Dyeing Yarn

I have been trying my hand at some dyeing. This was my first one. It was alot of fun though the colors came out more mutated then I really wanted. I still like the colors and the way It came out. I used white peruvian wool Cascade 220 to start with.

These two were also Cascade 220 wool. Again the colors came out mutated. I was being too conservative with the ratio of dye to water/vinegar solution. I also tried to do two balls at the same time so that I could have enough yarn to make something with the colorway. The first one I used only one skein of Cascade 220. These two add up to about 440 yards of Cascade however even though they were died with the same colors at the same time they came out different. Sheesh! lol

This is my favorite and also the fourth one I did. I finally got the intensity right. The colors came out vibrant. I used Brown Sheep's Wildfoot whose base color was a pastel pink. I used two skeins and wound them together so I have about 430 yards of sock weight yarn but I do not want to make sock with it because I want it to be seen.

I can't wait to do more but have to get some more dye and containers to mix the different colors. I used Wilton's Icing Dye and Mccormik's Food Coloring for this first time dyeing. Would like to also try the Kool Aide process as well, though from what I have read the Kool Aide colors come out light and I like intense jewel tone colors the best. It was surprisingly easy and fun to do...though messy.

Following is what I did with the food coloring:

1. First skein I used the yarn dry but the second set I soaked the yarn over night in a solution of water and vinegar. Soaking it seems to work better because the yarn soaks up the dye solution faster.

2. Then mixed color with a solution of warm water and a teaspoon of vinegar.

3. Using sponge brushes I painted the yarn with the coloring.

4. After I was satisfied with that all the yarn had been saturated with color it was wrapped with Saran Wrap (like a suasage) and coiled on the turning plate of the microwave.

5. The yarn was then "cooked" for four , two minute intervals with about a two minute break in between each.

6. Once it was "cooked" I let the yarn sit for a bit to cool enough to handle.

7. I then took it into the bathroom and unwrapped it and rinsed it with cool water until the water ran clear.

8. Finally I just hung it in the shower to dry and wound it up the next day.

All in all it took about 2 hours from start to finish to do two skeins. Not counting the clean up afterwards lol. Oh and btw I did not do it alone my honey got into it with me and it was fun to share it with him. :-) yeah!