Indigo cloth becomes bluer when it meets the air — ChillScroll

Hands lifting patterned indigo cloth from a dye vat as greenish wet fabric turns blue

Indigo cloth becomes bluer when it meets the air

Indigo must be changed into a soluble form before cloth can absorb it. When the wet cloth leaves the dye bath, oxygen turns the dye blue again; repeated dips make the color deeper.

The cloth comes out greenish and finishes the blue part in the sunshine.

Source · Victoria and Albert Museum ↗