Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Only Way to Dye



Another bobbin of 2 ply Corriedale was finished so it was time to think about adding some color.



I got out my dye and my favorite instruction manual. This time I tried using two colors. I picked lilac and turquoise because if the worst happened, they would at least look fairly decent together if they ran and pooled.



After draining the soaking water out, I had a brilliant idea. Why not dye it right in the sink? I made quite a mess on the counter last time. I hate fooling with all that plastic and newspaper.



On one side of the double sink I mixed my colors without worrying about spilling.



I made a weak solution of each color first and poured it on while rubbing it in.



The excess went right down the drain instead of pooling on the underside of the yarn like it does on paper.



I even let it drain a while before bagging it up for steaming.



Clean up was easy.



The whole thing got steamed for about 12 minutes in the microwave by heating for two minutes and then resting for two.



When I rinsed, the water was blue so it was back into the microwave for another 4 minutes.



This time the water ran clear.



After another good soak, I took it for a spin in the salad spinner and then gave it a mighty thwacking. Since it was a warm sunny day, I let it hang in the sun to dry. Although I am not really a big fan of these two colors, The Mister commented on how much he liked them so I am counting this Adventure in Dyeing as a win.

4 comments:

  1. This is interesting but would not work with my cream sinks that absorb too much already! So I dye in huge pots on burners I have on a table in my laudry room...at least cleanup is easy there also. I love those colours together.
    What will it become?

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    Replies
    1. This will probably become socks as Corriedale is pretty itchy stuff.

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  2. Look great - I love the idea of dying in the sink! We have a series of stainless steel bowls and when I moved out my bedroom got turned into the dye studio, so we don't have to worry too much about mess.

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  3. I was just given a skein of white homespun
    wool. You might be able to give me the courage to try and dye it.
    I love those blues. Very pretty
    I have never died yarn. It looks like either a lot of fun or a cry fest.

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