post #16 of 16
I'm very much still on the learning curve still.

Hank dyeing refers to dyeing by hand where the yarns are gathered into bundles (hanks) and dipped into the indigo. The bundles are twisted during this process (imagine ringing out a cloth - except the bundles are submerged in the dye vat), thus adding some physical force into the dyeing process. This, added to the multiple dips, and prolonged oxidation process, can result in very deep penetration of the indigo dye.

Rope dyeing is the industrial form of hank dyeing, where the yarns are sorted into large 'ropes' (actually more like a flat, interwoven ribbon) before going into the vats.

Hank dyeing could also be called a form of rope dyeing.