moolyn

Has anyone ever been here or come across another traditional woad dyeing attelier near Toulouse? I've read that woad dyeing was historically important in the Toulouse area. As a weaver and occasional dyer I'm also very interested in observing the woad dye process.

http://www.bleu-de-lectoure.com/sommaire.html

Would this make a good excursion from Sarlat or would it be a better place to visit the day before flying home from the Toulouse airport? When I searched Lectoure on this site it was only mentioned as a good place to stay near Blagnac.

Carlux

Hi Moolyn.
Lectoure is quite a way from Sarlat, and would probably be better left for the Toulouse part of your trip. You may have found that woad is called pastel in French - there might be more information under that term. In addition, there is a shop in Toulouse called Fleurée de Pastel 20 RUE DE LA BOURSE 31000 TOULOUSE 05 61 12 05 94 which might be able to give you more info.

moolyn

Thanks, Carlux! I knew pastel was the French word for woad but hadn't thought to google it.

By searching for Fleurée de Pastel, which is actually the name of the slurry formed in the dye process, I've discovered many interesting things:

The economic development and hotels particuleur of Toulouse and Albi owe much to the woad trade.

Magrim Castle near Castres in the Tarn Valley has a pastel museum but it only seems to be open in July and August. Here are some pictures:

http://images.google.ca/images?q=sit...ourceid=tipimg

"Circuit du Pastel au Pays de Cogne" is a tourist route of places related to the woad trade, including Toulouse and Albi. Take a look:

http://www.route-historique-du-paste...esentation.htm

Bleu de Pastel de Lectoure seems to be the most recommended place to see the dyeing process and to buy woad related products from cosmetics to textiles to paints.

In Toulouse you can even buy blue chocolates in honour of pastel!

blackduff

Moolyn
If you send me your email address, I'll try to find this article about the pastel. This is about a man and woman who are processing this. What I can send is copied an article but this might sending in four or five pages per email.

It was interesting.

Blackduff

blackduff

Moolyn
I found the articles. I have four Word files with the scanned files and a JPG version with the same information.

This is an article about what is done in Lectoure but it's all in French. Can you figure out what is written?

Again, send your email and I'll send this off to you. If you have problems with the French, I can maybe give you the better parts.

Blackduff

moolyn

Blackduff,

Thanks for searching out the articles about pastel! My high school french is usually enough for me to get the gist so please sent them to me:
[email protected]

The woad dyeing process was so economically and historically important in the Toulouse area that I'm surpised people aren't more familliar with it. But then I've travelled to Japan and Thailand and Guatamala to observe weaving and dyeing so maybe my outlook is a bit skewed!