Comments on: From The Chronicle Newspaper in Ghana http://africanfabriclady.com/2009/01/from-the-chronicle-newspaper-in-ghana/ The weblog of Christine Covert - the African Fabric Lady Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:54:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Isa2 http://africanfabriclady.com/2009/01/from-the-chronicle-newspaper-in-ghana/#comment-24 Isa2 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:02:44 +0000 http://africanfabriclady.com/?p=146#comment-24 Greetings. Aren't you fortunate to have fabric from Kindia, Guinea. Kindia is well know for its manufacture of hand-decorated-and-dyed indigo fabrics. Some of the cloth is also handwoven, but much of the design work is done on imported bazin or damask fabric. If you read the article regarding indigo fabric posted here at AFL, you will see that it is possible to simple wash out the extra indigo dye with water. Washing with water alone or with a little detergent may take up to half a dozen washes/rinses or more. However, the reason that many people use a product known as Synthropol, or one called Dye Magnets is to help to do the job more quickly. When the extra indigo dye is washed into the water, it wants to reattach to the fabric. The dye magnets absorb the extra dye while the Synthropol causes the dye to remain in suspension in the water so that it washes away in the rinse rather than jumping back on to the cotton fabric. In any case, the intensity of the color is not diminished by washing out the excess dye, though drying the material outside in the sunlight will help it to fade. Enjoy your lovely outfit. Greetings. Aren’t you fortunate to have fabric from Kindia, Guinea. Kindia is well know for its manufacture of hand-decorated-and-dyed indigo fabrics. Some of the cloth is also handwoven, but much of the design work is done on imported bazin or damask fabric. If you read the article regarding indigo fabric posted here at AFL, you will see that it is possible to simple wash out the extra indigo dye with water. Washing with water alone or with a little detergent may take up to half a dozen washes/rinses or more. However, the reason that many people use a product known as Synthropol, or one called Dye Magnets is to help to do the job more quickly. When the extra indigo dye is washed into the water, it wants to reattach to the fabric. The dye magnets absorb the extra dye while the Synthropol causes the dye to remain in suspension in the water so that it washes away in the rinse rather than jumping back on to the cotton fabric.

In any case, the intensity of the color is not diminished by washing out the excess dye, though drying the material outside in the sunlight will help it to fade.

Enjoy your lovely outfit.

]]> By: Tom Singer http://africanfabriclady.com/2009/01/from-the-chronicle-newspaper-in-ghana/#comment-23 Tom Singer Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:28:24 +0000 http://africanfabriclady.com/?p=146#comment-23 Hello! I learned about your site from my friend and fellow drummer, Tammi Hesson. I recently received a Kindia (sp?) cloth outfit that appears to be indigo dyed. Do I understand correctly that I can just wash it by itself until the blue stops running? Will my outfit become less blue? Thank you! Hello!

I learned about your site from my friend and fellow drummer, Tammi Hesson. I recently received a Kindia (sp?) cloth outfit that appears to be indigo dyed. Do I understand correctly that I can just wash it by itself until the blue stops running? Will my outfit become less blue?

Thank you!

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