Sunday, May 06, 2007

Dyeing Day.

What a fab day I had when Acrylik invited me to play!! Dyeing yarn is something thats been on my 'to do' list for a long time, but as with most crafters, there just never seems to be enough time to try everything. So when Carrie Anne asked me if I wanted to join her and try dyeing yarn, I had my pinny on before you could say niddy noddy!

We prepared all the ingredients ready for dyeing. Carrie Anne explains this really well, so I'd take a look at her Acrylik blog to get the details.
Putting the first colour on was exciting, and I think I got a bit carried away with dyes on the first skein! I was definitely a bit 'heavy handed' especially with the blue dye!


I just had to add a bit of red to the mixture and sloshed ,., I mean carefully placed a bit around the skein!

This is how it first looked, but after a few minutes, the colours became more muted. When I bought the spinning wheel, the lazy kate had yarn on the bobbins, so I plied this up and this was the yarn I used for the first attempt. It still had a lot of grease on it and was goodness knows how old. I don't know if this was why the colours were more muted, perhaps someone with much more dyeing experience can tell me why. As you can see in the next pic, the colours changed dramatically, and a little more colour rinsed out, though not a huge amount. I quite liked these earthy shades. The mix of olive, terracotta and muted yellow was beautiful.



The next skein I tried, I was much more controlled with the dyes! I still had to use all 3 dyes though! The result was much more vibrant on this yarn. It was one I'd bought from DT Crafts at Woolfest, a DK 100% wool. There was no dye at all in the rinse of this yarn and the colours stayed true.


We had such fun documenting each others attempts, and did get a bit silly at times, as you can see from the next photo! The incredible bearded lady!



I was really pleased with the finished results. The yarns look so different its hard to believe that the same 3 dye colours were used on both! So here are the finished articles, ready to use.



As I said before, I've skimmed over the process, so do please read Acrylik's blog. I really do wish I'd tried before as it was not as complex as I'd thought. As messy?.......yup!
I've still got a red thumb! Wonder if Carrie Anne's fingers are still purple?!



18 comments:

acrylik said...

Purple's just about come off now! It was such a good laugh, thank you for making it a great day! I love how your skeins have turned out, it's *amazing* the difference in them both. I do hope someone will know why the colours were so muted in the first skein, I'm interested to know.

(PS still here - downstairs have gone away so we're making the most of it!)

Artis-Anne said...

I saw Carrie Anne's post first so had to scoot over here double quick :) What a great time you girls have had and both of you have some fab yarns to show as well.
I agree that the reason the first didn't take all of the dye is that there was too much grease on it. Next time soak the spun yarn which has been spun in the grease in hot water and I use washing up liguid to get off most of the grease . I know you can buy some stuff to scour fleeece but personally I find washing up liquid okay !!
Also did you soak your skeins before dyeing ? as this would give you differnt effects also . Eeee ain't it fun :) Totally addictive

Seahorse said...

I've really enjoyed reading both your versions of the fun and games! Stunning results!

Daisy said...

Your skeins came out beautifully - I love all the pics!

kathryn said...

What lovely coloured yarns you've ended up with! It seems a very good idea to do your first dyeing with an expert.

kathryn said...

PS I've just read that it was Acrylik's first time too! Well done both of you.

dreamcatcher said...

Both skeins look so lovely, you have both inspired me to have a go at this one day!

Kath said...

I love the different results from the same dyes - it really is like magic isn't it!! I love the bearded lady shot. You'll have to try different coloured fleeces to dye next and see how they work out. Good to see you both had fun playing and look forward to seeing what you dye next!

Sarah said...

What fab fun and fab yarns to show for it too. Definitely want to have a go at this one day.

Sarah said...

It looks like you had a great time. The yarn you dyed looks really lovely.

Hellbelle said...

I love your results. The 'earthy' coloured skein is beautiful and the other is really cheerful. Well done - I hope my dyeing turns out as well!

InkyArtitude said...

I'm totally blown away with the results you've achieved. Fantastic colours! Well done to you both and glad you had such fun to boot!

Piglottie said...

Your yarn is gorgeous - I love them both! LOL at the bearded lady :)

Rain said...

Great results, it looks amazing. Can't wait to see it knitted up. You two make it look so easy.

Kat said...

You have been tagged, check out my blog!

Auntie Noo said...

I love the muted one - amazing how they've come out so differently. I dyed some yarn a few christmases ago, and ended up with green hands - had to bleach them in the end to make them more respectable for work!

Curly Cable said...

Looks like you had a great time, despite the red dyed thumb ;-) your skeins have come out lovely and what fantastic colours, Well done!

MandellaUK said...

Oh wow! I'm really impressed by your dyeing experiments. Both skeins are lovely, but I admit to a fondness for the brighter yarn. I had a great time last year experimenting with procion dyes and fabrics and fully intend to do it all again. I'm sure it's addictive.