When I demonstrate dyeing for first-time dyers, I often begin by asking, “What’s your favorite color — red, blue, or yellow?” Having answered the question, most people immediately ask, “Now, what do I do?” That’s when I remember how I felt when I was a fifth grader and was asked to draw anything I wanted on a blank piece of paper. I knew I wanted something beautiful and unusual, but I had no clue how to go about it. (When it comes to drawing, I still don’t know!) With few exceptions, everyone expresses the same concern about doing it “right.” It’s daunting to be presented with a blank surface in any medium! Once you place some dye on the yarn and work it in with your hand, the barrier breaks, and you begin to understand how much control you have on the color you applied — and how rewarding it can be!
For your first multiple-color attempt, avoid applying too many colors. It is usually most effective to start with no more than two or three closely related colors, because the more you have, the greater the opportunity for the undertones to become muddy, which you probably don’t want. As you become more familiar with the way the colors work, you can branch out to use whatever colors are available to you. I show this method dyeing yarn, but the technique is the same for all fiber preparations, including fleece or fabric.
Before you heat-set your handpainted skein, it’s always a good idea to step away to look at something else, then look back again at your color combination. Often the second look will give you an idea of what’s missing, if anything.
The steps for this project are essentially the same as the Simple Handpaint Method: Monochromatic, on page 54. The difference is that this time you’re using three different colors, which gives you a chance to observe how the dyes interact to create new colors at the places where they run together and blend.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn (roving, top, or fabric) with figure eights as described on page 42, and soak it in the vinegar-water solution for about 30 minutes.
2 Prepare the dyestock. Mix each of the following amounts of dyestock with 2 cups of water: 2 teaspoons Orange, 1 tablespoon Raspberry, 2 tablespoons Watermelon.
3 Squeeze dry. Gently squeeze the vinegar-water solution from the yarn and lay the skein out in a rough circle or oval on the prepared work surface.
4 Apply the first color. Squirt or pour the Watermelon along a 3-inch section of yarn, then work the color through all the strands of yarn in that section, encouraging the dye to travel along the length of the yarn from where it was first applied. About one-third of the yarn should be covered at this point.
5 Apply the second color. Squirt or pour some of the Raspberry on a section a couple of inches away from the first. Gently squeeze and rub, so that gradually the first and second colors meet and mingle, resulting in color variations in two-thirds of the skein.
6 Apply the third color. Add some Orange a couple of inches from the Raspberry, so that these two colors also mix. Remember to let the colors mix along the length of the yarn. Use a paper towel to soak up any extra dye that may have settled under the skein. Check to see that all of the yarn has received dye and no white spots remain.
7 Apply heat. Arrange the skein in the bowl, and cover with a lid. Place the bowl in a microwave oven, and process on High for 2 minutes. Allow to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can also heat-set the dyes with any of the other “steam methods” described on pages 23-25.
8 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the fiber over and process for 2 more minutes. Check carefully to see if the bowl is steamy and hot, and the excess water is clear. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye.
9 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the fiber from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
10 Rinse the cooled yarn. When the fiber is completely cool, rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear. (You can add a fabric softener, if you wish.)
11 Spin dry. Remove excess water by giving it a spin in the washing machine or a salad spinner. Allow the fiber to dry at room temperature.
Infant Cardigan and Ruffled Cap knit with yarn dyed using this multicolor handpaint method (for pattern, see page 143).
In this technique, sections of fiber are dunked in dye in a series of shallow bowls. It’s a convenient technique for dyeing skeins of yarn, but if you’re a spinner, you’ll enjoy using this technique to dye roving or top, as well. As you later spin the dyed fiber, you can control the progression of color shifts by spinning long (or short) sections that blend into new shades and colors. You can use shades of the same color dyestock, from light to intense saturations, or you can arrange several different colors along the dip-dyeing route.
I like to think of the setup as a kind of railroad train: the many different containers of colors are set in a row, as if they were along a track. Note that as the fiber is dipped into each individual bowl, some dye is removed from the water. As a result, if you are using this arrangement to dye long lengths of fiber, the subsequent colors will be paler than the initial dips. If this is not the effect you want, you can add more dyestock to the containers as needed.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn (or roving, top, or fabric) with figure eights as described on page 43, and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Prepare the mixtures. Mix each of the following amounts of dyestock with ½ cup of water: 3 tablespoons Chocolate; 2 tablespoons Chocolate and 1 tablespoon Black, and 1 tablespoon Chocolate. Pour the mixtures into three shallow containers and place them on a prepared work surface, spacing them no more than 4 inches away from each other.
3 Dip the fiber. Place the prepared fiber on top of the containers with the dye mixtures. With gloved hands, press the fiber into each container of dye.
4 Squeeze out the extra dye. It’s important to avoid saturating the fiber with more dye than it can hold. When this happens, you have a messy pool of dye to contend with.
