tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63008279818564136772024-03-13T14:06:33.784-03:00The Impatient DyerI started dyeing my own yarn in 2013 and it has become a bit of an obsession for me. If I can dream it, I can attempt to dye it. It doesn't always turn out, but I am always willing to try. I started withwith food safe colours (Kool Aid, Food Colouring or Easter Egg dye tablets) and have recently started using commercial acid dyes.Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-43623908281514267742017-10-02T13:40:00.003-03:002017-10-02T13:40:54.279-03:00Piggy Yarns is born!Hi everyone<br />
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After 4 years of people asking me if I sell my yarns, and me always replying "Not right now, but maybe someday", that someday has arrived!<br />
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On October 1st, 2017, my 44th birthday, <a href="https://piggyyarns.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Piggy Yarns</a> was born on Etsy! My first shop update consists of 18 different colour ways. Some are one of a kind, while some of them have 2 or 3 skeins available. There are a total of 35 skeins in all available, and I am already working on more of them for the next update, currently planned for October 15th.<br />
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Some of my skeins are done with food safe dyes, while others are done with the commercial acid dyes. I was doing a special project for someone and needed a really good black and a really good grey, so I decided to dabble a bit in the acid dyes. I bought some dedicated equipment for dyeing, and had at it. I will be doing a post in a few days on my Adventures in Acid Dyeing. <br />
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I hope the shop is successful, and expect to be putting in a lot of time over the next few weeks/months getting it fine tuned. But for now, please stop by and have a look!Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-57211698554032882652017-03-10T14:15:00.000-04:002017-03-10T14:15:41.364-04:00Liquid Easter Egg Dye KitsA fellow Raveler asked a question in the What a Kool Way to Dye group about using liquid Easter Egg dye to make yarn. She had bought some kits at her local Dollar Store and didn't realize that a couple of them were the liquid dyes. So she <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/what-a-kool-way-to-dye/3591705/" target="_blank">posted the question in the group forum</a>, and I accepted the challenge to see how well the liquid dyes would work on yarn. <br />
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I have dyed yarn in the past using the Easter Egg dye tablets. In fact, my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/03/the-first-yarn-i-every-dyed.html" target="_blank">first ever hand dyed yarn</a> was done using an dye kit I bought at a Dollar Store, but my kit had tablets. I had not seen the liquid dyes, and was curious how they would work. I tried our local Dollar Store, but the only one they had with liquid in it only had 3 colours and game with a "gold glaze." I did buy it, but have not tried to use it yet. As a side note, I wont be able to make gold yarn because the glaze does not really contain any colours... it is mostly sparkly stuff, alcohol and wax by the look of it.<br />
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Off to WalMart I went in search of a kit that had the liquid dyes, and I found this one:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roll on dye for Easter Eggs</td></tr>
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This was the first time I have paid full price for an egg dyeing kit since the first time I used one, but I really wanted to try it out and see how it would work. <i>A tip for anyone who wants to try this and has a bit of patience.</i> Places like WalMart and the grocery stores tend to put all of these kits on sale for at least half price the day after Easter. I have even found them at one of my local grocery stores for 50 cents after a couple of weeks. So if you have patience, you can score them pretty cheap. The Dollar Store, on the other hand, seems to just put them away and put them out again this year. And if they are anything like mine, they cover the $2 price tag printed on the box with a $2.50 price tag.<br />
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Now these kits contain a lot of stuff you don't need if you are dyeing yarn. I have given away lots of stickers and glitter and glue to friends with kids, and thrown out I don't know how many little metal holders, because I just don't need them. Here are the contents of this kit - less to throw away, but not so sure that any of it could be used for other things.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paint rollers, stands (I think) and 5 packages of dye</td></tr>
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The only thing I really need out of this are those 5 packages of dye. On the back of the box it talks about how you can get multiple colours, because you can mix the colours together, but these are not very big packages. They are a little bit bigger than ketchup packages you get with take out, but not much bigger. And there is not a lot to mix. I think if you wanted to mix colours, you might need multiple packages.<br />
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So I gathered up everything I was going to need/use for this experiment<br />
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<ul>
<li>1 roll it! kit</li>
<li>1 skein of bare Opal sock yarn, 96g (due to a miscalculation when using my new yarn swift with counter)</li>
<li>5 mason jars (500ml size)</li>
<li>1 supersized rimmed baking sheet</li>
<li>1 cooling rack that fits inside the rimmed baking sheet</li>
<li>Citric Acid powder</li>
<li>Medicinal syringes</li>
<li>Plastic Wrap</li>
<li>Microwave Safe place</li>
<li>Towel</li>
<li>Baby Shampoo and Moisturizing Conditioner </li>
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First thing I did was soak my yarn. Because I am hand painting the yarn, I added one tablespoon of powdered citric acid to the warm water I soaked the yarn in. This is about equivalent to 1 cup of vinegar, if you want to use that instead. Adding the citric acid to the soaking water helps the dye strike faster. Let the yarn soak for at least half an hour. I think this one soaked for about an hour and half, just because I got distracted with a few other things, including doing the dishes so I could rinse my yarn when I was done.<br />
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And then it was time to mix up the dye stock. To make this a fair comparison to how I dye with food colouring, I used the same amount of water. Now, for the most part, the amount of water does not impact the strength of the dye. It is just the medium used to get the dye on to the yarn. However, with hand painting, I do find that you can impact the intensity of the colour by having more water in the dye stock. I think this has more to do with the fact that if you have more dye stock and are hand painting, there is a greater possibility that you are going to have dye stock left over, which means you didn't use all the dye, so the colour is lighter.<br />
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I started by just putting the dye in the mason jars, so I could see how much dye I had to work with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYDrU4xiZEM/WMLZb2HM2hI/AAAAAAAAA40/iYy6DWUd6XUQkc7GYIBTk2TX6imTlAFdgCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYDrU4xiZEM/WMLZb2HM2hI/AAAAAAAAA40/iYy6DWUd6XUQkc7GYIBTk2TX6imTlAFdgCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The contents of the dye packets, added to the mason jars</td></tr>
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It actually looks like close to the amount of food colouring I would be using when I used my standard 6-10 drops of Wilton Colour Right food colouring, although this is a bit more watery. I then added 1.5 cups of water to each jar, and here was my dye stock. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow and pink look a little light, but let's see how it goes</td></tr>
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Some of the Easter Egg dye kits talk about adding vinegar to the individual colours. I personally find you don't need to worry about mixing it into the individual colours as per the instructions, because you will be adding acid to either your soaking water or dye bath, depending on the technique you are using.<br />
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I set up my cooling rack inside my rimmed baking sheet, and prepared to apply the colours. This is a really great tip that I got from someone on Ravelry a while back and I rarely every hand paint yarn without using this method. The baking sheet catches the excess water, and it also prevents the dye from pooling under the skein, which can cause the colours to run together and result in a muddle mess. Plus, you can squeeze out the excess water as you go, which also helps to stop the colours from running together. Colour travels really fast on wet yarn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wgk9Vei3A60/WMLZb3v2BQI/AAAAAAAAA44/8I8CXUX6ezkMDiZOIRKxv0wtJlDRqEgjACEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wgk9Vei3A60/WMLZb3v2BQI/AAAAAAAAA44/8I8CXUX6ezkMDiZOIRKxv0wtJlDRqEgjACEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to add the colour! I like to section in a squarish type shape</td></tr>
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Now usually when working with colours like this, I tend to use more of the pink, because it is my favourite colour, but for this one, I didn't make as many pink stripes... sometimes I just get distracted when I am hand painting and any plans I have for placing specific colours in specific places just go right out the window.<br />
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As I was applying the colours, it seemed like the yellow and the pink were both very pale. I knew the blue was going to be somewhat pastel, just based on the dye stock, and the pink and yellow did look a lot more pastel than what I am used to working with. And sure enough, as I was applying it, they were both looking very light. The yellow was particularly light, and I wasn't even sure it was going to look yellow... it only looked about half a shade or so darker than the bare yarn. I did find, however, that as I added more dye to the individual sections, those colours were getting brighter. So the more I layered them, the more intense they got.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ebPl00t3CI/WMLZcOLjqkI/AAAAAAAAA40/Uuy5Ajp-3ZoqI4_FKeaMjjJAkF8Uy55qQCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ebPl00t3CI/WMLZcOLjqkI/AAAAAAAAA40/Uuy5Ajp-3ZoqI4_FKeaMjjJAkF8Uy55qQCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The top of the skein, after I applied the colours</td></tr>
