I had a new adventure yesterday! It was either block the shawl or try something totally new. As always in this apartment, space is at a premium so blocking is difficult - especially for large objects. And, for some reason, the shawl seems to feel it isn’t finished yet and is nagging me. I’m not sure what about, but I suppose I’ll figure it out :)
That left the other option - dying! Now don’t get all excited or anything, this was plain, easy easter-egg-dye dying and I wasn’t trying to make “Painted Desert” or “Sunset Sea-side” colorways. I would love to eventually, but right now, knowing next to nothing about dying, I thought a single solid color would do me just fine :)
The instructions said to dissolve my color tablets in vinegar for the strongest color (or lemon juice for a more moderate shade or water for a pastel). I arbitrarily decided, having nothing else to go on, that since I was dying a 100 gram hank, I would use one tablet for each 25 grams of weight. Then I decided I would use 3 blue tabs and 1 violet tab - I thought that might be interesting.
Then I got another bowl and prepared my dye. There was a bit of a scramble before the vinegar was found (hiding in one of the few cabinets that would hold a gallon jug) and I measured out 3/4s of a cup (3 tablespoons for each of four tablets) and dumped it in the bowl. Then I added my tablets - one at a time. They dissolve in effervescent fashion - like Alka Seltzer - when they hit the vinegar. The first tablet burst into intense blue. Whoa!, I thought, This is pretty cool! Then I added the second tablet which was also supposed to be blue - except that it was green. I told you I couldn’t tell those suckers apart :). So I returned the violet tab to its bag and grabbed another blue one (hopefully). I was aiming, at that point, for three blue and one green but I may have gotten two blue and two green. I don’t really know and it doesn’t really matter. This is an experiment! An adventure :) This is what it looked like…
When the tablets were fully dissolved, I added what I thought was enough water to the bowl to cover the yarn. Then I took the yarn out of its soak and put it in my crock pot (don’t do this if you’re not using a food-safe dye!) and poured the dye solution over it - looked at the level, added another cup of water and called it good. Then I used a stainless steel spoon to gently stir things around and get the wool well acquainted with the dye.
I had the idea this would take around three hours but I imagine that would vary depending upon the color and the yarn. I left this for about 4 hours until the dye was fully exhausted. That is, the yarn had absorbed all the color from the liquid and the liquid was crystal clear and colorless.
I turned the crock pot off and left the yarn to cool on its own. Then I washed it (it didn’t crock any color at all), rinsed it and rolled it in a towel which I stood on for a few minutes to get out as much moisture as possible…
This was all great fun and I had a blast checking on the yarn at various stages and watching the dye disappear from the bath into the yarn. It was also simple and easy and something I will probably try again very soon! I’ve got enough egg dye left for several more batches (Lionbrand Fisherman’s wool, anyone?) and after that? Kool-aid! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Have a wonderful and colorful weekend, everyone!
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That is some serious beautiful yarn. Fingering weight, huh? Um - socks?
That is the coolest trick ever! I must try it.
When we used to dye Easter eggs with this stuff, we’d shave a bit of the tablet into a drop of water so we could tell what color it was. Surprising sometimes what it ends up being.
I SO want to try that! You made it all sound so easy, I might just have to try it this weekend. I don’t have white wool, but it’s a very light off white that I hate, so might see if I can find the leftover egg coloring kit and see what happens. I LOVE that color! Yup, I gotta try that!
Sheri in GA
PS Sorry I missed knitting chatter again last night. I keep forgetting what day it is. :o) Summer vacation ROCKS!!!!
Colleen - Thanks :) And socks were just what I was thinking about too :) While this yarn doesn’t have any nylon in it to help the wear and tear issue, I think they might work if handled gently and not worn all day every day. Besides, it’s a nice solid color - all the better for stitch patterns!
Pinecone - That’s a good idea - the shaving off a bit to check the color. I had also thought about moistening the corner of a paper towel (a white one) and dabbing at the tablet to see what color came off. It was also suggested to me that examining them against a black background might help!
Sheri - Summer vacation does indeed rock!
This really is just as easy as it sounds - the crock pot makes it an absolute breeze :) One caution. While I have never tried to dye white yarn, I have read many comments about the difficulty of so doing - maybe because of the bleaching process? The yarn I was using was untreated and undyed and it worked out very well :)
Of course if you hate the yarn you have, it isn’t going to do any real harm to try dying it and seeing what happens. If you still don’t like it, all you’ve lost is a little time :)
You will be addicted now..... Looks like a great color. I did quite a bit of dyeing last summer. I had some ugly gold Barlett’s that I used. I had a ball giving it a new life. I am seriously behind on my blogging. All your projects look great. I love the baby sweater. Have a great weekend. The weather is going to be gorgeous.
Maureen! You’re absolutely right - I’m addicted as hell :) I’ve been contemplating what colors to put in the pot to do another batch with tomorrow :)
So glad to hear from you!
Robbyn, it is a slippery slope indeed! What fun! I spent yesterday dyeing some fiber too, though I used a commercial dye, and as soon as the fiber is dry, will card and spin it. I wonder what this would have looked like with the violet in there as well?
Rob - Slippery slope indeed! I can’t even remember seeing the hill! And I have another batch cooking in the kitchen, even as we speak :)
Oooh - ohh! It just occurred to me that once things are dyed a primary color, a secondary color could be painted in afterwards! Oh my.... Myria already thinks I’m beyond help :)
That is so neat! Now you’ll never have a bad color in your stash again! (that seems faintly Scarlett-ish to me LOL)
Crock pot dyeing seems just as user friendly as crock pot cooking.
Off to unbend my poor sock needle and do another book shelf or case, as the case may be.
Aarlene - Oh it’s friendly alright - it’s so simple I feel like I’m cheating somehow…
But where am I going to get more Easter egg dye in November?!?!?!
The yarn is gorgeous, and I’m definitely going to have to try it, though probably with Koolaide. If you want it to be blue-er, can’t you just dye it a second time with more blue dye? Just askin’! 
Elizabeth - Yes, if I wanted more blue I could over dye it. But I kind of like the color it is, so I’ll keep it and try for blue another time :)
I’ve got some kool-aid stashed too and am itching to try it!