5 Dip and squeeze again. Pick up the skein and move it along so that the undyed fiber is immersed. Squeeze out extra dye. Repeat the process until all the fiber is dyed. As you remove excess dye, use your fingers to encourage the dyes to blend with the adjacent dyes, so that you avoid white spots in the yarn (unless you want white spots!).
6 Apply heat. Arrange the skein in the bowl, and cover with a lid. Place the bowl in a microwave oven, and process on High for 2 minutes. Allow to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can also heat-set the dyes with any of the other “steam methods” described on pages 23–25.
7 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the fiber over and process for 2 more minutes. Check carefully to see if the bowl is steamy and hot, and the excess water is clear. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye. (See Troubleshooting Immersion Dyeing, page 108 for further advice.) If not, process for another minute.
Guy’s Ribbed Hat knit with yarn dyed by the Dipping for Shades method (for pattern, see page 154).
8 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the fiber from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
9 Rinse the cooled yarn. When the fiber is completely cool, rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear. (You can add a fabric softener, if you wish.)
10 Spin dry. Remove excess water by giving it a spin in the washing machine or a salad spinner. Allow the fiber to dry at room temperature.
If you like the way different colors blend into new ones, try this technique. It’s the same as Dipping for Shades, except that this time you use four colors. Note that the yarn dyed in this example was originally a dusty rose that I chose to overdye.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn (or roving, top, or fabric) with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Prepare the dye dilutions. Mix 1 teaspoon of each dyestock with 1 cup water. Pour the mixtures into four shallow containers and place them on a prepared work surface.
3 Dip the fiber. Place the prepared fiber on top of the containers with the dye mixtures. With gloved hands, press the fiber into each container of dye.
4 Squeeze out the extra dye. As you remove the excess dye, use your fingers to encourage the dyes to blend with the adjacent dyes. It’s important to avoid saturating the fiber with more dye than it can hold. When this happens, you have a messy pool of dye to contend with. If all of the fiber is dyed at this point, move on to Step 5. If necessary, you can move the skein along and dip undyed sections of yarn as in Step 3.
5 Apply heat. Arrange the skein in the bowl, and cover with a lid. Place the bowl in a microwave oven, and process on High for 2 minutes. Allow to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can also heat-set the dyes with any of the other “steam methods” described on pages 23–25.
6 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the skein over and process for 2 more minutes. Check carefully to see if the bowl is steamy and hot and excess water is clear. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye. (See Troubleshooting Immersion Dyeing, page 108, for further advice.)
Handpainted yarn is a fine choice for handwoven projects. Here, yarn dyed using the Multicolor Dip-and-Dye method results in subtle plaids when woven on a Weavette loom.
7 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the skein from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
8 Rinse the cooled yarn. When the fiber is completely cool, rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear. (You can add a fabric softener, if you wish.)
9 Spin dry. Remove excess water by giving it a spin in the washing machine or a salad spinner. Allow the fiber to dry at room temperature.
If you’re interested in working with raw silk, you may enjoy purchasing a silk cap (also known as a “mawata” or a “hankie”), which is several layers of silk cocoon that have been boiled and stretched over a mold to form a tissue-like piece that is a delight to hand-paint. You may find these sold in quantities of about 25, each weighing about ½ ounce. Be sure to soak the silk cap thoroughly in plain, clear water before attempting to dye it. (Refer to pages 30 and 35 for the special care needed for preparing silk for dyeing.)
You can spin the dyed fiber into yarn in a number of different ways. Begin by gently drawing the sides out until the middle breaks open (like a doughnut). Continue to stretch the edges until you can draw the fiber out and roll it against your thigh to form a loose yarn or spin on a drop spindle or wheel.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Soak the silk cap overnight in water to which a few drops of Dawn detergent has been added. Just before dyeing, submerge it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Spread out your materials. Pour the dye mixtures into shallow containers, and place them and the silk cap on the prepared work surface.
3 Apply the first color. Paint a small amount of one of the colors on a section of the silk.
4 Apply the second color. Paint some of the second color on a section a couple of inches away from the first. Gently move the dye with the brush to encourage the first and second colors to meet and mingle. Notice the interesting color variations.
5 Apply the third color. Brush on the last color near the others, allowing all the colors to blend.
6 Repeat the applications. Continue to work your way around in sections until the entire piece has received dye. Encourage the colors to blend from section to section. Use a paper towel to soak up any extra dye that may have settled under the silk.
7 Apply heat. Arrange the silk in the bowl, and cover with a lid. Place the bowl in a microwave oven, and process on High for 2 minutes. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the silk. It should not rise any higher than 185°F (85°C). Allow to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can also heat-set the dyes with any of the other steam methods described on pages 23–25. If you use an oven or do it on the stovetop, place the silk cap in a plastic bag. Poke several holes in the plastic to allow the excess steam to escape.
