Traditional Indigo Dyeing Workshops at Eslite Xinyi

When we think of indigo dyeing, the first thing that pops into our mind is shibori, a kind of dyeing technique from Japan that sometimes resembles western tie-dye. We’ve always thought of this technique as being quintessentially Japanese, but it turns out that Taiwan also has a long history of indigo dyeing, using a variety of plants that thrive in humid, mountain climates and then fermenting them. One of the places you can learn about this traditional dyeing technique is Zhuo Ye Cottage (sometimes referred to as Indigo Dyeing House in English), a beautiful bed and breakfast and dyeing workshop in Miaoli. Fortunately, due to high demand and ever-increasing popularity, they have since opened branches in several Taiwanese cities, so we can experience the process without ever having to leave Taipei.

Indigo Dyeing House’s Taipei branch is a small shop on the 5th floor of Eslite Xinyi. A reservation is recommended, and we were easily able to get one a couple of hours before on a Sunday afternoon. The experience lasts roughly two hours and is taught in Chinese or English, though the English version may take slightly longer due to the language barrier.

The first thing you will have to do is choose the item you want to dye. Prices vary, starting at $400 for a small, collapsible shopping bag, up to $1300 for adult-sized Tshirts. If you are visiting the Taipei branch, you can get 10% off your purchase with an Eslite card. We were torn between choosing something cheap, just so that we could experience the process, and splurging on an item we would actually use when we were finished. After much deliberation, we decided on a small pillowcase (which included the pillow itself) and a long, soft scarf.

After you’ve selected your item, you can then choose what style you want to dye it in. We pawed through a big bunch of samples before finally settling on two different styles — just be warned, some designs take a lot more time and effort than others!

The first step in the dyeing process was arranging our fabric into the necessary shapes. The scarf was easy: we rolled it up on a piece of string, scrunched it, and tied the string tightly to make a doughnut shape. The pillowcase was much harder, requiring a gazillion rubber bands and about as much patience as any human being could reasonably muster.

Next, it was time for the dyeing itself. We were given aprons and heavy-duty gloves then instructed to sit around one of the barrels of indigo dye. Word of warning: this stuff smelled. It had a very distinctive fermented scent that wasn’t particularly pleasant but was bearable enough. We were then shown how to submerge our fabric in the vat and massage it for a few minutes before rinsing it in water, which sped up the oxidation process, changing the colour of the dyed fabric from green to indigo.

This was pretty simple in concept, but got a little tedious after the sixth time we had to repeat the process. We were lucky we went with friends so we could laugh about it!

When we were done with the dyeing, our instructor quickly part-dried our fabrics so that we could unfurl them. The scarf was easy — we just cut off the string — but the pillowcase took a significant amount of effort, with each rubber band having to be unpicked by hand. It was actually pretty satisfying.

We have to admit, we loved the finished product. The scarf was long and flowy, with a beautiful design that started off very dark on either end and faded into a beautiful rippling light blue and white in the middle. The pillowcase was fantastic too and looked very similar to the example they had in the store. We were both really excited to have made something we would genuinely use, and that added greatly to the overall experience.

If you’re not interested in the workshop itself, they also have a bunch of pre-dyed clothes and accessories for purchase. It’s not cheap, but it could be a nice place to buy a gift if you really like these designs. You can find out more about pricing on their online shop.

In the end, we wound up having a really fun time. We had been unsure of what to expect but were open to the idea of a dyeing workshop, and our optimism paid off — not only did we learn a lot about traditional indigo dyeing, but we got to take home an awesome, unique product. We also had a great time cracking jokes and suffering through the smelly dyeing process together. We wouldn’t say that this workshop is for everyone — if you have zero interest in this kind of activity, don’t bother — but if you’re looking for something cultural and unique to do on a rainy day, this was a great choice. We’re really glad we did it!

What’s the vibe?

Small shop in Eslite that offers a traditional dyeing workshop. Our instructor was really sweet, and helped us when we needed it without actively doing it for us.

Worth it?

It’s expensive, so that depends on you. To us, it was worth it because we’ll never forget the experience and we loved the end product.

Would you go back?

Probably not to the one in Xinyi, since we’ve already been, but we’re open to visiting their original branch in Miaoli as it’s also a bed and breakfast and vegetarian restaurant. Check out this article if you want to find out more about their original branch.

Last updated June 2020

Indigo Dyeing House

Chinese Name: 卓也藍染 誠品信義店

Hours: 11am – 10pm

Phone: 0227228860

English Address: 5th Floor, No. 11, Songgao Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City (Located inside Eslite Xinyi)

Chinese Address: 台北市信義區松高路11號5樓