A Beautiful Weekend For Dyeing!
Since the odds of us having more fine weekends like this before snowfall are getting slimmer, I've been making an effort to do those odd jobs that require outside drying. I washed all the fiber I've sorted recently, including that miniscule lot of Shetland and the Merino/Rambouilette. I've washed all the skeins I've managed to get plied this week (pics in other posts later) and I finally got around to fixing a large lot of Elsabeth Lavold Silky Wool I dyed about a year ago and wasn't pleased with.
Let me begin by saying that I have dyed commercial yarn in balls before and had fairly good success. This lot, for some reason, was more inconsistent than anticipated and what's more, turned out more coral than I like. It's just not a good shade for me in any case so something needed to be done.
I don't often hand dye with the intention of having a rock solid consistent color throughout unless I'm using multi colors and even then a little gradiation adds depth and interest. This lot, however, was too dark outside for the lack of color penetration into the balls. There was nothing else to do but get out the reel and wind it into skeins.
I don't often hand dye with the intention of having a rock solid consistent color throughout unless I'm using multi colors and even then a little gradiation adds depth and interest. This lot, however, was too dark outside for the lack of color penetration into the balls. There was nothing else to do but get out the reel and wind it into skeins.
I wound it 4 balls to the skein, from the outside of the ball and tied it loosely with a figure 8. There were 5 skeins when I was finished - yes - enough for a cardigan or something like it.
The original dye job (on natural colored wool) was done with koolaid but to do a proper over-dye, I got out my commercial dyes and weighed my options. The yarn was pink/coral and I wanted to stay within that spectrum in case there were light spots. I definitely wanted to go darker but the only red I had was Burgundy and I was pretty sure it was still a primary sort of red. I decided to blend it 3:1 with Spicy Plum to ensure the hue would harmonize.
I mixed the dye and put it into my large enamel dyeing pot. I thoroughly dampened the skeins and put them into the cold dye solution, making sure every skein touched the bottom of the pot somewhere. Then I put it on the stove to heat and simmer. I did this on purpose, starting with cold dye so the skeins had equal opportunity to take it up, instead of the first skein being a pig and taking all of the best pigment and the last skein being palest. This works quite well because as the pot heats, if you're watching, you'll see the "magic moment" when the dye is hot enough that it begins to adhere to the wool. It only takes a few moments and the water becomes clear and the yarn dark. It's pretty cool! Then you simmer for 20 minutes to "set" the color. When the time is up I always pour it into a sink (with the plug in) to allow it to cool faster than if I left it all piled in the pot for hours.
When it had cooled I rinsed it and turned my hands a nice purple in the process because I forgot that even cool it will still color! LOL!!... Then I hung it outside in the fresh cool September air...
You never really know exactly what it will look like until it's completely dry. I was so very pleased with how it turned out! I wanted some very dark bits to add some variegation which is why I wanted every skein to have some part of it on the bottom of the pot where the pigment will settle while it heats. The remainder is semi-solid, with some solid and not-so-solid variations. I just know it will knit up into something great with such nice movement in the color! Yay! Cheers all!
The original dye job (on natural colored wool) was done with koolaid but to do a proper over-dye, I got out my commercial dyes and weighed my options. The yarn was pink/coral and I wanted to stay within that spectrum in case there were light spots. I definitely wanted to go darker but the only red I had was Burgundy and I was pretty sure it was still a primary sort of red. I decided to blend it 3:1 with Spicy Plum to ensure the hue would harmonize.
I mixed the dye and put it into my large enamel dyeing pot. I thoroughly dampened the skeins and put them into the cold dye solution, making sure every skein touched the bottom of the pot somewhere. Then I put it on the stove to heat and simmer. I did this on purpose, starting with cold dye so the skeins had equal opportunity to take it up, instead of the first skein being a pig and taking all of the best pigment and the last skein being palest. This works quite well because as the pot heats, if you're watching, you'll see the "magic moment" when the dye is hot enough that it begins to adhere to the wool. It only takes a few moments and the water becomes clear and the yarn dark. It's pretty cool! Then you simmer for 20 minutes to "set" the color. When the time is up I always pour it into a sink (with the plug in) to allow it to cool faster than if I left it all piled in the pot for hours.
When it had cooled I rinsed it and turned my hands a nice purple in the process because I forgot that even cool it will still color! LOL!!... Then I hung it outside in the fresh cool September air...
You never really know exactly what it will look like until it's completely dry. I was so very pleased with how it turned out! I wanted some very dark bits to add some variegation which is why I wanted every skein to have some part of it on the bottom of the pot where the pigment will settle while it heats. The remainder is semi-solid, with some solid and not-so-solid variations. I just know it will knit up into something great with such nice movement in the color! Yay! Cheers all!
Hi Gloria or is it Monica?
I am fairly new to dyeing and that is one of the troubles I had when dying silk...the dye would not penetrate through the skein.
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Either name is fine Jody!
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