8 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the silk over and process for 1 minute. Again check the temperature with your thermometer. If it has not reached 185°F (85°C), process for another minute. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye.
9 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the silk from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
10 Rinse the cooled silk. When the fiber is completely cool, rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear.
11 Spin dry. Remove excess water by giving it a spin in the washing machine or a salad spinner. Allow the silk to dry at room temperature.
The technique for handpainting a wool roving is very similar to the steps you take for handpainting a skein of yarn or a silk cap. Spinners will find endless possibilities for creating unique and exciting yarns from their own handpainted rovings. Among the many advantages of spinning these rovings is that you can achieve longer sections of any one color and also control the blend from one color to the next in your spun yarn. If you plan to ply your yarn, divide the roving carefully and evenly lengthwise before drafting, and keep track of the beginning of each section, so that the like colors match up when you ply them together. You’ll find that the match is usually not perfect, but the blend is always interesting!
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Arrange the roving in zigzag fashion and tie as described on page 43. Soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Mix the dyestock. Prepare the dye solutions (see page 9).
3 Spread out your materials. Pour the dye mixtures into shallow containers, and place them and the roving on the prepared work surface.
4 Apply the first color. Paint a small amount of one of the colors on a section of the roving.
5 Apply the second color. Paint some of the second color on a section a couple of inches away from the first. Gently move the dye with the brush to encourage the first and second colors to meet and mingle. Notice the interesting color variations.
6 Apply the third and fourth colors. Brush these on near the others, allowing all the colors to blend.
7 Repeat the applications. Continue to work your way along the roving in sections until the entire piece has received dye. Encourage the colors to blend from section to section. Use a paper towel to soak up any extra dye that may have settled under the roving.
8 Apply heat. Arrange the roving in the bowl, and cover with a lid. Place the bowl in a microwave oven, and process on High for 2 minutes. Allow to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can also heat-set the dyes with any of the other steam methods described on pages 23–25. If you use an oven or the stovetop, place the roving in a plastic bag. Poke several holes in the plastic to allow the excess steam to escape.
9 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the roving over and process for 1 minute. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye.
From top left, clockwise: Roving dried after handpainting, roving drafted prior to spinning, yarn spun and plied, knit swatch.
10 Remove from heat. When the water runs clear, use gloves or tongs to remove the roving from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
11 Rinse the cooled fiber. When the fiber is completely cool, rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear.
12 Spin dry. Remove excess water by giving it a spin in the washing machine or a salad spinner. Allow the roving to dry at room temperature.
Mohair and mohair blends are often sold in pre-wound balls. You could, of course, wind your yarn off onto skeins, but some fun alternatives include dunking (see page 104) and injecting these preparations. As with other dye methods, be sure to thoroughly soak the fibers before you begin. You may want to try this same technique on coned yarn. To ensure that the dye reaches the inside of the cone, it’s particularly important to soak the cone thoroughly before dyeing it.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Soak the ball of yarn in the vinegar-and-water solution until it is completely saturated (about 30 minutes). Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Spread out your materials. Pour the dye mixtures into cups or shallow containers, and place them and the ball of yarn on the prepared work surface.
3 Apply the first color. Draw dye into your syringe and then plunge it into the ball, allowing a small amount of dye to penetrate the fiber. Draw up more of this color and inject it randomly around the ball.
4 Apply the second and third colors. Repeat step 3 using the other dye colors.
5 Encourage blending. Squeeze the ball to encourage the colors to saturate the fiber and blend. You may cover the entire surface or leave areas undyed.
6 Apply heat. Place the ball in the bowl, cover, and place the bowl in a microwave oven. Process on High for 2 minutes. Allow the ball to rest in the microwave for 2 minutes. Note: You can heat-set the dye using any of the other steam methods described on pages 23–25.
7 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the ball over and process for another 2 minutes, or until any excess water runs clear. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye.
8 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the ball from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
Neck Ruffle, with crocheted binding. For pattern, see page 148.
9 Skein and rinse the cooled yarn. When the fiber is completely cool, use your niddy noddy to wind it into a skein, then rinse it in room-temperature water until the water runs clear. If the yarn is at all damp, protect the wood of your niddy noddy by wrapping it in plastic. (You can add a fabric softener, if you wish.)
10 Dry. Allow the fiber to dry at room temperature.
Alternative: If you left areas of the ball undyed, you may wish to immerse it in a dyebath (see pages 106–108).
SECOND CHANCE
Sometimes your dye projects don’t turn out the way you wish they would. I injected dyes into this cone (A), wound off the yarn into a skein (B), and then knit up a swatch (C). It wasn’t at all what I wanted! I treated the remaining yarn to a dip in another dye and came up with a richly layered, dark blue yarn that I love (D). The lesson: Don’t give up when you’re disappointed — and always swatch!
