Not every fibre artist grows and makes their own dyes.
South Cariboo artist and member of the Horse Lake Farm Co-Op Barb Matfin, however, does just that, growing Japanese Indigo to colour her wool. Matfin said she enjoys the whole process of creating her own dyed wool to knit and weave with.
"I've always been interested in dying wool specifically. I've always been a sewer, my mum taught me to sew when I was just a kid, so I've always been involved with fabric. Being involved with the sheep and the wool, I love fibre arts," Matfin said. "I'm making something useful, but also creative. I'm making something useful out of an organic product."
Born and raised in the South Cariboo, Matfin said she worked for close to three decades as a nurse and cook at the 100 Mile District General Hospital. In her heart, Matfin noted she had always been an artist and attended art school in Nelson and Kamloops before having her family. Over the last 15 years, Matfin said she's been able to focus more on her art, including knitting.
Matfin said she primarily knits toques, which she sells and donates to local groups and individuals in the community. She uses organic wool sourced from sheep raised by the Horse Lake Farm Co-Op and organic dyes, where possible.
She first began to grow Japanese indigo in 2017 after attending the Filberg Festival in Comox. While there, she passed by the Woolgatherers' booth when a particularly vivid shade of blue caught her eye.
"I turned around and went back and realized they had a whole display on indigo growing and indigo dyeing. I spoke at length with a few of the ladies at that booth and they promised to send me seeds in the spring," Matfin said. "I got on their list and lo and behold, in the spring, a package arrived. (It was) seeds along with instructions on how to do the fresh dye method."
Growing the indigo plants themselves proved surprisingly easy, Matfin remarked. She said they sprout and grow well in the Cariboo climate, noting it's a gangly-looking plant that resembles basil. Japanese indigo doesn't like direct hot sunlight, Matfin added, instead seeming to prefer partial shade.
Typically, she starts by planting them in pots in a greenhouse during the early spring before eventually moving them outside. Last year, she planted an entire row of the plants at the Horse Lake Farm Co-Op, which grew really well, despite being hit by a frost in August.
"I harvested a whole bunch and processed them from there. This year we're not growing any of them at the co-op garden, but I will be growing some in pots down in Nelson, if only to get fresh seeds," Matfin remarked. "Any plant does better with fresh seeds. I have a lot of powder from that large row I grew at the garden."
Matfin said there are three main processes to make indigo dye, two of which she has tried herself. The most simple is massaging the fresh leaves into a fabric like silk, which Matfin intends to try this summer.
The other two techniques are more hands-on. One involves boiling fresh leaves twice to make the leaves release the indican, the agent that gives indigo its unique colour. Once it's extracted, Matfin said you add a chemical which deoxygenates the mixture, leaving you with an off-yellow colour liquid.
"You put the wool in for a certain amount of time and then when you take it out, it is reoxygenated from the oxygen in the air and it turns blue," Matfin explained. "It's a really interesting process."
The other techniques involve fermenting the plant, much like sauerkraut, where you place all the leaves in a jar with water and then leave it in a warm spot. After letting it ferment for a couple of weeks, you strain the leaves out and are left with a liquid that you add a lime chemical to it. Matfin said she then oxygenates the mixture by pouring it in and out of different buckets until she achieves her desired colour.
"In other cultures, way back when, they used urine instead of the chemical we use now to bring forth the indigo," Matfin said. "After I've oxygenated, it turns this beautiful emerald green/blue colour. Then you let it settle and the pigment settles to the bottom. Then you can decant off the liquid. The indigo powder is kind of a slurry, and your end goal is to have it dried completely."
Matfin said the advantage of creating the dye powder is that she can do bigger batches of wool all at once and have more control over the final colour. While she noted most people don't seem to enjoy this long process, she's the type of person who thrives on it.
"I enjoy all the little intricacies. The weighing, the measuring and making sure you're doing everything right," Matfin said. "What the final product is is a beautiful blue wool."
Last year, Matfin said she and the Horse Lake Farm Co-Op sent a massive bale of wool that was around 150 pounds in weight to Carstairs, Alberta. She noted they have wool mills there that use old machines to spin the wool into usable skeins and the Horse Lake Farm Co-Op is currently selling that wool as a fundraiser.
Matfin said she bought around half the wool and plans to use her indigo dye to turn it blue and knit toques. She remarked she loves the clear blue sky she sees while cross-country skiing in the winter, so the fact that she can replicate that colour is special to her.
"Then, of course, it's very satisfying to put it into my hats and then have people purchase the hats and enjoy wearing them. I line them with microfleece because, of course, for some people wool is quite itchy, myself included," Matfin remarked. "The kind of arts and crafts I've always liked is more utilitarian... things you can actually use."
