Indigo: The Color that Changed the World

Catherine Legrand's definitive guide to the blue dye

From the Golden Triangle to Central America, varieties of the indigofera plant have been cultivated and used in textile production for centuries. While synthetic dyes have largely replaced the lengthy and somewhat cumbersome method used to create indigo—it takes nearly a year to make, from planting to harvest, and then it must be fermented—a select few global communities continue with the old way. In “Indigo: …

Folk Fibers Indigo Wholecloth Collection

Hand-quilted and nature-dyed quilts from Austin's Maura Ambrose

Maura Grace Ambrose is known chiefly as a sage of 21st-century quilting. From her home in Austin, Texas, the young Savannah College of Art and Design graduate hand-sews gorgeous, oversized quilts from scraps and new materials, injecting the traditional domestic craft with fresh life. Ambrose has just added a new series to the Folk Fibers portfolio with the indigo wholecloth collection, which uses dyes from …

Interview: Ethan Lipsitz of Apliiq

We talk fabric and more with the founder of the LA-based custom appliqué company

By Vivianne Lapointe Ethan Lipsitz founded the Apliiq shop to satisfy his obsessive fabric hunting habit and to encourage creativity in the average shopper by allowing them to apply appliqués to garments. Inspired by popular shoe brands like Nike who offer a personalized experience by letting you customize their shoes, he decided to apply the concept to apparel and invites his customers to adorn their …