dying wool yarn?

[jrabbit]

I keep finding colorways I love on Ravelry, only to find out that they are dyed by the knitter ... what do you need in order to dye yarn? I am inexperienced at dying.

I'm buying 100purewool through a co-op right now, and I am seriously contemplating buying some undyed ....

I 100purewool more than any other affordable wool I've tried so far, but I didn't really love some of the colorways in person compared with on the computer this last order. (*most* of what I've bought, I love, just 2 were not what I had hoped for) So, I'm buying *more* colorways, but now I'm wondering if I might be happier dying them myself?

thanks!
--janis

[34me]

I love to dye with Kool Aid. There are a ton of tutorials on the internet.

[jrabbit]

wow! who knew it could be that simple? I'll have to get some undyed and play with it with my kids.

[TheGirls]

I dye regularly, including for sale, with food coloring. You would need food coloring (what you can get at the grocery is fine, though a restaurant supply is far cheaper if you do it a lot) salt, and vinegar. And a pot. A cookpot is fine, it's all food anyhow, but some folks like a separate pot. It can be done in the microwave or the crockpot too. Wool loves to be dyed. It's really super easy and lots of fun.

[kittywitty]

Koolaid is super easy. I have acid dyes, too. Very messy and tempermental, but beautiful as well. There are tons of tutorials out there, but I'd stick to koolaid or food coloring if you're beginning.

[WTHamI?]

Solid color or multi? For solids (kettle dyeing) I do mine in a crockpot. If you are using food-based dyes (kool-aid, food coloring, beet juice etc.) you can use the same crockpot you use for meals, but if you're using a chemical dye (I use jacquard acid dyes for my silk chiffon since silk doesn't take natural dyes well) you can't use it for food again after dyeing. I have a separate crockpot I use exclusively to dye fabric and fiber.

The basic process is soaking the fiber in hot water while you prepare the dye. Add about 7 cups of water for 4 oz of fiber and heat in the crock pot, add desired amount of dye (takes some trial and error, too much and it will bleed but too little and it will be blotchy) and about 1/2 cup vinegar. Add the yarn, stir occasionally. I usually stir every 5 min. or so at the beginning, less often as it absorbs the dye. In 1-2 hours (depending on the dye, the color, how much you added etc.) the yarn should have absorbed the dye and the water will be clear (unless you added too much!) Gently (but thoroughly) rinse and hang to dry

NOTE: If you are not using superwash yarn (meaning it is still feltable) you will want to add it to the dye at room temperature and heat gradually since quick temperature changes can shock the fiber and cause it to felt. You will also want to let it cool gradually and rinse in cool/lukewarm water.

You can also hand-paint yarn with a sponge if you are wanting a variegated skein, but I have not done this myself (I'm a wet felter so I mostly do kettle-dyed wool roving and silk chiffon) so I'm not 100% sure of the process, I'm sure if you googled it you could find instructions.

If you have a juicer, you can use beets, carrots, spinach, red cabbage etc. to make dyes The big keys are heat and acid (vinegar).

Hope that helps!

[ERue]

You can also use Easter egg dyes if you have any left over. There are tons of tutes on google.

[Angelorum]

check out the Rav group "What a kool way to dye" they have tons of info on how to dye with koolaid, wiltons icing dyes, and other food coloring. Lots of inspiration photos too, I started dying recently and I love it!

[llwr]

Kool-aid dyeing is really fun and super easy.

[jrabbit]

yep, now I'm addicted to koolaid dying ... love wilton's food coloring, too

[Shantimama]

Just a warning......... dyeing yarn can be addictive! I need to start selling some because I am dyeing it faster than I can weave it all, let alone knit it!

[Motherwolf]

natural dyeing

My friends and I are using Ingigo, Goldenrod, marigolds and other natural dyes.
If you get the three primary colors, then you can make the rainbow by mixing.
in a few weeks we are going to do this all at once over an open fire outside, as my friend says it is easier to be messy outside, than in her kitchen.
I am sure you can google natural dyeing.

[jrabbit]

here is my latest project ... completely addictive.

I'm using Wiltons food coloring.

I'd like to get into the natural dyes like black beans and onion skins, but what I've read says you need mordant, and that just sounds scary.

--janis