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After I used a little more than half of most of the dye stocks, I flipped the skein over. I have done this enough times to know that the back of the skein would be a paler version of the top, and that some of the colours would have blended into each other and run a bit. But you still need to flip it over and add more dye to the bottom. Especially when using superwash yarn that has acid in the soaking water, because it strikes so fast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlJloaWeOHk/WMLZcIFPOMI/AAAAAAAAA44/igKL1prUzS0x61PR326SkQSyF1hCUUB4ACEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NlJloaWeOHk/WMLZcIFPOMI/AAAAAAAAA44/igKL1prUzS0x61PR326SkQSyF1hCUUB4ACEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the skein was flipped over</td></tr>
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You can see in the picture that there are a lot of spots where the colour barely made it through. If I had wanted more defined sections, I could have thickened the dye with guar gum, but I really was just winging it with this skein. As a side note, if you really want to have fun with colours, when you flip it you can apply different colours to the sections to get more blended colours. For example, if I had added yellow to the pink section, I could have gotten some yarn that was light orange. You do have to be careful doing that though, because if you add too dark of a colour, you could completely change the whole section of colour, not just this back piece.<br />
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I kept applying the dye to the various sections of yarn until it was all used up. I normally have dye stock left over when I mix up this much, but I wanted this to be a really good test of the liquid dye, so I made sure to use it all. I did have to empty the extra water out of the baking tray twice during this process.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IC3nYgu5p2E/WMLZcAoArsI/AAAAAAAAA40/huQMBaiqVoMfksv_nkpJd00IIj6wlFLpQCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IC3nYgu5p2E/WMLZcAoArsI/AAAAAAAAA40/huQMBaiqVoMfksv_nkpJd00IIj6wlFLpQCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the dye was all applied</td></tr>
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I wrapped my skein in plastic wrap, put it on a microwave safe plate, and heat set it in 2 minute intervals. I usually zap it for two minutes, let it sit for about 10 seconds and then zap it again. Some people leave it longer in between, but we all know I don't call myself the Impatient Dyer for nothing. I heat set it for a total of 10 minutes (5 of the 2 minute sessions), and then I pulled it out, flipped it on to the cooling rack, and carefully removed the plastic wrap. I have discovered that if I do this, it cools way faster.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After being heat set, before washing</td></tr>
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Once it was cool enough to handle, I filled the sink with warm water and added some baby shampoo and some moisturizing conditioner. I have recently started adding the conditioner to make the yarn a bit softer. Not sure if it is working or not, but it smells and feels nice when rinsing. Once it was washed and rinses (no dye came out at all in the washing or rinsing cycle), I wrapped it in a towel, wrung out as much water as I could, and then put the yarn on the shoe rack in my dryer. 1.5 hours later and I my yarn was done. <br />
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Here is the yarn right out of the dryer, before it was re-skeined<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPQ8BSvcMCA/WMLZbHAytDI/AAAAAAAAA40/pzbdoCcxWWIar_CieLBNh6z_76fyh_p9gCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="104" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KPQ8BSvcMCA/WMLZbHAytDI/AAAAAAAAA40/pzbdoCcxWWIar_CieLBNh6z_76fyh_p9gCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The skein laid out flat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zGuPMXr1hoU/WMLZbf5qJzI/AAAAAAAAA40/29kN7P1yaTY1Y7dfvcnyj5g6dQLvbw-FgCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zGuPMXr1hoU/WMLZbf5qJzI/AAAAAAAAA40/29kN7P1yaTY1Y7dfvcnyj5g6dQLvbw-FgCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One side of the twisted skein</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZK1wxkar5fo/WMLZbTD02WI/AAAAAAAAA40/jCwj3_5aMpsCM7TlobSRNnJvfXzPwxPvQCEw/s1600/DudleysRollIt-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZK1wxkar5fo/WMLZbTD02WI/AAAAAAAAA40/jCwj3_5aMpsCM7TlobSRNnJvfXzPwxPvQCEw/s320/DudleysRollIt-13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the other side of the twisted skein</td></tr>
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And then here is where the real magic happens... I re-skeined it, and here are three shots of the final result.<br />
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So my answer to the question of "can you use the liquid Easter Egg dyes to dye yarn" is a very enthusiastic yes! I did find that the colours are a little more muted than I normally work with, but I am the queen of saturated colours. Most people who have seen it so far love it, and have said the colours are very bright and vivid as it is. Even if they are not the neons I am used to.<br />
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I am very happy with how it turned out, and think it will make some very pretty socks. I almost think that having the smaller sections of pink make the pink stand out more, so I am looking forward to knitting this us in the near future. Although I have to finish one sock that is in progress, and dye up and knit for another pair of socks that is part of a KAL due by the end of the month. But hopefully I will have Easter socks knit in time for Easter.<br />
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So if you are in the stores after Easter and you see these kits on sale, grab a bunch of them! Or, if you just love how this looks and want to try it right now, $2.48 is really not a lot of money, so splurge on one or two kits at full price. Although when these go on sale for half price, I might pick up two more of them and double the dye in the dye stock to see how deep I can get the colours ;)Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-41412526507265429992017-02-27T18:58:00.002-04:002017-02-27T19:01:59.920-04:00Three times the yarn does not always mean three times the dye stockAsk me how I know...<br />
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It is not like I just increased 6 drops of yellow to 18 drops of yellow because I was doing three times the amount of yarn... and then watched as the yellow took over all 6 cakes of yarn... and watched as I poured some very yellow water down the drain... and watched as the remaining yellow still in the cake decided that it was going to leech into the pink and give me more of an orange lemonade than a pink lemonade colourway... (FYI - I am using the Wilton Color Right food colouring system for these yarns)</div>
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I thought I was approaching it logically, but some days you have to realize that logic and yarn dyeing don't always go hand in hand. And I also forgot one other key thing about dyeing with food colouring. For some reason, it takes a LOT less yellow to get a good colour than it does with something like pink or blue. And the kicker is, I know this... any time I mix up my dye stocks the yellow strikes the fastest, and is the one I usually have the most of left over after I finish hand painting in multi colour... </div>
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I bought myself a new roasting pan with a rack in it the other day and was super excited to dye some yarn in it. I wanted to try to replicate some of my skillet dyed colour ways (Pink Lemonade, Chicken Bones and Mint Chocolate were on the menu). I was super excited to see that the roasting pan had a rack in it, so the cakes won't sit on the bottom, and that it would hold 6 of my 50g skeins.<br />
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When I got home, I wound off 6 50g cakes of Opal Sock Yarn, then mixed up the yellow dye stock using the "three times as much yarn should take three times as much dye" mentality, put the dyestock in the roasting pan, put it on the stove, and added the yarn...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_KYOXs57WTE/WLSq39ZhEUI/AAAAAAAAA24/tr586oe5PGkJLssjdamTC_TCu-5FOnldgCLcB/s1600/NewCoolingRack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_KYOXs57WTE/WLSq39ZhEUI/AAAAAAAAA24/tr586oe5PGkJLssjdamTC_TCu-5FOnldgCLcB/s320/NewCoolingRack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new roasting pan with 6 cakes of yarn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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...and watched as the yellow seeped through the entire cakes and pretty much dyed the whole thing yellow. I still flipped it over and dyed the other half pink, and came out with something that somewhat resembled my Pink Lemonade colourway, but not quite. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DzYMFW0aS84/WLSsAqYCIDI/AAAAAAAAA3M/js6-Y_LKHxYXTF485BKaG4nJyxq8ZN4EACEw/s1600/2017PinkLemonade-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DzYMFW0aS84/WLSsAqYCIDI/AAAAAAAAA3M/js6-Y_LKHxYXTF485BKaG4nJyxq8ZN4EACEw/s320/2017PinkLemonade-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sort of gives you an idea...better pictures to come, hopefully...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I repeated this process with the two other colourways (Mint Chocolate was green and brown, Chicken Bones was pink and brown), and realized that in the world of food colouring dyes, you can't always predict what you are going to get.<br />
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For my Mint Chocolate, using just 8 drops of brown and 2 drops of black gave me more than enough brown to get the colourway I was going for.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZvwksAyzw0/WLSsAoHOo8I/AAAAAAAAA3I/UavsQEgZXjoaBMq0siTzgaAhxIsHLostACLcB/s1600/MintChocolateChipFeb2017-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wZvwksAyzw0/WLSsAoHOo8I/AAAAAAAAA3I/UavsQEgZXjoaBMq0siTzgaAhxIsHLostACLcB/s320/MintChocolateChipFeb2017-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty minty and pretty chocolatey as well</td></tr>
