Dyeing in a crock pot is a simple procedure. It does take more time than either dyeing on the stove-top or in the microwave, but you don’t have to stand over it either and can go and do something else while waiting. I like the gradual heating the crock provides and I like being able to interrupt or prolong the process without doing any damage to the yarn.
Of course, none of this is carved in stone. I basically experimented until I arrived at a series of steps that would yield a good result. I encourage you to do likewise and see what works for you.
You will need the following things:
A crock pot
Yarn to dye
Dye
White vinegar (or citric acid)
A stainless steel or wooden spoon
A couple of good sized glass bowls
Plastic or rubber gloves (not always necessary - but if you have to stick your hands into, say a blue dye bath, you’re going to want them covered!)
The first step is to weigh your yarn. This is a French yarn with the label “Chabotté”. I had never heard of it before and couldn’t track it down on the web but it was inexpensive, wool and the light cream color made it a good candidate for the dye pot. It’s a sport/DK weight yarn and is washable. All together there are about 400 yards (385 meters).
My experience has been that one “unit” of dye per ounce of yarn will give me the kind of color saturation I’m looking for. The unit, of course depends on the type of dye you’re using. As I only use food-safe dyes, my choices are usually between Kool-aid (1 packet per ounce), Easter egg dye tablets (1 tablet per ounce) or icing dyes (1/4 tsp per ounce). In the above photo, you can see that the scale reads 5.4 oz. for the three balls of yarn. Since I’m using icing dye this time, that means roughly 1 1/4 tsp of dye for the lot.
A good rule of thumb is to dye no more ounces of yarn than your crock has quarts - at least that’s what I’ve found works well for me. In other words, since I’m using a 5 quart crock, I would not want to dye much more than 5 oz. of yarn at any one time. Yes, I am a little over this time - but only a very little :) Quantities under that weight are fine but much more than that and the yarn gets crowded and may take the dye unevenly even leaving some bare spots where the dye couldn’t reach the yarn.
At this point, add your vinegar too - about 1/2 c. The acid is what makes the dye fast so that the color doesn’t wash out. It doesn’t have to be vinegar - the tannic acid in tea also works (though I have only done that once and it was by accident!). I have also read that Kool-aid (if that’s what you’re using for a dye) has enough citric acid in it that the addition of vinegar is unnecessary. I always add it though because I’m chicken :) In any case, acid is a necessary component and white (distilled) vinegar is easy to find and quite inexpensive (about $2/gallon in your local supermarket). Make sure that everything is well mixed and dissolved and that there are no solids left in the dye bath. If there are, either mash them with your spoon until they are dissolved or remove them. Then pour your dye bath into the crock pot.
Place the yarn into the dye bath, stir gently to bring all of the yarn into contact with the dye, cover the crock and set it to high.
My crock pot is deep green and it can be difficult to see whether the dye has all been absorbed - so I keep a white plastic measuring spoon handy to test the solution with.
After the yarn has cooled, wash it (I usually use a combination shampoo/conditioner for this) and rinse, rinse, rinse. Make sure to handle the yarn gently and to keep the water a uniform temperature so that you’re not thermally shocking the yarn. Agitation and/or thermal shock can result in felting.
Enjoy your crock pot dyeing adventure!
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what a great tutorial- i tend to have a rather sloppy approach to dyeing always which *should* begin with
step one: remove cats and dogs to another part of the house (after all, their fur is an animal protein)
step two: cover everything else in kitchen with tarps
your yarns do come out beautifully-
stay happy-
Thank you. Great insturctions, I think I might actually be able to do this. And Barb’s suggestion of tarps is not a bad idea either! Thanks again.
Barb - I’m not sure “sloppy” isn’t way more fun but I don’t seem to be capable of it. I’ve always been a little anal-retentive in the kitchen, cleaning up as I go along, etc. - and that seems to be the case with the dyeing too. Despite different materials and very different intended goals, the process is much like cooking :)
Evalyn - I hope you find this useful! Let us know how things turn out :)
Thanks for the great tutorial Robbyn. I don’t know why, but I still have not tried dyeing. I am a big chicken I guess. I might try this crock pot method though, it seems easier than other ways I have read about. Now which color.......
Lisa - Really there’s nothing to it and deciding which color is the hardest thing you’ll have to do :) I hope you find this useful!
Great Colour!!! have you got a project planned for it yet?
missed you on thursday, hope you are well.
carol
Carol - There will be an entry on the yarn itself in The Dye Pot on Monday. No, I don’t have any plans for it yet but I expect to be using it soon - it’s too pretty to leave alone!
What a great tutorial!
Opal - Thanks!
Hey! You make it look so easy!! Hmmmm after I get rid of a LOT of stash, I might try it. thanks!
Lisa - it really *is* as easy as it seems and seems to be fairly gentle on the yarn too.
