Gilded Age

Volcanic Mud Dye

Volcanic Mud Dye is part of a Japanese artisanal tradition that stretches back for 13 Centuries. The whole process of dying in Mud Baths is done by hand. As a result, yarns and garments dyed in these baths have a unique slight unevenness of color and aged patina. Every garment is a one of a kind. Gilded Age Mud Dyed denim is "rope dyed" in a mud concussion. After the repeatitive process of dying in mud baths, the Yellow selvage denim is woven on traditional old selvage denim looms. Gilded Age knits are repeatedly dyed up to 12 times to absorb the distinct and rich mud brown color. The mud dye is made

from an iron rich volcanic mud, collected from the sides of a dormant volcano. It is mixed with water, then set aside and allowed to ferment for up to a year, allowing it to become black. This mud is then used for yarn or garment Mud Dyes. The active ingredient in the mud dye is iron oxide, which is converted by tannic acid in the mud solutions into a dye of iron tannate. After drying, garments or roped yarns are then soaked in a special solution which enables the fabric or yarns to absorb the mud dye and bound to the cloth. After repeated dying and drying processes the cloth acquires a distinct dark brown color, which will fade slightly with washing and wearing over time.

Characteristics of Mud Dye
• Unique color unevenly distributed on garment to give it weathered old look
• Mud dye has some properties of insect repellent
• Safe to wear, it will improve anti-allergic immunity
• Mud dye makes fabric and yarn stronger, hence more suitable for long term use.

Volcanic Mud dye selvage denim
This very unique brown colored yellow selvage denim is roped dyed in natural volcanic mud in the Okayama region of Japan. It is produced according to the old ways of denim cloth making, paying special attention to

authenticity of artisanal crafts which is in full sink with nature & the environment. Natural Mud dying method has been used for the past 13 centuries in some parts of Japan and it is a craft that is part of Japanese tradition. There are very few places in Japan that use these labor intensive dyes. The process of mud dying is very slow and it takes a lot of time for the yarn to absorb the distinct mud brown color. It can take as long as one month to come up with perfectly dyed yarns. It takes a lot of highly skilled hands thought over generations to use this process of dying. Mass production - it is not!

Natural Volcanic Mud Dye Pant