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But for my Chicken Bones colourway, I dyed the brown twice (8 drops of brown, 2 black the first time, and 8 drops of brown the second time), and still did not get as dark of a brown as I wanted.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VUImKTULqyo/WLSsAl34k8I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/RKYzyuCfIkgYB_M2cX-qveSxc4gNojftACEw/s1600/ChickenBonesFeb2017-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VUImKTULqyo/WLSsAl34k8I/AAAAAAAAA3Q/RKYzyuCfIkgYB_M2cX-qveSxc4gNojftACEw/s320/ChickenBonesFeb2017-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Bones, but more caramel filling than chocolate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I would have liked the browns to have been a bit darker in Chicken Bones, but I was not about to do the dye bath on the brown for the 3rd time.<br />
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So the yellow in Pink Lemonade might have worked just as well with just 6 or maybe 10 drops of yellow, while the brown in Chicken Bones might have done better if I had gone with 18 drops of brown, although 16 total drops of brown plus 2 black still did not make it as dark as I wanted.<br />
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Frustrating? A little bit... because I would like to have a magical formula that would just let me say "I used XX for one skein, so I can just double for two skeins, or triple for three." But it doesn't always work that way. You really do have to get used to your dyes, and how they react. Learn that colours with yellow take less, while colours with red or blue may take more. And be prepared to overdye things if needed to get the saturation you are looking for.<br />
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I share this not to discourage anyone, but because I think it is important to share information like this. Does it mean if you have a magic number that works, you can't just double or triple it? Nope! Not at all. You might use the exact same dye in the exact same ratio and have it work just perfect for you. I share this because I want any of my readers who embark in the world of dyeing to know that sometimes you just have to go with what the yarn/dye gives you :) And even if you don't get exactly what you were looking for, you, or someone you know, may just love the final result.<br />
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Oh, and to share one more tip with you. Don't buy the same roasting pan I did. I got mine at Canadian Tire and it has non-stick coating. Back away from roasting pans with non-stick coating. After only three colour ways, the coating is peeling off the bottom of the pan and off the rack. I think it is a combination of the amount of acid being used over the course of using the pan, and maybe having the roasting pan sitting on the burner of the stove. Although it is a roasting pan... you make gravy in a roasting pan on the stove so you would think it would work on a burner, but, again, here I am trying to use logic. Silly Reena...<br />
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I just bought some of that high temperature BBQ spray paint today, and am going to try to coat both the rack and the pan with that, to see if it will make them last longer. I also just ordered two stainless steel pans, and am waiting for Paderno to do another blow out sale (or open their factory store) so I can buy some really good quality ones. It was worth it to be able to test it out, and to be able to dye 18 cakes of yarn in a much shorter period of time. But in the long run, it was a bit of a waste of money. At least if you are reading this and considering it, I might be able to save you some money when I tell you not to buy the pan. </div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-90924682116374515542017-01-30T18:23:00.002-04:002017-01-30T18:23:48.395-04:00Hello to my fellow OSAATersSince Nathan was so sweet in talking about me in his most recent podcast, and in linking to my blog, I wanted to post a special hello and welcome to anyone who finds my blog thanks to his podcast.<br />
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For those of you who are not quite sure what I am talking about, a few months ago I discovered the delightful world of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHO5i-J2vuFuGU_k-x20JIw" target="_blank">sockmatician</a> on YouTube while looking for some hints on brioche knitting. He had a tutorial video that I watched, and I loved his accent and his style of speaking. In looking at his channel, I discovered that he was a podcaster, so I started watching. I quite quickly became enamoured with him, and watched all of his podcasts, his reviews, and some of his tutorials. I was actually quite sad when I finally caught up, because now I have to wait for the new episodes to come out. Or I have to rematch the old ones, which I may actually do.<br />
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I have enjoyed him so much (hmmm...that sounds filthier than I had intended, but I am going to leave it) that I have added an "All Things sockmatician!" gadget to my blog layout. It is over there, under the Helpful /Favourite Links -----><br />
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If you have not yet discovered him, I urge you to take a few minutes and check out one of his podcasts. I recently dyed some yarn for him, and he talks about me in his most recent episode (he also uses my yarn as the screen shot for the episode... I may have geeked out a bit at that), so of course I would recommend starting with that one, out of pure vanity, but you could just jump in and start at Episode 1.<br />
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Here is a picture of the yarns that I dyed especially for him and sent across the pond. I was delighted to see how happy he was with them. I could not decide if I wanted to do a self-striping, a speckled, or a variegated yarn for him, so I did all three.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JvjOwMDfFjk/WI-6cNlJuXI/AAAAAAAAA2c/7NKfbZiRX1wT-y-TAZaqLGs9kmYJ4Po-QCLcB/s1600/sockmaticianyarns-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JvjOwMDfFjk/WI-6cNlJuXI/AAAAAAAAA2c/7NKfbZiRX1wT-y-TAZaqLGs9kmYJ4Po-QCLcB/s320/sockmaticianyarns-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Labour of Love, Cake Sprinkles, and Rainbow Bright</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have had people say very nice things about these skeins, and have received some very nice compliments, as well as a few questions of "where can I buy your yarn" since the episode went live. I am not yet at the point where I am ready to open any kind of Etsy store, but as some of my existing readers may remember, I had been pondering this for a while now. I had hoped to build up enough stock to possible open a store in the first month or two of the year, but have unfortunately been dealing with some health issues that have slowed me down a bit.<br />
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That being said, if anyone absolutely MUST have some of my yarn, you can always message me on Ravelry (I am <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/MissReena" target="_blank">MissReena</a>) and we can see if we can work something out. I make no promises, as my health is currently making more of my decisions for me than I would like, but it never hurts to ask :)<br />
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And now I sign off by quoted my favourite bearded knitter... "Just remember, life is a work in progress. Just take it one stitch at a time"<br />
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-88144235851254987862016-08-29T12:05:00.004-03:002016-09-23T12:39:37.101-03:00How To - Heat Setting in the OvenA little while back, a fellow Raveler posted in the What A Kool Way To Dye group, asking about alternate heat setting methods. She does not have a microwave, and wanted to know of some different ways to heat set her yarn.<br />
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Most of the alternate methods of heat setting yarn seem to involve immersion. There were a lot of crockpot and stovetop suggestions, but they all involve getting immersing the yarn in water, which may not always give you the results you are looking for. If you hand paint your yarn, or are trying to speckle dye it, then full or even partial immersion could cause the colours to run.</div>
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There was one or two people who suggested steaming it using a double boiler, or a colander placed over a pot of hot water. I still have to try that method, but if the colander or double boiler is too small, then the yarn will get bunched together, and you may have the same blending colours issue.</div>
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So I started thinking about heat setting in the oven. I had thought about it before, and wondered how to do it. I know I could do rimmed baking sheet with water in it, but again, that would involve partially submerging the yarn, which I did not want to do. I wanted a way to keep the yarn out of the water, but still keep the yarn damp enough to not burn in the oven.</div>
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Then it struck me... a cooling rack. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mnx8Ku1uUGI/V8REDc540SI/AAAAAAAAAzo/FtIiqxGDXkUHusvPmVcJ9hyPSBX5ybgegCLcB/s1600/ChoclateCherry-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mnx8Ku1uUGI/V8REDc540SI/AAAAAAAAAzo/FtIiqxGDXkUHusvPmVcJ9hyPSBX5ybgegCLcB/s320/ChoclateCherry-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using a cooling rack to help me dye my yarn</td></tr>
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I use them when I am dyeing yarn to keep the yarn up off the surface to avoid colours blending too much underneath the yarn, and I have used one in the oven to cook bacon, so why not combine the two. Yarn bacon.....mmmmmm.... </div>
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No, just kidding... I meant the oven and dyeing the yarn on the cooling rack. And because it is an oven, I could just set the temperature to the exact 180 degrees (F) that I needed, and 20 minutes later, out would pop the perfect yarn, right? Well, not quite....</div>
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<b>How not to burn your yarn...</b></div>
