Indigo fabric is one of the most popular fabrics from Africa.
Symbolic of wealth and prosperity, this fabric is admired by almost every ethnic groups on the continent. Even the Tuareg have been called the "purple nomads" because of their extensive use of this cloth. This cotton fabric is dyed in Mali using leaves from the indigo plant that have been beaten into a pulp, rolled into balls, and then left to dry in the sun for two to three days.
After this, they are mixed in an ash and water solution that acts as a fixative for the indigo dye. The fabric is dyed using the tie-dye method, and the excess dye is removed by hammering the fabric with rubber mallets.
This indigo dye fabric piece has been washed multiple times and the blue won't rub off onto the skin when you handle the fabric.
