...a coupla things…
I spent the afternoon browsing the web, researching yarn dyeing and I kept running into two things, generally offered as assertions, that didn’t make much sense to me.
1. After you have dissolved your dye in the dyebath, if the color is too strong just add more water.
On the surface, this seems to make sense because if you add more water to your dyebath, your dyebath does appear lighter in color, less intense. However, assuming that both the quantities of dye and fiber to be dyed remain the same, the amount of water is irrelevant. Well, you do have to have enough so that your fiber isn’t crowded. But if you use, say, half an ounce of dye to dye 100 grams of wool, it doesn’t matter whether you do this with one gallon of water or 100 gallons - the resulting color will be the same in both cases.
2. How do I set my yarn?
This one really confused me because with some small exceptions, I have never had any problems with the dye being fast and not crocking or bleeding. It seems to me that there are three reasons why this might happen.
1. Not enough acid
2. Not enough heat - either too low a temperature, or not applied long enough.
3. Too much dye.
That said, I consistently have problems with blues and greens in terms of exhausting the dye bath. Since I usually use Easter Egg dye, my tentative conclusion is that these colors somehow contain more dye than other colors. The thing is, once the yarn has been washed, rinsed and dried, the color is stable and will not crock upon subsequent washings.
For the last couple of months, I have been responding to comments privately. I had been responding in the comments section of the blog but, after reading some folks’ thoughts on this, decided to switch over lest someone get the impression I was just doing it to up the comment count.
I have decided this is bullsquat :)
The reason I always answered in comments is because I was trying to foster a conversation. It didn’t always happen, but sometimes a comment would foster a response which then might, in turn, provoke someone else to share an opinion or an experience. And I finally realized that if I continue to respond privately in e-mail, that hoped-for dialogue will never happen again.
So I am going back to responding to comments in comments :)
Hope your Friday wasn’t too stressful and that your weekend (daylight savings time, remember!) is fun.
No trackbacks yet.
Ah-hah! Perhaps the reason for the non-dialogue is that some people, like me, leave comments but never actually go back to read subsequent comments so they [I] wouldn’t know that there was a dialogue forming! :-)
And yes, I could leave a tick in the “notify me of follow-up comments” but then I’d be inundated with comments from other people’s blogs [I read about 50]. So basically I read the current post, comment if I wish and that’s it! I don’t expect you to respond unless I ask a question.
And, in the interests of sharing with no criticism intended at all, my blog comments are forwarded to my hotmail account and I respond only to those who need an answer. Otherwise I just accept the comment and let it go at that! But that, of course, doesn’t foster dialogue which is what I gather you would like! It’s tricky, isn’t it? [no response necessary unless you feel like making one! LOL]
Lynne -
I do understand that many, maybe even most folks aren’t interested in holding a conversation in the comment section of a blog. I know there are time constraints and probably lots of people just aren’t interested.
That’s fine by me :) I’m not interested in standing over my commenters with a whip, screaming “You will converse now!!” 
I do want the opportunity for discussion to exist and for folks to know that it’s an option. I understand that the decision not to participate will be nearly universal and that too is perfectly fine.
But nearly isn’t the same as always!
As for responding styles, eh - we all have our own. Me, I’m so grateful for the folks who come by and read and comment, I kinda feel that acknowledgement is the least I can do.
Thanks for the thoughtful response!
I think a discussion in the comment section is fine and I think it is a good thing to hear from you about what you think I always go to your blog to see if anything is going on I love to knit but have hit a slump and can’t seem to get out of it any help? Keep up the chatter we all like it. Have a good weekend.
Kathy 
Hey Kathy :) 
I always appreciate your always kind comments.
Now, that knitting slump? The thing that I found that works most consistently for me is to learn something new. In fact, you don’t even have to actually do the new technique - but research it. Look at finished items that use or incorporate it and, if it feels right, by all means give it a try.
Want to try Entrelac? How about a little stranded, fair isle type knitting? If you knit in the English style (throwing) try learning to knit in the continental fashion (picking) or vice versa.
The thing is, once you get involved in something new, your brain will start throwing a bazillion things at you and when you turn around, your mojo will be right there!
Slump suck and this period where winter is waning but spring isn’t here yet is a classic time for them. Remember - you’re not alone and you will get past this :)
1. After you have dissolved your dye in the dyebath, if the color is too strong just add more water.
Yeah, you can really only adjust this before you apply the dyebath to the fiber. Or vice versa. That’s really the only time you can adjust it. I’m sure it should read:
1. After you have dissolved your dye in the dyebath, if the color’s too strong, too bad.
You’re right, no amount of “more water” will make you have less dye in your bath. If you’re really concerned, you can take some of the dyebath OUT and add water in to make sure your yarn is covered, but you can’t really change the amount of dye in the bath otherwise.
Hey Christy!
LOL! You’re right, of course :) The other thing that occurs to me is that you could increase the amount of fiber you want to dye - say double it? If you have the room in the dyebath, of course :)
I imagine that would also lead to an overall diminishing of intensity. Of course the result would be a bit up in the air until the job was done but if the original color was just too much, this might also be a way to sort of lessen the impact.
I read your post and had a snarky comment along the lines of ‘the wonders of American education…’ ready to go when I began to wonder something: How many yarn dyers started out with cotton tie dye or low water immersion dying? (Or for that matter hand painted yarn?) I suppose if you don’t really think about it you’d just assume that the same technique that gives you a lighter color when you paint on the dye will give you a lighter color when you plunk your yarn in the dye.
As to comment conversations, I’m a big fan. One of the great joys of the livejournal Harry Potter Essays Community was the on going comment conversations that came with each essay.
I hope things are going well, and spring is creeping closer for you.
I see your point and certainly understand how the error could be made easily. It seems like it should work that way…
I like conversation myself (sometimes I wonder if the term dialogue isn’t a little threatening) but not everybody does. And that’s fine - there’s room in the world for all kinds of people :)