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Let's be honest here.... we are talking about putting yarn in the oven, and there is a very good chance it can burn if you do that. So how to do prevent that from happening? Wrapping it in plastic wrap keeps the steam in when microwaving, but something told me plastic wrap + oven = stinky mess.</div>
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To solve this dilemma, I do two things. First, I keep the yarn really damp...seems like common sense, if you want it to be damp, don't wring out all the water... but it is worth saying it. Second, I put the yarn on cooling rack, that I place over a rimmed baking sheet, and then I add water to the baking sheet. That way, when it is heat setting, the water can steam then yarn. You want to make sure you add enough that it doesn't just evaporate immediately, and you can always add more during the process. This trick is borrowed from my baking escapades.... when I am baking cakes, I often will add a dish of water to the bottom of the stove to keep the oven moist, which helps you get a more level cake. </div>
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<b>MissReena gives it whirl!</b></div>
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My first attempt at using the oven to heat set my yarn was also my first attempt at dyeing speckled yarn with cake sprinkles. The theory was there... put the yarn on the rack, dye parts of it, sprinkle parts of it, bake the coloury goodness into the yarn. So I set the oven to 180 degrees and started off on my great oven baked yarn adventure.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmK_OIjuthY/V8REd-y04JI/AAAAAAAAAzs/KcMS9GsDh0EvYiykttzFCGAiaxoD0ClxwCLcB/s1600/GirlySprinkles-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmK_OIjuthY/V8REd-y04JI/AAAAAAAAAzs/KcMS9GsDh0EvYiykttzFCGAiaxoD0ClxwCLcB/s320/GirlySprinkles-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Girly Sprinkles yarn on it's first round in the oven.</td></tr>
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Now, for this yarn, I already knew I was going to bake it twice. I applied the dye and sprinkles to the top of the yarn, then heated it in the oven for 30 minutes (wanted to give it some extra time). When the yarn came out of the oven, I squished the sprinkles down with a fork, to really break them down and press them into the yarn. I then flipped the yarn over and dyed the other side.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi1WDkwEMzA/V8RGHSVwJbI/AAAAAAAAAz4/OXHtITwuHbgCHHypkG1Sj4FGQz5ZsH9sQCLcB/s1600/GirlySprinkles-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi1WDkwEMzA/V8RGHSVwJbI/AAAAAAAAAz4/OXHtITwuHbgCHHypkG1Sj4FGQz5ZsH9sQCLcB/s320/GirlySprinkles-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dyeing the other side of the yarn</td></tr>
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Once the second side was dyed, I put more water in the bottom (along with the leftover dye from applying the new dye while still on the cooling rack), and popped it back in the oven for another 30 minutes. When that was done, squish the speckles with the fork again, then let it cool. Honestly, I let it cool! Which is super fast when it is on the cooling rack because the air can circulate much better.</div>
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Once the yarn was cool, I got my water ready in the sink, with a little bit of dish soap in it. I knew there was going to be residue from the sugary cake sprinkles, so I used the dish soap instead of the baby shampoo. I started washing my yarn. At first, everything was going really well... the sprinkles looked awesome, and the other colours looked pretty cool too. </div>
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Then I noticed that the teal was start to bleed out of the yarn. Oh well, not really a huge surprise....teal contains blue, and blue is notoriously a bugger to set. So I just kept rinsing....(Just keep rinsing, just keep rinsing..... borrowing a tune from Dory for this part). The teal stopped bleeding, and I was just about to give the yarn it's final squeeze and get ready to dry it when the fuchsia started running.... It had not run during the whole time I was rinsing out the teal, and the water was fairly cool, so I was really surprised. But not as surprised as I was going to be and the fuchsia just basically let loose and completely overdyed the white part of my yarn! </div>
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When all the colour stopped bleeding, and the yarn was dried, I wound up with this very lovely yarn....</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHQM0YZ5JiU/V787AoeCq6I/AAAAAAAAAzY/66FFI-EwUjY730VoAp0e6O712lvzh1_NQCPcB/s1600/GirlySprinkles-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHQM0YZ5JiU/V787AoeCq6I/AAAAAAAAAzY/66FFI-EwUjY730VoAp0e6O712lvzh1_NQCPcB/s320/GirlySprinkles-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final product....very pretty, but not quite what I was going for....</td></tr>
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<b>MissReena Tries Again</b></div>
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For the previous yarn, I had used my Americolor gel food colouring, and I used a lot for the teal, fuchsia and violet, so I thought maybe my issue was just oversaturation of the dyestock. I have been known to do that before....on more than on occasion. This time, I was inspired by the neapolitan ice cream sandwich I was having as a treat. </div>
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Cue the cooling rack again, and I dyed the yarn you see in the first picture in this post. Pretty sections of brown, surrounded by pink, with white spots left. I sandwiched the brown between two bands of pink because I know that the brown will bleed, and the ends of the brown will bleed green, which I didn't not want in my ice cream colours... </div>
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Once the dye was applied, I moved the yarn to my baking sheet/cooling rack setup, added my water, and popped it in the 180 degree oven again. This time I left it for almost an hour. Just in case my issue with the Girly Speckles was that it was not heated long enough. </div>
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After I let the yarn cool on the rack (can you imagine? That is two skeins in a row I let cool!), I added it to the sink with baby shampoo and cool water for a rinse... and my pretty neapolitan inspired yarn tuned into what I am now calling Chocolate Cherry.... see any resemblance to the Girly Sprinkles?</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFS5pG_hsVA/V8RJVMqBMNI/AAAAAAAAA0E/FPVsjzerlQUS0i5SJ9MT6aRXKXcqC4JwACLcB/s1600/ChoclateCherry-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KFS5pG_hsVA/V8RJVMqBMNI/AAAAAAAAA0E/FPVsjzerlQUS0i5SJ9MT6aRXKXcqC4JwACLcB/s320/ChoclateCherry-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Cherry Yarn</td></tr>
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Yup, you guessed it... the pink ran, and the white sections disappeared... </div>
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<b>Third Time is the Charm?</b></div>
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After the second one ran, I knew there was definitely an issue, and the issue was that the yarn was not getting hot enough. Just because you set the oven to 180 degrees, does not mean the actual yarn is going to get up to 180 degrees, which means the dye may not completely set. </div>
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So I painted a second ice cream inspired yarn, this time with the cooling rack placed over the sink, because my towel was in the washing machine. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-PZI1tG1G4/V8RJ3Q-ROfI/AAAAAAAAA0I/lrJpx4zoDfUw1U5UAm67vFhYrmY16MWjgCLcB/s1600/Neonpolitan-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-PZI1tG1G4/V8RJ3Q-ROfI/AAAAAAAAA0I/lrJpx4zoDfUw1U5UAm67vFhYrmY16MWjgCLcB/s320/Neonpolitan-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's try this again...</td></tr>
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And I set my oven to 350 degrees... that is my go to temperature for a lot of things, so I figured, what the heck...worst that could happen is I could burn the yarn...but I figured if I kept a close eye on it, I could make sure that did not happen. </div>
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I moved the yarn to the baking tray with the cooling rack, popped it into the oven after it had finished preheating, set the timer for 30 minutes, and basically become obsessive compulsive for about 30 minutes. </div>
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I kept extra water beside me, and I probably opened the oven every 5 minutes to make sure things were still steamy and not burny.... I am sure the yarn would have set faster if I had not kept opening it, but when you are experimenting, you sometimes have to do these things. I even kept my spray bottle of citric acid mix with me, and sprayed the top of the yarn a few times, although I am sure that was probably unnecessary... just me being paranoid.</div>
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I thought about covering the whole thing in tin foil to create that same kind of steam trap that plastic warp creates in the microwave, but decided against it, because if it started to burn, I may not see it. Plus, I was not sure what citric acid + tin foil + yarn + heat was going to equal. Better not to risk it.</div>
