Been bit by the (dyeing wool) bug

Oh no

Dyeing wool is rather addictive. So much fun though.

Since finishing my yarn swap I've done a few more.....

This one I'm auctioning off to raise money for Erin's fundraiser at www.makeaplan.wordpress.com. She's had $50,000 (!!) of medical supplies donated (way to go Erin!) and now needs to raise money so the supplies can be shipped to a hospital in need, in Zimbabwe. The auction includes some wooden 4mm needles I made myself.


I dyed this one in sections so it should be sort of variegated. The wool I was using I had already dyed a very light pink (which look white in this pic)




This one was a bit of an experiment. Instead of dyeing in sections I put the yarn in a bit pot of dye (red) and then added a little bit of blue to the top of the pot. The end result was some gorgeous muted reds and dusky purples and almost browns. This will be more random once knitted up. 140g of DK.



I love this one





And this one was done in the same way. I started off with 100g of 14ply that I had dyed with Koolaid previously but wasn't really that impressed with, as the colours were really light and a bit washed out looking. It was light blue and light dusky purple. I added this to a pot that had very dark blue dye solution in the bottom and then poured much lighter blue over the top of the pot. I wasn't too sure of it when it was dyed in the hank but now i have reskeined it, I totally love it.




The blues range from sky blue to an almost silvery and theres a tiny bit of more purple blue in there too. It still smells a little fruity from the KA though. Might give it another wash!






Louise commented in the last post about a dye tutorial...LoL!!!!! have to say that my dyeing method is pretty haphazard! I just try things and see what comes out! I've just been using food colouring (Hansells in the supermarket) and white vinegar/heat to set. Nice and easy and you don't have to stress about contamination in the kitchen or icky smells and its easy to clean up if you happen to splash on your bench - even if you dye your hands they're only bright red for a day or so (don't ask me how I know that!).

If I'm dyeing in sections I just have 2 pots going over a low heat on the stove top and put a section of the skein in each pot. I've got a couple of old pots I'm using just for dyeing wool now. To get two tones of one colour I leave a largish white section between the pots and put this in for a shorter time to get less colour. People use their microwaves with great results too - mines in an awkward place so I find it easier to use the stove.

If I'm dyeing it altogether in the pot its very much just make it up as I go. I pour in my dye solution leave the wool for awhile then pour some more in! (Very scientific!!)

More food colouring = deeper colour. Once I'm done if it still bleeding colour then I pour over some more vinegar/water and microwave it (clingfilm over the container) for a few more minutes.

My yarn swap ones I was a bit more calculated as I was going for something 'specific' - these ones I was just happy having a play - if you're not too fussed with what you are ending up with then its the sort of thing where there are 'no mistakes'

People get some gorgeous results with cake dyes (you can get Wiltons from Spotlight and they cake dyes on TM too) and I think I will get some more next time I am shopping for craft supplies. For now food colouring is working out fine and its in the cupboard already ;) I really am just learning!!

I did explain my KoolAid dyeing "method" here. And there are some great tutorials out on the internet....try these :D

Koolaid
http://www.knitty.com/issuefall02/FEATdyedwool.html

Raro
http://redheadeddevilchild.blogspot.com/2007/07/dyeing-fun-with-raro.html

Self striping
http://happyspider6.blogspot.com/2006/06/tutorial-dyeing-self-striping-yarn.html

Ashford acid dyes
http://www.ashford.co.nz/dyes/dyes-frameset.htm

Acid dyes
http://www.reenieart.com/dyetutorial.htm

Cake dyes
http://fearlessknitting101.com/?q=node/163

Nautral Dyes - ie from plants/flowers/spices etc etc
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html

Great dyeing site:
Paula Birch's All About Dyein