The injection technique shown on pages 101–103 can be used on cones as well as on balls. Another way of dyeing cones of yarn is to immerse them into a dyebath, either completely or in stages. You can also achieve interesting effects by combining these two methods. Be sure to thoroughly soak the cone before you begin.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. To keep the cone intact during the soaking stages, pass a shoelace or heavy string through the center of the cone around the outside and tie it securely. This shoelace also makes a good handle for moving the cone around during the process. Soak the cone of yarn in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Mix the dyestock. Prepare the dye solutions (see page 9).
3 Immerse part of the cone in the first dye solution. Pour about 1 cup of dye into the pot, and lay the cone on its side in the dye. Allow it to soak for at least 1 hour.
4 Immerse the cone in the second dye solution. Remove the cone, rinse out the pot, add about 1 cup of the second dye solution to it, and replace the cone, upright this time, if you wish. Allow it to soak for at least 1 hour.
5 Immerse the cone in the third dye solution. To overdye only part of the bottom of the cone, use a smaller container for this soak, using the third dye solution. Allow to soak for at least 1 hour.
6 Complete the dye process. Place the cone in different positions in the various dye solutions until the entire cone is saturated with dye. Allow ample time for each soak and squeeze the cone periodically to ensure that the colors saturate all the way into the center of the cone until you’ve achieved the desired color.
7 Apply heat. Place the cone in a clean bowl, cover, and place the bowl in a microwave oven. Process on High for 2 minutes. Allow the ball to rest for 2 minutes. Note: You can heat-set the dye using any of the other steam methods described on pages 23–25.
8 Check progress. Using gloves or tongs, turn the cone over and process for another 2 minutes, or until any excess water runs clear. Ideally, all of the dye should be absorbed by the fiber. If not, either you applied too much dye or you did not heat-process long enough. Often a quick dip in a vinegar soak, followed by an additional application of heat, helps the yarn accept more of the dye. (See Troubleshooting Immersion Dyeing, page 108 for further advice.)
9 Remove from heat. Using gloves or tongs, remove the cone from the bowl, and let it cool to room temperature.
10 Skein and rinse the cooled yarn. When the fiber is completely cool, wind it into a skein, then rinse in room-temperature water until the water runs clear. (If the yarn is at all damp, protect the wood of your niddy noddy by wrapping it in plastic.)
11 Dry. Allow the fiber to dry at room temperature.
As a way of enhancing the texture of this swatch, each length of blue yarn is purled, rather than knitted in stockinette.
Immersion dyeing is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s the most basic form of dyeing. You place the fibers in a container with enough dye solution to cover them and then heat the water to simmer. Once the dye is absorbed by the fiber, the water in the container is clear and the fiber has color. The immersion dye technique is often carried out in a dyepot on a stovetop, but as you gain confidence, you may want to use the basic immersion technique with other heat sources, such as a microwave, slow cooker, or oven (see pages 20-21). If you think the process sounds like a recipe for cooking vegetables, you’re right!
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Heat the water. Fill a pot half full with water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water up to simmer.
3 Add the dyestock. Stir the dyestock into the simmering water until it is well mixed. Be conservative in the amount of dye you start off with: you can always add more color, but you cannot take it out.
4 Immerse the fiber. Immerse the yarn in the pot and gently poke it under the dyebath. When the water is again barely at a simmer, set a timer for about 20 minutes; keep the water just below simmering. Make certain the fiber does not rest on the bottom of the pot, which could result in dark spots or even burns. The trick is to move the fiber enough to allow all of the dye to come in contact with the fiber but not to agitate it so much that it begins to felt. Occasionally poke the fiber to gently move it around in the pot. Do not stir, or you will end up with a large felted ball!
5 Test for dye absorption. Check to see if the dye has been absorbed by the fiber by carefully scooping up some of the dyebath in a clear glass container. Once the water is clear, turn off the burner and let the bath cool to room temperature.
6 Finish up. Remove the yarn and rinse it with tepid water. I like to spin the fiber through the spin cycle of my washing machine or in a small salad spinner to remove the excess water. Hang to dry.
Yarn dyed by immersion used for swatch knit in Estonian Shell Stitch (see page 160)
TROUBLESHOOTING IMMERSION DYEING
As you slowly raise the water temperature of the dyebath, the dye penetrates and bonds with the fiber. When the process is complete, the water should be clear, because all of the dye has been absorbed into the fiber. You’ll have the best chance of success with immersion dyeing if you take the following precautions:
• Avoid felting. Do not stir the fiber during the process. Use a stick or tongs to gently lift and place the fiber in the container. Remember that wool and many types of hair felt easily, and the conditions that create felt are heat and agitation. Uncarded fleece, prepared batts, and roving are particularly likely to felt and need very gentle handling.