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After 30 minutes, I took the yarn out and set it on the stove to cool. The brown travelled quite a bit in one of the pink sections, and the pink sort of took over a few other white sections, but I was still happy with what I saw. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrOHMiKdO3U/V8RKzbkSXxI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/WL3MMpZ7KFEQhkqhPfhBwOK5NGs3-3VBQCLcB/s1600/Neonpolitan-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DrOHMiKdO3U/V8RKzbkSXxI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/WL3MMpZ7KFEQhkqhPfhBwOK5NGs3-3VBQCLcB/s320/Neonpolitan-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly Baked Yarn!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I let this one cool most of the way (I was getting impatient at this point), and then proceeded to wash the yarn. Because this is superwash, it didn't need to be completely cooled because I don't have to worry as much about felting. I just made sure the water was the same temperature as the yarn, and I added my baby shampoo. Then I took a deep breath, added the yarn to the water, and rinsed. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The result? Neonpolitan Yarn! <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Not a typo...that is what I called it due to the neon property of the pink)</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MCWGBGwNx0I/V8RLcKv5vNI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/G3VPY4nu-dU4wRIDggXmIcI5Yhe9VE-EgCLcB/s1600/Neonpolitan-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MCWGBGwNx0I/V8RLcKv5vNI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/G3VPY4nu-dU4wRIDggXmIcI5Yhe9VE-EgCLcB/s320/Neonpolitan-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One side of the skein...look at the pretty white sections!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5GZYIij4UaA/V8RLcHr2u7I/AAAAAAAAA0c/ltgrTtbUpU444D-UeYbNL0IoEvKk9rqngCLcB/s1600/Neonpolitan-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5GZYIij4UaA/V8RLcHr2u7I/AAAAAAAAA0c/ltgrTtbUpU444D-UeYbNL0IoEvKk9rqngCLcB/s320/Neonpolitan-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the other side... Can't you just smell the vanilla?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Verdict</b></div>
<div>
Turn outs 180 degrees (F) is not a high enough heat to bring your yarn up to the right temperature. You need the oven to be at least 350 degrees in order for your yarn itself to get enough heat. And 30 minutes was a good time, although if I had blue in there, I might go as high as 45 minutes. But I would keep a close eye on the amount of water in the bottom, and add more if needed, to make sure that the yarn did not dry out. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Will I use this method again? Most definitely! It was actually a lot of fun, once I got it figured out. Although I may switch to one of my older baking sheets... one thing to keep in mind is that with repeated exposure to citric acid and heat, things like the cooling rack and the baking sheet may start to corrode over time. I had this happen with a round cooling rack I use when doing my ball-dyed yarn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I may keep an eye out at some of the local second hand or restaurant stores. I know they make steam trays that are sort of like double boilers...water in the bottom and a tray that sits over the top with holes in it. If I can find one of those that will fit in my oven, I may snag it. I think I could do multiple skeins that way. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If any of my readers try this, I would love to hear how it worked for you. But keep a close eye on it, and I take no responsibly for burned yarn if your oven is too hot, you don't add enough water, or you get distracted :)</div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-65977320000480265742016-08-25T15:49:00.001-03:002016-08-25T15:49:32.325-03:00How To - Speckled Dyeing with Cake SprinklesYup, you read that right... Cake Sprinkles!<br />
<br />
I have to start off by saying that this idea came from a couple of fellow Ravellers, who got it from a post on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Laineetporcelaine/posts/936251499831553" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. Although I will admit that I have often looked at my sprinkles and wondered if they could be used... the one thing that held me back from trying it is the one word of caution I am going to give you all right at the very beginning, before I give you the how-to's of how I did this...<br />
<br />
<b>Cake sprinkles contain sugar, and sugar can burn yarn that is heated in the microwave!</b><br />
<br />
I have been lucky enough that I have not had any mishaps with my yarn that I have heat set in the microwave, even when I used dyestock that had sugar in it, but there are many stories out there of people who were not so lucky with their yarn. I do not know what all the contributing factors were (possibly yarn content, strength of microwave, level of dampness of the yarn, etc.), but I do know it can happen, so if you are going to try this, please keep that in mind! Something to think about if you are every trying to use the already sweetened drink crystals too.... they contain a LOT of sugar and most of the burn victim yarns I have seen have used those.<br />
<br />
<b>What I used</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>100g Bare Felici Superwash yarn from Knit Picks</li>
<li>Dinosaur shaped cake sprinkles (they were on sale)</li>
<li>Citric Acid powder (for soaking water and for spraying water)</li>
<li>Microwave safe plate </li>
<li>Plastic Wrap</li>
<li>Baby shampoo</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-noRFfdbsdcI/V783NcuWnII/AAAAAAAAAyc/UhF2S_6vz9AMv9qO8yXFfuVPmXFH-uEBgCLcB/s1600/DinoDots-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-noRFfdbsdcI/V783NcuWnII/AAAAAAAAAyc/UhF2S_6vz9AMv9qO8yXFfuVPmXFH-uEBgCLcB/s320/DinoDots-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Felici yarn from Knit Pick and my sprinkles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ndWKS6Bxl_0/V783NS9Xe5I/AAAAAAAAAyk/zFejQpNvpEk_1S9GVYwqJkSakDvtYc-BACLcB/s1600/DinoDots-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ndWKS6Bxl_0/V783NS9Xe5I/AAAAAAAAAyk/zFejQpNvpEk_1S9GVYwqJkSakDvtYc-BACLcB/s320/DinoDots-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couldn't resist the dinosaurs! There were pink ones!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Soak the yarn</b><br />
<div>
Because this is a sort of hand painting that will be set in the microwave, I soaked the yarn in water that contained one tablespoon of citric acid powder. I will say I have tried alternate heat setting methods (more on that in a later post) and even for those, I added my acid to the soaking water. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Apply the sprinkles</b></div>
<div>
When I got the Bulk Barn, they had these dinosaur sprinkles on sale. Because they had no white in them (don't need white on bare yarn), I snatched them up right away. I removed a bunch of the water, but did not wring it out like I normally would with hand painting. I wanted the yarn to be really damp, but not so much that I was getting puddles on the plate. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also spread the yarn out on the plate. At first glance it looks like it will be a tangled mess, but it was quite easy to find the ties and pick it up with any tangles or fuss.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I sprinkled a whole bunch of dinosaurs on my yarn...</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__2DMWZOs2A/V783NjW1kaI/AAAAAAAAAyo/fv9D1A1KYIU6zS3PHiiZPT3RH4JXc2b8gCEw/s1600/DinoDots-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-__2DMWZOs2A/V783NjW1kaI/AAAAAAAAAyo/fv9D1A1KYIU6zS3PHiiZPT3RH4JXc2b8gCEw/s320/DinoDots-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spread out my yarn and let it be invaded with dinosaurs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then, to be on the safe side, I mixed up my citric acid and water mixture (1 tablespoon citric acid powder to one cup of water) and put it in a spray bottle. I then used that spray bottle to give the top a really good spray. I wanted the yarn and the sprinkles to be really wet.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYvP0NJ6Xmk/V783Nv21GEI/AAAAAAAAAzE/4lDMQ0-XGa0UYHa6wSI4QcOCXjSQkyn3gCEw/s1600/DinoDots-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xYvP0NJ6Xmk/V783Nv21GEI/AAAAAAAAAzE/4lDMQ0-XGa0UYHa6wSI4QcOCXjSQkyn3gCEw/s320/DinoDots-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My spray bottle with the citric acid and water mix</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Heat Set the Yarn</b></div>
<div>
I wrapped the plate in plastic wrap and popped it into the microwave. I used my standard two minute intervals, but got distracted by laundry after I started the second interval, so that meant the yarn got to sit in the microwave for about 5 minutes before it got the 3rd two minute interval. Although I think this worked to my advantage, because the plastic wrap dropped down onto the yarn and it created a bit of a vacuum, which actually helped squish the sprinkles into the top of the yarn</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJxh--tI_0E/V783N-B87NI/AAAAAAAAAzE/TxZw_lMSRU0aPd4UCLAwbQIfqkajcnuuQCEw/s1600/DinoDots-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJxh--tI_0E/V783N-B87NI/AAAAAAAAAzE/TxZw_lMSRU0aPd4UCLAwbQIfqkajcnuuQCEw/s320/DinoDots-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squished dinos! It may be hard to see in this picture, but there is plastic wrap on this plate...it is vacuum sealed it self to the yarn and flatted out all the former dinosaur sprinkles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Flip over and do the other side</b></div>
<div>
One thing I have learned about any kind of hand painting is that the colour never goes all the way through, so you need to flip the yarn over and do the other side. I let the yarn cool until I could handle it, then flipped it over.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8H2LZUIPl0/V783Nz7BqyI/AAAAAAAAAzE/t9QWYcwUnjI7R-DBfVMLlJfzdawzW97qQCEw/s1600/DinoDots-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t8H2LZUIPl0/V783Nz7BqyI/AAAAAAAAAzE/t9QWYcwUnjI7R-DBfVMLlJfzdawzW97qQCEw/s320/DinoDots-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? Hardly any colour on this side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I added a bunch more dinosaurs, then sprayed down with my citric acid mix, wrapped in plastic, and microwaved again. As luck would have it, I had another load of laundry to go out, so I did the same thing... 2 of the two minute intervals, hang out laundry, then do 3 more intervals. I two more on this side than on the last because I knew I was not heating it any more after that.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Let it cool, rinse, then dry it</b></div>
<div>
