How indigo really works

Helen Melvin's blog today gives a link to a really interesting article on the way indigo "works".  The article is translated from the Japanese, but, despite some quaint phrasing, is very clear and contains some beautiful hand drawn diagrams which illustrate the underlying chemical processes.  The diagrams show exactly how the indigo gets into the fibres and sticks there, and also explain why natural indigo is brighter than the synthetic form.  Click here to go to the online article.  Even if you have no knowledge of chemistry you will find this easy to understand.  The author is to be congratulated on communicating so well in a "foreign" language.
AC