• Avoid inconsistent color. Do not let the fiber rest on the bottom of the container. Not only might this cause the fiber to burn, it can also result in dark spots of the color. If your goal is to achieve a consistent color throughout the fiber, be sure to remove the fiber from the bath before you add more dye. (On the other hand, you can get great tonal colors by pouring the dye over the fiber in the bath.)
• Improve intensity. Keep your eyes on the color of the dyebath. If it is clear and you don’t feel the color is intense enough, you can add more dye of the same or another color by slowly pouring more of the dyestock into the bath until you are satisfied with the color.
• Improve dye take-up. If the water is not clear after 30 minutes of a low simmer, try adding some additional white vinegar and simmering a bit longer. Different dyes strike at different temperatures, so make certain that you allow the bath to remain hot enough, for long enough. Have patience! Always allow the water to cool to room temperature before removing the fiber. There are two reasons for this: First, it’s all too easy to burn yourself at this point, and second, the agitation caused by removing the hot fiber from the water can begin the felting process.
• Rinse right. When rinsing, do not allow the stream of water to hit directly on the fiber. Even the energy from the flowing water can felt the fiber.
This variation on immersion dyeing allows you to get a subtle color variation by introducing a skein of yarn that is half dry and half damp into the dyebath. The wet fiber absorbs the dye immediately, while the dry portion takes longer to absorb color. The color of the damp half will therefore be slightly more intense.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Mix the dyestock. Prepare the dye solution (see page 9).
3 Heat the water. Fill a pot half full with water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water up to simmer. Stir the desired amount of dyestock into the simmering water until it is well mixed. Be conservative in the amount of dye you use at first: You can always add more color, but you cannot take it out.
4 Dampen half the skein. Immerse half of the dry skein back in the vinegar soak. Remove it and squeeze the wet section to remove excess water. Half of the skein will be damp, and the other half dry.
5 Immerse the entire skein in the dye-bath. Let the skein settle into the dyebath. When the water is barely at a simmer, set a timer for about 30 minutes, and keep the water just below simmering. Move the fiber enough to allow all of the dye to come in contact with the fiber, but not enough agitation to cause it to begin to felt. Continue to occasionally poke the fiber to gently move it around in the pot.
6 Test for dye absorption. Check to see if the dye has been absorbed by the fiber by carefully scooping up some of the dyebath in a clear glass container. Once the water is clear, turn off the burner and let the bath cool to room temperature.
7 Finish up. With gloved hands, remove the yarn and rinse it with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
Scarves knit from yarn dyed by the Half-and-Half Immersion method, one in laceweight and one in worsted-weight yarn (For pattern, see page 152.)
This project gives you a chance to experiment with both handpainting and immersion dyeing. You may get some very unexpected results! Remember that not only will you see the effect of adjacent colors blending on the skein as you handpaint or drip color onto it, but these colors will also be overdyed when you place the entire skein in the dyebath. To avoid getting “muddy” colors, take care not to use too many different dyes when you first try this.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Mix the dyestock. Prepare the handpaint and immersion dye solutions (see page 9).
3 Drip-paint the skein. Lay out the skein on a prepared work surface. Randomly drip handpaint color over the skein, and let it set for about 10 minutes.
4 Prepare the slow cooker. Fill the slow cooker about half full of water, and add 1 cup of the immersion dye solution to it. Submerge the fiber under the dyebath.
5 Add the dye crystals. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of dye crystals over the yarn.
6 Heat set. Cover the slow cooker, turn it on, and heat until the water runs clear. Turn off the slow cooker and let the bath cool to room temperature.
7 Finish up. With gloved hands, remove the yarn and rinse it with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
Swatches crocheted with yarn dyed by the Drip-Paint-Immersion method (for patterns, see pages 162-63).
Immersion dyeing is used primarily to apply a more or less solid color to fiber. But there are ways to make this process much more fun and the results more exciting. Once you’ve mastered the immersion technique, you can experiment with fiber to achieve many different effects. For instance, altering the state of the fiber before introducing it into the dye-bath can create very interesting outcomes. Binding, clamping, folding, and knotting are just some of the techniques you can use.
The following creative approaches to dyeing are meant to excite your curiosity. You may dream up many others. Start thinking, “What if?” For instance, “What if I tie resists (see page 114, step 4) on the fiber and dip only one end into a blue dyestock and then dip the other into a red dyestock?” “What if after I heat-set the fiber, I remove the resists and dip into a diluted color?” Use your imagination. The very worst thing that can happen is that you decide you need to overdye the fiber.
As you’ll see, I presoak the yarn before applying the resist ties. Water expands fiber, and when the ties are snug, they do a better job of preventing the dye from penetrating the bound-off areas. (In contrast, dry fiber wicks dye into the bound-off areas.) Note that for each of the techniques that follow, I refer to the article that’s being dyed as a skein, but you can use these methods on roving, batts, and fabric as well.