I removed the yarn from the microwave and set the plate on a cooling rack and removed the plastic wrap. It is really hot trying to do that, but it lets the yarn cool faster. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-8TDR0F88Y/V783OFqZl9I/AAAAAAAAAzE/DNgThSZLRnseABzJSkGpXWKmbIWPY2F5wCEw/s1600/DinoDots-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U-8TDR0F88Y/V783OFqZl9I/AAAAAAAAAzE/DNgThSZLRnseABzJSkGpXWKmbIWPY2F5wCEw/s320/DinoDots-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See some of the leftover colour and sugar blobs? Some are on the plate, some are on the yarn...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For rinsing, I wanted to rinse while the yarn was still warm, so I could use warm water. Not all of the sprinkles completely disintegrate when heated. Some of them, and the non-colour components of the yarn, turn into these sort of sugary blobs of stuff....so you want to be able to use warm water with your baby shampoo or mild dish soap to get those out of the yarn.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After it was all washed, I actually hung it up outside to dry. I had all the best intentions, because it was a nice breezy day out. But after about an hour I got impatient (who me? never!), and brought it in and put it in the dryer. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Twist it and admire the skein!</b></div>
<div>
Normally I like a lot more colour in my yarns, even in my speckles, but I was really happy with how this one came out. It is a bit more of a muted speckled yarn, but I already have plans for it.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K7N8UeXn0IU/V783OZarEKI/AAAAAAAAAzE/S13GMduZ6LUmLk9L-T34NCUbC2kGzmnKQCEw/s1600/DinoDots-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K7N8UeXn0IU/V783OZarEKI/AAAAAAAAAzE/S13GMduZ6LUmLk9L-T34NCUbC2kGzmnKQCEw/s320/DinoDots-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One side of my Dino Dots colourway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-Gxk-DTMoI/V783NZgJiVI/AAAAAAAAAzE/flExpPgb_10T1NKrmkO2kYYEiy5r7B5dACEw/s1600/DinoDots-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-Gxk-DTMoI/V783NZgJiVI/AAAAAAAAAzE/flExpPgb_10T1NKrmkO2kYYEiy5r7B5dACEw/s320/DinoDots-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the other side of the skein</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I did do another skein where I had section of solid colour and sections of sprinkles. For that one I used the longer, flatter cake sprinkles. Again, I went for a combination that had not white in it, even those do seem to be rare. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ind4CasGomU/V787NMwmVTI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/3MZBbLlq-qMRZrFiIi3bkQ62THlcD_e7wCLcB/s1600/GirlySprinkles-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ind4CasGomU/V787NMwmVTI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/3MZBbLlq-qMRZrFiIi3bkQ62THlcD_e7wCLcB/s320/GirlySprinkles-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My dyes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHQM0YZ5JiU/V787AoeCq6I/AAAAAAAAAzM/mQ1ojpytTGAie0OHitIm6-yR6ogUzCypQCLcB/s1600/GirlySprinkles-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VHQM0YZ5JiU/V787AoeCq6I/AAAAAAAAAzM/mQ1ojpytTGAie0OHitIm6-yR6ogUzCypQCLcB/s320/GirlySprinkles-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Girly Sprinkles Colourway</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
You can't see as much of the sprinkles with the way it is twisted, but you can still see them. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Verdict </b>- this is a lot of fun, and I can see myself checking out the Bulk Barn for their discounted sprinkles. It does not give as much coverage as my other sprinkle method, but this is definitely good for when I want more muted sprinkles. And I have a friend who has a cupboard with a whole bunch of old sprinkles in it that she was thinking of throwing out, since she has no idea how old they are. Now she is going to give them to me to play with. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Cautions</b> - As I said at the beginning, sugar can burn in the microwave, so make sure the yarn is really damp, and well covered with plastic wrap. And keep a close eye on it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And beware of brown sprinkles....many times these are chocolate and that is going to be a whole other mess to deal with! </div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-47047328597477331192016-08-19T15:00:00.002-03:002016-08-19T15:00:20.847-03:00To Sell or Not To Sell....That is the question I have been asking myself for quite some time now. I have had a lot of people comment on my yarn over the years, and the most frequent comment hear is "You should sell your yarn!"<br />
<br />
I was very hesitant to even think about it at first, because I have had issues in the past with trying to do creative things for a living. I was a cake decorator for a while, and as much as I love decorating cakes, I HATED being a commercial cake decorator. To me, it sucked all the fun out of a hobby I quite enjoy. Same thing with photography. I want to be able to make photographs because I want to, not because someone else wants me to.<br />
<br />
But the more I think about it, the more I have come to the realization that this could be different. I would not be dying yarn because someone asked me for something in particular. I would be creating one of a kind skeins of yarn, in my trademark impatient, sometimes haphazard way, and then posting them to see if someone else there wants to give them a forever home.<br />
<br />
If I wake up in the morning and feel like today I want to dye a bunch of neon yarn, I can do that. And if tomorrow I decide that I fancy a nice brown and green combo with a shot of hunters orange, I can do that. If I decide I don't want to dye anything for a week, or a month, then it would just mean I would not have anything new to sell. And if I completely and totally fell in love with a yarn when it was done, then I wouldn't have to sell it, and I could keep it if I wanted to.<br />
<br />
I don't think I would want to do this as a full time job, just because the fun might go out of it quickly... but I could set up an Etsy shop and maybe once a month add some new years and see how they sell. If I start dyeing more yarn, then I could do more frequent updates, but I wouldn't be tied to any particular amount or timeframe. It would make my yarns somewhat elusive... you would have to try to catch them in their natural habitat for a brief period of time if you wanted to own one :)<br />
<br />
How many of my readers out there are doing this? Selling something they make online? And if you are doing it, do you enjoy doing it? What are the pros and cons of it?<br />
<br />
And for those of you waiting for more How-To dyeing posts, I am hoping to have a couple more in the next week or so. I want to try an alternate way to speckle dye, and I am also playing with an alternate heat source. I tried combining both today, and while I did not quite get the outcome I was expecting, so far I love what I am seeing. Not that I will ever be able to replicate it! Hard to make exactly the same mistakes a second time ;)Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-20736001712498695432016-08-07T19:11:00.000-03:002016-08-08T09:04:04.254-03:00Knitting - What I Learned from Patty Lyons' Corcoran 2.0 KALThis post started as a reply to a thread in the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/the-patty-lyons-fan-club" target="_blank">Patty Lyons' Fan Club Group</a> on Ravelry, but as I was writing it, it became apparent that I had learned way more than I realized, and that this would make a great addition to my blog.<br />
<br />
I have just finished my very first sweater thanks to Patty's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/corcoran-20" target="_blank">Corcoran 2.0 KAL</a>, and she asked those of us who finished to write a story about <i>why I loved this KAL and what I learned</i>. So here is my contribution. (And here are the tags she asked us to put on the posts - hoping they work on my blog as well as in the Ravelry Group - #CorcoranKAL, #pattylyons, #whatIlearned )<br />
<br />
I am predominantly a sock knitter. I love dyeing my own yarn and knitting socks to give away to other people. Occasionally I keep a pair, but mostly I give them away. Socks make me happy, and are easier than mittens because they don't have thumbs. Although my Aunt June would disagree....she likes mittens because they don't have heels. I do knit mittens occasionally, as well as baby blankets, and the occasional hat. But what I don't do is knit sweaters. Especially for myself. Sweaters are too intimidating.<br />
<br />
As some of you may know from a <a href="https://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/04/knitting-some-history-about-me-and.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, I have recently discovered what style of a knitter I am. I had always thought that I "knit backwards", because I always wrapped my yarn "wrong", according to some other knitters I have met. I recently learned that I don't actually knit backwards, and that there is nothing wrong with how I wrap my yarn. I am simply and English Eastern Crossed knitter. Which translate to a thrower, who wraps her yarn so the leading leg is at the back, and up until recently, always knit into the front of the stitch, thus crossing my stitches. (Incidentally, I have since learned how to actually knit backwards, which is a lifesaver when working on entrelac stuff).<br />
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After learning all of this, I decided to try a few different things to see how I could adapt patterns or adapt my knitting. I was fortunate enough to be part of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/combination-knitters" target="_blank">Combination Knitters</a> Ravelry group when <a href="http://www.pattylyons.com/" target="_blank">Patty</a> asked if people thought it would be helpful to have videos that were recorded for Eastern Knitters and Combination Knitters as part of an upcoming KAL she had planned. I was blown away that she would ask that, and vowed to take part in her upcoming KAL, even though a sweater is a far cry from a sock! I knew that I liked her teaching style thanks to her <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/improve-your-knitting/361?_ct=iuqhsx-kdyluhiqb-huikbj-sekhiu&_ctp=361" target="_blank">Improve Your Knitting; Alternative Methods and Styles</a> class, so I figured if anyone could help me figure out the enigma of a sweater, it would be her.<br />
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I bought the pattern, debated over the yarn for a while before finally deciding to go with the recommended yarn (figured it was best to use what she was using for the first one, then figure out yarn substitutions if it turned out), and then re-watched a couple of classes I had downloaded. I even worked on a couple of baby blankets to get me comfortable with knitting through the back look of my Eastern seated stitches, since Patty had said I would not be happy with the look of the lace if I twisted the stitches. I think I watched too many videos and classes though, because as one thing went in one side of my brain, something else was pushed out the other side.<br />
