ok... so i know there aren't that many woolly/yarny/knitty people on my flist, though there are a few of you, but anyone can help me out here
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Hey - a friend of yours and mine suggested I post to help out here :). Check out my blog (http://elemi.blogdrive.com to see what I get up to!
There are lots of ways to dye wool (and by the way - the word is dyeing, not dying... just in case any of your flist is the vaporous type!) and doing it in a pot over heat is but one of them. I would suggest reading some books on the topic (Yarns to Dye For comes to mind) and learning some more but the short answer is - you don't need a huge pot to do this in.
You already know what strength solution you need, right? All you need to do then is to find a stock pot or similar, and put that amount of dye in along with 50mL of white vinegar, and mostly fill the pot with slightly warm water (very important if you are trying to get the same colour all over) (it's easiest if you weigh out the dye, mix it with boiling water, then add the vinegar, then add the cooler water). Stir it up really well, then add the prepared yarn (skein it, tie it up, then soak it overnight in a bucket of lukewarm water with a drop of dishwashing detergent or wool wash, then drain it in a colander until just wet) and let it soak until all of the dye has been taken into the yarn and the water is mostly clear.
Then, strain the yarn back through the colander (make sure you are using one that you can never use for food again!) and either wrap the yarn entirely up in microwave safe plastic wrap or put it in a large microwave safe container. I found some for $2 at the local cheap things store for example. Then - microwave for 8 minutes on high.
Take the yarn out, without moving it or touching it too much (and be cafeul with the steam as it will burn you!) and let it cool until it's cold. Rinse gently in a sink full of tap water then dry out of the sun.
Voila! Dyed yarn! Drop me a line if I can be of further assistance.
thanks for that, i'm still not sure i follow though (I'm REALLY new at this)... for my test batch (25g)i used 1tsp dye with 750ml water (hence my estimation of needing about 21L) and let it (almost) simmer for about half an hour. It didn't exhaust the dye, but it did get a colour i wanted... so in this scenario you've suggested, i'm not sure how much water i'm needing... does that make sense? I'm also dyeing on pure wool and using landscape dyes (which are supposed to not need anything extra for wool) Also, I'm not sure my biggest pot will FIT all the wool in it.
so yeah, really, i have no idea what i'm doing lol. all i know is i have dye and wool and i need to get one into the other lol.
(sorry for the gazillion messages) i THINK I've worked this out...
am i right in thinking if i know what Depth of colour i want then i just use the appropriate amount of dye in ratio to the wool, regardless of the amount of water? (ie the intructions i've been using suggest 4tsp dye - 100g wool for a deep DOS)
and this method does seem much easier... thank you!
Yep that's right but really, your wool will only take up 2tsp of the dye and any more will be wasted. You might be better off dying the wool with 2tsp and if it's still not the right colour, you can always dye it some more. It's a bit harder to fix it if you go too dark!
thanks em, am going to try this tomorrow... one more question... the microwaving is to set it, correct? will it matter if it goes in the microwave in smaller lots? i don't have a very large (or strong for that matter) microwave.
*dies* I was just in the process of friending you and debating whether to bother you yet again with a question! http://www.woodlandwoolworks.com/Dyes/Landscapes/LandscapesDyes.html the colour is 2 parts Ice, 1 part Kingfisher, which is actually MUCH greener than it shows on that site, and the wool is Paton's Jet. The pattern is for Katia Sherpa (in the solid colour which they don't sell here grrrrr)
the question i had was an estimate as to how long this method takes to absorb the dye? I only ask because i will need to use the bath/shower at some stage in the next 24 hours lol.
I indeed did soak the wool as suggested. It's been soaking for a fair while now and is not even close to exhausting the dye, though the wool itself is the colour i would like. (I also went with your suggestion of halving the amount of dye) so i will move on to microwaving soon...
There are lots of ways to dye wool (and by the way - the word is dyeing, not dying... just in case any of your flist is the vaporous type!) and doing it in a pot over heat is but one of them. I would suggest reading some books on the topic (Yarns to Dye For comes to mind) and learning some more but the short answer is - you don't need a huge pot to do this in.
You already know what strength solution you need, right? All you need to do then is to find a stock pot or similar, and put that amount of dye in along with 50mL of white vinegar, and mostly fill the pot with slightly warm water (very important if you are trying to get the same colour all over) (it's easiest if you weigh out the dye, mix it with boiling water, then add the vinegar, then add the cooler water). Stir it up really well, then add the prepared yarn (skein it, tie it up, then soak it overnight in a bucket of lukewarm water with a drop of dishwashing detergent or wool wash, then drain it in a colander until just wet) and let it soak until all of the dye has been taken into the yarn and the water is mostly clear.
Then, strain the yarn back through the colander (make sure you are using one that you can never use for food again!) and either wrap the yarn entirely up in microwave safe plastic wrap or put it in a large microwave safe container. I found some for $2 at the local cheap things store for example. Then - microwave for 8 minutes on high.
Take the yarn out, without moving it or touching it too much (and be cafeul with the steam as it will burn you!) and let it cool until it's cold. Rinse gently in a sink full of tap water then dry out of the sun.
Voila! Dyed yarn! Drop me a line if I can be of further assistance.
Em
Reply
for my test batch (25g)i used 1tsp dye with 750ml water (hence my estimation of needing about 21L) and let it (almost) simmer for about half an hour. It didn't exhaust the dye, but it did get a colour i wanted...
so in this scenario you've suggested, i'm not sure how much water i'm needing...
does that make sense?
I'm also dyeing on pure wool and using landscape dyes (which are supposed to not need anything extra for wool)
Also, I'm not sure my biggest pot will FIT all the wool in it.
so yeah, really, i have no idea what i'm doing lol.
all i know is i have dye and wool and i need to get one into the other lol.
Reply
Reply
Reply
(sorry for the gazillion messages)
i THINK I've worked this out...
am i right in thinking if i know what Depth of colour i want then i just use the appropriate amount of dye in ratio to the wool, regardless of the amount of water?
(ie the intructions i've been using suggest 4tsp dye - 100g wool for a deep DOS)
and this method does seem much easier... thank you!
Reply
Reply
Reply
one more question...
the microwaving is to set it, correct?
will it matter if it goes in the microwave in smaller lots? i don't have a very large (or strong for that matter) microwave.
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Reply
yeah... lot of wool... iiiittle microwave :D
thanks so much for your help...
mind if i friend you?
and i promise to take piccies to document XD
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I was just in the process of friending you and debating whether to bother you yet again with a question!
http://www.woodlandwoolworks.com/Dyes/Landscapes/LandscapesDyes.html
the colour is 2 parts Ice, 1 part Kingfisher, which is actually MUCH greener than it shows on that site, and the wool is Paton's Jet.
The pattern is for Katia Sherpa (in the solid colour which they don't sell here grrrrr)
the question i had was an estimate as to how long this method takes to absorb the dye?
I only ask because i will need to use the bath/shower at some stage in the next 24 hours lol.
Reply
Reply
It's been soaking for a fair while now and is not even close to exhausting the dye, though the wool itself is the colour i would like.
(I also went with your suggestion of halving the amount of dye)
so i will move on to microwaving soon...
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actually, it still seems a little light...
do you think filling the surrounding bath with hot water would help it take in a bit more dye?
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