As you plan your tie-dye project, keep in mind that whatever you use for your second dyebath will not only color the undyed (white) sections from the first dyebath, but it will also overdye the fiber that received color in the first dyebath. For example, if the initial dyebath is red and you use blue for the second dyebath, the areas that were tied off for the red dyebath will be dyed blue but the area that received red dye will now become purple. Instead of using two different colors, you may wish to simply make the second dyebath a paler shade than the first one. As with so many dye processes, the possibilities are endless!
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry until damp.
2 Mix the dyestock. Prepare two different-colored dye solutions (see page 9). (The “sprinkle” is the unmixed dye powder.)
3 Prepare the dyebath. Fill the bowl about two-thirds full of water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Stir in the desired amount of the base dyestock until it is well mixed.
4 Tie resists around the skein. Wrap a length of scrap yarn or shoelace around the damp skein and secure it tightly. Tie additional pieces of scrap yarn at several intervals around the skein in the same way. These ties, known as “resists,” prevent the dye from entering the bound-off areas.
5 Heat set. Place the prepared fiber in the dyebath, cover the bowl, and place it in the microwave. Set the heat on High for 1 minute, then check to see if the dye is being absorbed. Continue to heat and check until the water runs clear.
6 Untie the fiber. Pour off the water. With gloved hands, spread the skein out on a prepared work surface and remove the ties.
7 Drip-paint. Drip or pour the second color over the areas that received no color in the dye bath because they were tied off. You’ll see that this dye blends and transitions nicely into the dyed areas, taking on a third color. Place the skein back in the bowl.
8 Sprinkle dye powder (optional). For an extra touch of color, sprinkle dye powder directly on the yarn before the final heat set, if desired.
9 Heat set. Repeat step 5 above. Allow to cool to room temperature.
10 Finish up. Remove the yarn and rinse with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
The purple yarn was dyed using the Basic Immersion technique; the coral was dyed using the Basic Tie-Dyeing method. (For directions for the swatches, see page 161.)
TIE-DYE BY OTHER NAMES
For centuries, cultures in many parts of the world have developed methods of masking portions of cloth or yarn so that these areas can be exposed to dye at different times in order to achieve greater control over the results. Shibori, plangi, bandhani, and batik are just some of the versions of this art. Often referred to as “resist dyeing,” common techniques for preventing dye from reaching selected areas of fiber include wax applications and tightly binding off or knotting the fiber or yarn in some way. The cloth shown here was woven after the yarn was dyed using the resist process known as ikat.
This project combines two of the techniques we’ve explored earlier, and it results in a multilayered, potentially sophisticated color scheme. You first prepare the fiber for tie-dyeing and dye it using the immersion method. You then untie the resists, drip new dye colors over the skein, and then heat-set it in a microwave. Some of the drip-dye will overdye the areas dyed by immersion, and some will saturate the undyed, white areas, with the result that you have at least three different shades of color. Have fun!
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43, and soak it in the vinegar-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the soak and squeeze it to remove excess water.
2 Tie the fiber. Wrap a length of scrap yarn around the damp skein and secure it tightly. Tie additional pieces of scrap yarn at several intervals around the skein in the same way.
3 Heat the water. Fill a pot half full with water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water up to simmer. Stir the desired amount of the Turkey Red dyestock into the simmering water until it is well mixed. Remember, you can always add more color if necessary, but you can’t take it out, so begin with a smaller amount than you think you need.
4 Immerse the entire skein. Gently poke the fiber under the dyebath. When the water is barely at a simmer, set a timer for about 30 minutes, and keep the water just below simmering. Move the fiber enough to allow all of the dye to come in contact with the fiber but don’t agitate it so much that it begins to felt. Continue to occasionally poke the fiber to gently move it around in the pot.
5 Test for dye absorption. Check to see if the dye has been absorbed by the fiber by carefully scooping up some of the dyebath in a clear glass container. Once the water is clear, turn off the burner and let the bath cool to room temperature.
6 Untie the fiber. Remove the skein from the dyebath, and with gloved hands, spread it out on a prepared work surface and remove the ties.
7 Drip-Dye. Drip the Spice Pumpkin dyestock randomly over the skein, paying particular attention to the undyed areas. Allow the dye to set for about 15 minutes before proceeding to the next step.
8 Heat set. Place the prepared fiber in a bowl, and place the bowl in the microwave. Set the heat on High for 1 minute, then check to see if the dye is being absorbed. Continue to heat and check until the water runs clear. Allow to come to room temperature. Note: You can heat-set the dye using any of the other steam methods described on pages 23–25.
9 Finish up. Remove the yarn and rinse with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
Kangaroo Mittens knit with coral yarn dyed using the Tie-Dye/Drip-Dye method and black dyed by Basic Immersion. For pattern, see page 132.