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Throughout the KAL, I asked a lot of questions. Some of them felt silly or stupid, and for a few of them, had I not been so eager and watching the videos too fast, I would have figured out the answers for myself, but Patty was awesome and never treated me like my questions were silly or stupid. And I have to say, I was extremely grateful for that! <br />
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So here is what I learned from this KAL (in no particular order).<br />
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<b>I learned how to swatch for gauge. - </b>I can quite honestly say I have never done this before in my life. I am usually the type to grab the yarn, grab the needle and hope for the best. And more importantly, I learned WHY you should swatch for gauge.<br />
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<b>I learned how to convert my pattern from inches to rows/stitches </b>- I find this incredibly helpful. I am a numbers person, and "knitting until the piece measures X number of inches" always freaked me out. Knowing my gauge allowed me to convert into a finite number of rows. I also learned that some days, math is not my strong suit... a couple of hiccups, but nothing that I couldn't recover from.<br />
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<b>I learned how to stay in pattern while shaping</b> - this was really cool, and somewhat empowering. When you figure out how to do that, you feel like you can rule the world.<br />
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<b>I learned how to frog back and fix something </b>while resisting the urge to throw the whole darned thing in the campfire. Some of the mistakes I made were not readily visible until you got 4 more rows into the pattern.<br />
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<b>I learned how to read my stitches</b> - This was really cool. It quickly got to the point that I didn't have to look at the lace chart, and where I could put down my work then pick it up later and be able to keep going. Patty's <a href="https://www.anniescatalog.com/onlineclasses/detail.html?code=KJV03" target="_blank">How to Read Your Stitches and Master The Pattern</a> was quite helpful with that.<br />
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<b>I learned how to modify the pattern to suit me</b> - All of my sweaters were longer than this one, so I had to make this one longer too, to be comfortable wearing it.<br />
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<b>I learned that you should not block your ribbing if you want it to stay elastic</b> - but also learned that it is not the end of the world if you do. My sweater still fits just fine, but now I know for next time.<br />
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<b>I learned that blocked pieces take FOREVER to dry</b> - especially if you are waiting to seam them!<br />
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<b>I learned that if you are going to modify the pattern, you better order more yarn </b>- luckily the people at <a href="http://www.fiberwild.com/" target="_blank">FiberWild</a> are amazing....they found me the yarn I needed in my dyelot and had it to me within a week. I also learned that if you order more than $75 worth of yarn from them, the shipping is free to Canada. Most Canadian retailers don't offer that!!!<br />
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<b>I learned how to do a bunch of seams </b>- I can now do a mattress stitch, and can do head to head seaming. I can even do mattress stitch on my ribbing and you can't see the seam!<br />
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<b>I learned that I have a lot more to learn</b> - but I am okay with that. The ribbing on the back collar was picked up one row too far down, so there is a little ridge of stitches, but you can't see it, and I don't feel it. My shoulder seams are not perfect, but they will hold together. And as long as nobody decides to inspect my underarms, no one will know that I had to do some creative seaming because I had more stitches on one side than the other, and hadn't started early enough in advance to compensate for that.<br />
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And most importantly, <b>I learned that I can knit anything I put my mind to</b>. It just take some patience and the help of an amazing teacher. <br />
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Here is my finished sweater:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERd_SHw4EBM/V6ewY6NaWLI/AAAAAAAAAx8/nTM7DrXASTUrAPNVmiR91Qh357e4HFTRQCLcB/s1600/CorcoranKAL-Finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERd_SHw4EBM/V6ewY6NaWLI/AAAAAAAAAx8/nTM7DrXASTUrAPNVmiR91Qh357e4HFTRQCLcB/s320/CorcoranKAL-Finished.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corcoran 2.0 in Ballerina, modified to have a slightly longer body</td></tr>
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There is another KAL coming up this winter, and I can't wait.<br />
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Oh, and<b> I learned that I can turn anything into socks</b>! While waiting for one of the clues to drop, I adapted the stitch pattern for a pair of sock, which Patty liked so much she posted the image to Facebook and called me a brilliant knitter!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZG_ApbqetQ/V6ewvB23WxI/AAAAAAAAAyA/1qItJWvb3N8YmiCZNBtpcnX7ofOywEmjgCLcB/s1600/RaindropSocks-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JZG_ApbqetQ/V6ewvB23WxI/AAAAAAAAAyA/1qItJWvb3N8YmiCZNBtpcnX7ofOywEmjgCLcB/s320/RaindropSocks-1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Raindrop Lace socks, inspired by the lace pattern from the sweater</td></tr>
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-11506649501671998832016-06-22T10:31:00.002-03:002016-06-22T10:31:42.664-03:00Knitting - Summer Sweater KALOver the past few months, I have been learning more about knitting, and the anatomy of the stitches, than I have up until this point. As I mentioned before, I always though I knit "wrong", but I have since learned that I just knit in a different style. <br />
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My typical knitting style is Eastern Crossed, but I have been trying to get into the habit of being just an Eastern knitter. As much as I love the look of my twisted stitches, they are not always my friend. For my mosaic socks, they caused a couple of pairs of too small socks, and for certain stitch patterns, the twisted stitches can cause an unwanted look with the pattern.<br />
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So I started with a couple of baby blankets. One was a simple corner to corner seed stitch blanket, which I have finished and given away. The second one is an entrelac baby blanket, and is still in progress, but got put aside as soon as I was able to get started on a summer knitting project.<br />
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I decided to do something different, to stray from my comfort zone of socks, and knit myself a summer sweater. A while back I talked about a class by Patty Lyons that really helped me understand my knitting. I started following her on Ravelry, and this summer she has decided to do a Knit-A-Long of a really nice lacy sweater. <br />
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For anyone who is thinking of trying a sweater, I highly recommend this KAL! During the KAL, it is $7 for the pattern, and she includes loads of instructional videos as each clue is revealed. After the KAL is over, she is offering it at a ridiculously low price of $7 of the pattern or $10 for the pattern, videos and modification note. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/corcoran-20" target="_blank">Corcoran Pattern on Ravelry</a> - I also very highly recommend joining <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/the-patty-lyons-fan-club/topics" target="_blank">her Ravelry Group</a> as well for the KAL, since she has been amazing at answering questions in the group forum.<br />
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She has suggested a yarn (Classic EliteYarns - Song DK weight) and even has a supplier who is giving a discount on the cost of the yarn right now. Check out the<a href="http://www.fiberwild.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_85_107_7284" target="_blank"> Song yarn at FiberWild</a>.<br />
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One of the other things that is really new to me is gauging and blocking. Normally I grab the yarn and needles suggested in the pattern and just start knitting. But for this one, I am actually following the instructions and knit up a test swatch, then blocked it to check the gauge. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9toXlhZgsLw/V2qSHvHnJjI/AAAAAAAAAxY/2IgM3jNUlbo2I1ImcrNkNvDM7RY1Bu6sQCLcB/s1600/CorcoranSwatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9toXlhZgsLw/V2qSHvHnJjI/AAAAAAAAAxY/2IgM3jNUlbo2I1ImcrNkNvDM7RY1Bu6sQCLcB/s320/CorcoranSwatch.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My swatch! I used the Ballerina colorway of the Song yarn</td></tr>
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I am starting to wonder if I blocked it properly. When I look at some of the other pictures I see, it looks like other people have opened the lace pattern up a bit more than I have. But I like the way it looks, and at this point, I have started the back of the sweater already, and am going to just go with it. When I blocked it how I like it, I got the right gauge, so we will see what happens.<br />
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I keep needing to remind myself that when I block it, the sizing will change, because right now, I have my doubts about picking the right size to fit around the midsection. But I am only one and a half repeats into the pattern, so I need to be patient and trust the process. Although you all know my history of patience LOL<br />
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So if you have ever thought of knitting a sweater, or have done them before and want something really pretty, give this KAL a try! As I said, Patty is wonderful at answering questions, and is very helpful!<br />
