Clay Resist Kit

Our newest beginner kit - to be used with the indigo dye kit.

Contains the pre-measured ingredients to create a thickened clay paste, which you can print onto fabric using the method of your choice - paint, stencil, silk screen, wood block, lino cut print, etc.

Once printed and dried, you dye your fabric in indigo and the dye will resist where you have printed the clay, leaving these areas undyed while the rest of your fabric becomes blue. This technique only works with indigo, since clay paste is soluble in water and would wash off in other dye baths, but the unique qualities of the indigo vat mean that the clay holds up in the vat. When you are finished dyeing, you simply wash off the paste and reveal your design.

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Contents:

15g magnesium sulphate (epsom salts)
30g gum arabic
50g calcium bentonite clay

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This kit only includes the ingredients for the clay paste. You will need an indigo vat for the actual dyeing.  You can use any type of indigo vat.

The paste can be used on any fabric made of natural fibres, such as cotton, linen, wool, silk, etc. We recommend using fabric without too much texture, and that you begin by using smaller pieces of fabric, rather than one large.  Coloured or previously dyed fabric works as well.  If your fabric is yellow, for example, it will remain yellow where you apply the paste, and will become green where it mixes with the blue from the indigo vat.

The quantity of fabric you can print and dye will depend on your design - if your design has a lot of "white space" or areas that will be resist printed, the paste will get used up quickly. If your design has finer lines and smaller areas of resist, you will be able to print more fabric. As a general ballpark, you can expect to resist print 2-4 yards of fabric.