, yarn would be placed in the bath where it would remain submerged for up to a day depending on the intensity of the color desired.   The yarn would be rinsed in water and hung to dry before being used in a weaving.