When you’re looking for a yarn or fleece with subtly varied colors, but not multiple colors, try this easy, effective dye technique. By introducing the fiber into the same dye-bath gradually, you’ll see lighter and darker areas of the same color. Compare the effects to those achieved by Half-and-Half Immersion Dyeing (page 109).
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43 and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
2 Heat the water. Fill a pot half full with water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the water up to simmer. Stir the desired amount of dyestock into the simmering water until it is well mixed. (Start with a small amount of dyestock and add more until you achieve the color you desire.)
Yarn for swatch dyed using the 2-Step Immersion method. For Vine Lace pattern stitch, see page 160.
3 Dye the first half. Rest a stick across the rim of your pot. Drape the prepared skein of yarn over the stick so that only a section of it is submerged in the dyebath.
4 Dye the second half. After a few minutes remove the stick and let the rest of the fiber enter the dyebath. Gently poke the fiber under the dyebath. When the water is barely at a simmer, set a timer for about 30 minutes, and keep the water just below simmering. Occasionally poke the fiber to gently move it around in the pot.
5 Test for dye absorption. Check to see if the dye has been absorbed by the fiber by carefully scooping up some of the dyebath in a clear glass container. Once the water is clear, turn off the burner and let the bath cool to room temperature.
6 Finish up. With gloved hands, remove the yarn and rinse with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
Here, we let the skein into the dyebath in three stages. When you plan your color progression, remember that the first third you dunk into the dyebath will be overdyed first by the second dyebath and a second time in the final dyebath. Here, the first third was dyed yellow; the second third, red; and the last, blue.
METHOD
1 Prepare the fiber. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights (see page 43) and soak it in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to drip dry.
2 Heat the water. Fill a pot half full with water, and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Place pot on stovetop and bring water up to simmer. Stir ¼ cup Lemon Drop dyestock into simmering water until well mixed.
3 Dye first third. Rest a stick across the rim of your pot. Drape the prepared skein of yarn over the stick so that about one-third of the yarn is submerged in the dyebath. Simmer, and monitor to see if the dye has been absorbed by the fiber by carefully scooping up some of the dyebath in a clear glass container. When the water is clear, go on to step 4.
4 Dye second third. Stir into the simmering water 1/8; cup of Mixing Red dyestock, and allow two-thirds of the fiber to reach the dyebath. Monitor the dyebath until the water clears, then move to step 5.
5 Dye final third. Stir into the simmering water 1/8 cup of Island Blue dyestock, remove the stick, and allow the entire skein to enter the dyebath. Gently poke the fiber under the dyebath. When the water is barely at a simmer, set a timer for about 30 minutes, and keep the water just below simmering. Occasionally poke the fiber to gently move it around in the pot. Once the water is clear, turn off the burner and let the bath cool to room temperature.
6 Finish up. With gloved hands, remove the yarn and rinse with tepid water. Squeeze out or spin to remove excess water, and hang to dry.
One woven and one knitted swatch made from yarn dyed by the 3-Step Immersion method.
One of my goals in writing this book is to prove that no matter where you live you can find creative ways to color your fibers. Some of the most popular commercially dyed yarns have long lengths dyed one color before gradually blending into another color. One way of achieving this result involves the use of a tool called a warping board, which weavers use to wind long skeins of yarn in an organized way and control the dye over relatively long sections.
Unless you’re a weaver, however, you probably don’t have such a tool. But I believe that even if you live in an urban setting, with limited space and no special tools, you can find ways to wind a very large skein. Thus the idea of Parking Meter Yarn: winding long skeins around two parking meters (not necessarily two that are next to each other!). Probably the best time to try out this technique is very early in the morning or very late at night, because you will certainly get lots of strange looks!
If you can’t make use of parking meters, look for other objects at a desired distance apart to wrap your yarn around. I’ve used fence posts and even cars in the same manner! All you need are objects strong enough to handle some tension from the yarn. They must have an open end that you can reach so you can remove the skein after wrapping. (For instance, it won’t work to wrap a skein around your house or apartment building, because it would be impossible to remove it!)
For your first experiment with parking meter yarn, dye it in just two colors.
Yarn dyed using the Parking Meter method (bottom); mohair-silk yarn dyed by Basic Immersion (top).
1 Decide how long you want your skein to be. You’ll be doubling back to the first meter as you wind the yarn, so when you decide how many parking spaces you need to use, remember that the length of the skein will be double the distance between the first and most-distant (end) meters.
2 Secure the yarn. Tie one end of the yarn to an end parking meter. Make certain it is really tight around the head of the meter.
3 Wind the yarn. Holding the yarn, pass as many meters as necessary to give you the length you want, then take the yarn around the last meter and go back to the first. Continue along the path you’ve established, wrapping the yarn around the first and last meters as many times as you wish.
