The Indigo Vat: Adire Resistance

A hands-on day with the natural indigo vat — the living, fermented dye bath that sits at the heart of adire. We build it together, learn to read its colour and its mood, and spend the afternoon dyeing cloth in it using traditional resist techniques drawn from the Yoruba adire tradition.

Adire means cloth that is tied or stitched before it meets the dye — the pattern comes from what you protect from the indigo, not what you expose to it. In this session we work with stitching, clamping, and folding to create resist on undyed cotton before immersing it in the vat.

All materials are provided: cotton cloth, natural indigo, mordants, and resist equipment. You leave with two finished pieces and a working understanding of how the vat behaves. No previous textile experience is necessary.