Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking
Indigo, an ancient botanical pigment, produces shades of blue from pale sky to inky midnight. Most natural dyes fade relatively quickly, but indigo is colorfast—it may lighten over time but always remains blue. For thousands of years, people around the world have treasured textiles dyed with indigo. A synthetic version, developed in the 1880s, still colors today’s blue jeans. This exhibition presents twenty quilts created between the early 1800s and 2015. Each one incorporates fabric dyed with indigo. The quilts on view showcase a range of indigo dyeing techniques as well as the skill, design sensibility, and artistry of the women who made them. Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking is organized by the International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, home to the largest public collection of quilts in the world.
Indigo: The Ancient Color in Your Closet
by Angela Fuller, Assistant Curator
Most plant dyes produce warm earth tones that fade away relatively quickly, but indigo’s distinctive, cool hues are colorfast; they may lighten over time, but always remain blue. Explore the history of indigo and how its dyes have been used from the past to the present.
Exhibition Sponsors
Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking is organized by the International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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Exhibition Support Generously Provided by
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