4 Finish the skein. End the wrapping at the first meter. Tie the beginning and ending ends together. (If you run out of yarn, you’ll have to end the skein after the last full pass.)
5 Make ties at intervals. In order to keep this very long, cumbersome skein manageable, tie string securely around the skein every few yards before you remove the yarn from the meters — the more ties the better! Remove the skein.
6 Prepare the yarn for the dyebath. Tie the skein of yarn with figure eights as described on page 43. Remove the ties made in step 5 as you do this. Soak the yarn in the vinegar-and-water solution for about 30 minutes. Remove it from the solution and allow it to drip dry.
7 Set out the dyestock. Pour each of the dyestocks into a bowl, and place the bowls a few inches apart.
8 Dye the yarn. With gloved hands, submerge one half of the skein in one bowl and the other half in the second bowl. To avoid having white spots between the two colors, use your fingers to move the dyes along the yarn and encourage the different colors to run together.
9 Heat-set the dye. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap, and place them in the microwave. Follow the directions for heat-setting in a microwave on page 21. When any excess water runs clear, allow the yarn to come to room temperature.
10 Rinse the yarn. When the yarn is cool, rinse it carefully so that it doesn’t tangle.
11 Finish up. To avoid tangles when you wind the yarn into a ball, you might want to wrap the skein around the parking meters again. Have a ball!
Slouchy Ballerina Leg Warmers knit with yarn dyed using the Parking Meter technique. For pattern, see page 150.
You can use this whimsical technique with unspun fiber that you want to dye before spinning, as well as with skeined or balled yarn. You’ll find that the outcome is unpredictable, simply because you don’t know what’s going on inside the cluster of fiber — how the colors are mixing or whether they’re mixing at all. Limiting the colors and/or using colors that work well together minimizes muddy results. If you don’t like the results, however, keep in mind that dyeing isn’t complete until you’re satisfied — you don’t ever have to give up on anything you’ve dyed! Some of my most favorite (and, unfortunately, seldom repeatable) projects are the result of several applications of dye, whether I added just one more color to a specific place, as in handpainting, or totally immersed the fiber in a new dyebath.
METHOD
1 Wrap the fiber. Using strong string or yarn, wrap all around the fiber as you would tie a ribbon around a package. It should look like a ball of fresh mozzarella cheese before it’s cut into slices!
2 Soak the yarn. Place the wrapped fiber in the vinegar-water solution and let it soak for at least 30 minutes or longer. Squeeze out excess water.
3 Apply the dye. Use a turkey baster or syringe to inject several different dye colors into the bundle of fiber until it is completely saturated with dye.
4 Apply heat. Heat-set the dye, using any of the steam methods described on pages 23–25. Allow the fiber to cool.
5 Finish up. Remove the bundle and untie it, rinse the fiber, and allow it to dry.
Teased fleece and spun and plied yarn made from fiber dyed using the Mozzarella-Style method.
My friend Julia, born in 1890, liked to tell a story about her father, a man of few words. She and her sisters made quilts from scraps of clothing and from broadcloth bought “up town.” After watching them working on their quilts, their father made this comment: “I cannot figure out why you take a piece of cloth, cut it up, and sew it back together.”
In this project, you’ll be doing something not far from this. You’re going to take a knitted piece, handpaint it with dye, and then unravel it in order to knit it up again into something entirely new and different! Search thrift stores, flea markets, or garage sales (or your own closet!) for a knitted or crocheted item made with a protein fiber. You can also purchase commercially knit “blanks” or you may even want to knit your own blank if you have a knitting machine. Although I describe doing this with knitting, you can follow the same procedure with crochet — or a combination of both!
METHOD
1 Soak the knitted fabric. Place the fabric in the vinegar-water solution and let it soak for at least 30 minutes or longer. Squeeze out excess water or drip dry until barely moist.
2 Devise a plan. Decide which side of the piece you want to work on. On knitted pieces, the dye often penetrates the fiber more easily when you work on the purl side. It’s also easier to form letters and symbols on the purl side. It’s more difficult to get dye to penetrate selvages, because they tend to curl inward and resist the dye. Experiment with a clean brush before you commit. Place the fabric on a prepared work surface.
3 Paint on the dyes. Using a brush, paint the piece with prepared dye. Apply just enough solution to saturate the piece without soaking it. If you want the colors to mix, allow them to wick toward each other. If you want crisp letters or symbols, on the other hand, take care not to use too much dye. Wipe up any dye that pools under the piece with a paper towel.
4 Apply heat. Heat-set the dyes, using any of the steam methods described on pages 23–25. This piece went into a microwave. Allow the fabric to cool. Rinse and set aside to dry.
5 Finish up. Unravel the knitting, wind it into a skein or a ball, and use the yarn for any project of your choice — knitting, crochet, or weaving.
For socks knit using the Knit, Dye, Unknit, Knit method, see page 156.
