FREE Community Indigo Dyeing Event
Event Date
April 12, 2026
Event Time
11:00 am
Event Location
Word and Plant: The Garden Haven and Farm, 2620 Alston Chapel Rd, Pittsboro, NC, 27312
Event Description
Thank you so much for the wonderful response! This event is full, but please consider joining us as we sew-up our Community Indigo Quilt at the Chatham Arts Center on Sundays, April 26 and May 3! You can let us know you plan on dropping in by picking a date and “shift” here!
Some things are better when you let go. Indigo is one of them. Come learn the basics, embrace the surprises, and make something perfectly imperfect. There is truly no wrong way to do this!
Join local farmer, gardener, and botanical artist Deena Class for a free, hands-on indigo dyeing experience as part of Stories in Blue: A Community Indigo Project.
Indigo is one of the oldest natural dyes in human history — part of daily life on every inhabited continent for thousands of years!
Try your hand at your choice of several different resist dyeing techniques — ways of folding, stitching, and clamping fabric to create beautiful and unique patterns:
🩵 Stitch & gather — trace a shape, do a simple running stitch, pull and gather
🩵 Shibori folding — the traditional Japanese folding and binding technique you might recognize from modern tie-dye!
🩵 Clamp resist — sandwich your fabric between carved wooden shapes for beautiful, graphic designs
Each participant will:
🌀 Dye two fabric squares and experiment with resist techniques
🌀 Keep one square to take home!
🌀 Contribute one square to our community indigo quilt, to be unveiled in May 2026**
🌀 Take home a Japanese indigo seedling (Persicaria tinctoria) to grow yourself (one per household)!
💎 This species does well in our climate and we’ll share links to FRESH indigo leaf techniques in a follow-up email!
🌀 Receive a handout on indigo traditions from cultures around the world — and simple instructions on how to care for your new baby indigo plant and even end up with lots more!
Choose your drop-in session when you register (please plan to arrive within 15 minutes of the session END time):
🔵 Session 1: 11am – 1pm
🔵 Session 2: 1pm – 3pm
Space is limited to ensure we have enough supplies and seedlings! This event is free and open to all community members! Please include all members of your household in your registration so we can properly plan!
**One square from everyone who attends will find its place in our community quilt — sewn together by us, block by block at our very own Chatham County Arts Center at drop-in sewing days in late April – May! Alongside squares from our local schoolchildren, this quilt will carry the stories, heritage, and cultures of the people who call this beautiful county home. We can’t wait to see it unveiled together in May.
Want to help make the magic happen? We’d love some volunteers to tend the stations! As a thank-you, volunteers will be invited to a private indigo dyeing session at The Garden Haven & Farm — where you’ll get to bring your own item (a t-shirt, a tote bag, whatever calls to you that will fit in our vat!) to dye.
Please email if you’re interested and available! Volunteers should plan to arrive by 9:30am for a station rundown before guests arrive.
Please note: All materials are provided — fabric, supplies, everything you need for a wonderful experience! To keep things fair and flowing smoothly for everyone, we kindly ask that participants not bring their own items to dye. Thank you for understanding!
Stories in Blue is a project commissioned by the Chatham Arts Council, with support from Chatham County and in collaboration with Chatham County Parks and Recreation.