dying a knitted item verses dyeing yarn beforehand?

[anna_2]

Does anyone have experience with dying a knitted item rather than dying the yarn beforehand?

[cristeen]

Dyeing a finished item isn't really any different than dyeing the yarn. If it's wool you have to be careful that you don't felt the item, you have to use the right dye for the type of yarn, and you want to make sure you use a container large enough to hold the entire item comfortably.

Dyeing a finished item, you're more likely to get a solid color, while with dyeing yarn it will come out multiple shades even if it looks a solid color.

[jerri]

Dip dying can create a fun look, but as pp said, you get uniform color. I prefer to dye the yarn, even in one color because of the subtle variations. Depending on the dyes you use, you can follow different methods for dipping. I also prefer colors over plain undyed yarn.

[anna_2]

Thanks for the info, I am a novice when it comes to dyeing! I was mostly curious about the felting factor.