Name:
Location: Crescent City, California, United States

I love to make things with my hands. My current passions are knitting and spinning.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

My Dyeing Experiment

I decided to try my hand at dyeing to practice what I had learned at the class that I took on 11-1-08.
Step 1 - winding the yarn around 2 kitchen chairs so that my repeats will be spread out over the yarn.
Step 2: I gathered the dyes, selected the colors that I wanted and got my crock pot ready. I put the yarn in the crock pot with the water already in it and turned it on high, letting the water get hot (but not boiling) and waiting for the yarn to "bloom". (sorry, no pic of that step). I waited longer than I remember the instructor telling us to wait and the yarn didn't seem to bloom as much as it did in class....so I finally just went to the next step. Did I mention that I was trying to recall all the steps from memory - since I couldn't find my notes from the class??
Step 3: Adding the color to the yarn that is in the crock pot........
the I put the lid on and set the timer..........and waited for the dye to be "exhausted"........then I checked it, and set the timer again and waited........
Do you see all the green dye that is in the water and not being taken up by the yarn??? It finally dawned on me that I hadn't added one of the most crucial elements to the water before I added the yarn - the vinegar!!! I think that is why all the green and brown dye stayed in the water? I waited soo long for the dye to be exhausted that the water ended up coming to a boil. I know you are all gasping with shock and dismay! But no, my yarn didn't felt, it is still soft and............
Not exactly the color that I was hoping for. I am not unhappy with this color though, it is kind of a mauve-ish pink. There are a few darker spots of pink here and there that must be where the dye didn't get mixed very well before I added it to the dye pot. I like the darker spots of color, they add character to the yarn. Now I just have to decide what to do with the yarn.
Yarn used - Dolce by Cascade Yarns. It is Alpaca, wool and silk. 50 gr. hank
Dyes - Wilton's Food dyes - color Juniper Green, Violet, Brown and Burgundy.
As for the knitting this week, I made one fingerless mitten, and started on #2 last night.
I am using the Potluck Wool Mittenettes pattern (it is free on Ravelry). The yarn is Baby Alpaca Brush and Perle. The little specks in the yarn are beads that are on one strand of the Perle yarn. I am holding one strand of each yarn together to knit the mitts. I hope to get the other mitt done this weekend. The mornings are getting cold here and I need something to keep them warm!

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