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I will give updates as the pattern progresses, and am hoping to be done by the end of the KAL on August 15th. Wish me luck!Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-386523019822713712016-06-14T11:28:00.001-03:002016-06-14T11:28:10.640-03:00Trying to dye Black... (part two and three quarters - Americolor)So I did this last month, but things have been really hectic around here, so I was not able to get the post up until today. Thanks to racinggirl on Ravelry for messaging me today... it reminded me that I had not posted this yet.<br />
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After my Trying to dye Black... (part two and a half - Americolor), I wanted to give it one more go with the Americolor black to see if I could get closer to an actual black. One thing I noticed was that my previous attempts seemed to lean more towards the red side of things, so I had an idea that if I dyed the yarn blue first, then put the black over the top, I might get a less reddish colour.<br />
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I used 100g of my superwash Opal sock yarn, soaked in plain water. For the first dye bath, I used 6 drops of Wilton Color Right blue dye (since the drops are easier to control) and let it go until it absorbed all of the dye. I am noticing that no matter how loose I tie my figure eight ties, the dye really does not want to strike under them. I am going to have to start putting those sections in the dye first and making sure they are dyed before I put the rest of the yarn in.<br />
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I brought the water up to temperature and then added the citric acid mix one tablespoon at a time, at about 10 minute intervals. There were a total of 3 tablespoons to this one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TgvKj4kKq7w/V2ASF6QXEqI/AAAAAAAAAxI/nqxT7CYs6Aouo7QQtB3OekIhn0PiU2_kwCLcB/s1600/Blackberry-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TgvKj4kKq7w/V2ASF6QXEqI/AAAAAAAAAxI/nqxT7CYs6Aouo7QQtB3OekIhn0PiU2_kwCLcB/s320/Blackberry-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step One - Dye blue first</td></tr>
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I have to say, I almost stopped right there because the blue was so pretty. Even my husband thought it was really nice and that I should stop, but I had a plan, so I kept going. For this one, I let it cool completely before I went on to the next step. Again, was doing other things at the time or I would not have had the patience to do that.<br />
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I took the yarn out of the water and put it on a plate, dumped the water and mixed up another dye bath. This time I used 10 drops of Americolor black and 1/4 tsp of salt, dissolved in hot water. I slowly added the yarn back to the dye pot, and let it come up to temperature. Once it was at temperature, I added my citric acid mixture one tablespoon at a time, adding each tablespoon at 10 minute intervals. I added a total of 4 to this pot.<br />
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I kept the yarn at temperature for about another 20 minutes or so, and then turned off the heat and let it cool while I dealt with a bunch of other things. After about 2 hours, I made it back to the yarn. The water was pretty much clear, so I rinsed the yarn, washed with baby shampoo, wrung out in a towel, and then put it in the dryer on a shoe rack.<br />
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When it was done, it had more of a purple tint to it, but it is still definitely not black.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Je8N0-dggxg/V2ASE21BUNI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/hPxU1pWD_2QHc11ajYqcVw0uqcaPbzXxACKgB/s1600/Blackberry-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Je8N0-dggxg/V2ASE21BUNI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/hPxU1pWD_2QHc11ajYqcVw0uqcaPbzXxACKgB/s320/Blackberry-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much less of a brown than the last one. Picture did not pick up the tone as well as I had hoped, but you get the idea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1h8DyHTQk8/V2ASFI6rhUI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/Cw3RMOLBrL4yvtqzuUgX5ibNwKtijdKTQCKgB/s1600/Blackberry-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1h8DyHTQk8/V2ASFI6rhUI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/Cw3RMOLBrL4yvtqzuUgX5ibNwKtijdKTQCKgB/s320/Blackberry-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrapped up, with the white twine as a contrast to try to show the colour better.</td></tr>
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I do really like it, and already have plans for it, but I think this may be the end of my attempts at a full skein of black. The only other thing I MIGHT try is doing with all WCR colours. I find the WCR black seems to be a bit more green based, so it would be interesting to see what happens if I dye it blue first, like I did here, then overdye it with the black WCR colour.<br />
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For now, I am confident in saying that while dyeing stripes of black in a variegated skein is possible, trying to dye a whole skein black with food safe colour is not just worth the hassle. I get a feeling you would have to overdye the skein multiple times, and even then, am not confident you would ever get a true black.<br />
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Would love to hear if any of you have had any luck with a full skein of black using only food safe colours! Post in the comments below if you have tried it.<br />
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-401945938292898902016-05-02T10:27:00.001-03:002016-05-02T10:27:54.871-03:00Trying to dye Black... (part two and a half - Americolor)After the yarn dried from the first post, I knew I was going to want to try overdyeing it, since there were a lot of uneven spots.<br />
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I soaked the yarn in plain warm water, and prepared my dyestock. This time I used 10 drops of the Americolor Super Black food colouring, and added my 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to the water. I let it sit and come up to temperature slowly, then added my citric acid mix. In total there were about 3 tablespoons, added one at a time, in probably 15-20 minute intervals. I really did not take good notes on this overdye because I was doing a few other things at the time. Will pay more attention next time.<br />
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The yarn and dye probably stayed on the stove for about 3 or 4 hours total. At one point, I had to leave to run an errand, so I turned the stove off, and then turned it back on when I got back, added the last of the tablespoons of acid mix, let it go for about another hour, and then turned it off<br />
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I let the water cool and exhaust completely, noticing that the blue took quite a long time to strike this time. But the water did come our fairly clear. In my defence, when you have a very pale blue in the water, and are using a grey pot, it can be hard to tell if it is completely clear. It was only when I was dumping it down the sink that I noticed a hint of blue.<br />
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I washed and dried the yarn as usual. I lost a little bit of colour when washing, but not much. Not nearly as much as with my Dark Chocolate yarn, where I think I rinsed out at least half of what I put in. Which is why I only used half the amount of colour in the overdye.<br />
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Once the yarn was dried, I noticed a few things. First off, it was pretty much the spitting image of my Dark Chocolate yarn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/mptAVoBwLjcOHvUaVUyPQDurxIlEkQyQQCKgB/s1600/DarkChocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/mptAVoBwLjcOHvUaVUyPQDurxIlEkQyQQCKgB/s320/DarkChocolate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my Dark Chocolate yarn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bqX9SiMbSCc/VydT_Q1OmwI/AAAAAAAAAv4/8Dl1RfF0i4Ezv4ChpR7VQm7_xSqp5HiCQCLcB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bqX9SiMbSCc/VydT_Q1OmwI/AAAAAAAAAv4/8Dl1RfF0i4Ezv4ChpR7VQm7_xSqp5HiCQCLcB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is the Americolor Black. </td></tr>
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Other than the lighter spot on the Dark Chocolate yarn, they are almost identical. Looks like I forgot to colour balance the top one, so it is a little more yellow, which makes it look a little lighter, but they are the same. I held what was left of the Dark Chocolate up to this yarn, and sure enough, you couldn't tell them apart.<br />
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And second, those little red fuzzy bits are determined to stay little red fuzzy bits. Even after two sessions in the dye bath, they stayed red fuzzies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5fa4nTeRRng/VydT_bJX4xI/AAAAAAAAAv8/uPtv6qhM4FIYGEvR2iRvGrxeZV4Vz9ESQCLcB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5fa4nTeRRng/VydT_bJX4xI/AAAAAAAAAv8/uPtv6qhM4FIYGEvR2iRvGrxeZV4Vz9ESQCLcB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the red fuzzy bits. There is on that is about 4 or 5 inches long and was wound into the yarn.I had to pull it out once the yarn was dry. This red fuzzy will be pulled out too</td></tr>
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So the reds seems to strike quite well, but the blue is almost no where to be found. Which makes this yarn look brown in some lights, almost purple in others, and, if you look closely, you can actually pick out the sections of the twists that took the reds more than other colours.<br />
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I am wondering if trying to overdye it a third time with a dark blue would help any, though I am hesitant to try it, because I really like this shade, and have already picked out a few colours to use with it to make more mosaic socks. <br />
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Maybe if the next black does not work, I will try it on that one. For my next attempt, I am going to try the Wilton No Break Black. I don't use the pots very often though, so I need to do some research on how much to use. So stay tuned for that post later this week.<br />
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-59616526705221769692016-04-27T10:59:00.001-03:002016-04-27T10:59:03.461-03:00Trying to dye Black... (part two - Amiericolor)For my first attempt at dying a whole skein black, I am going to try the Americolor Super Black food colouring. I have heard from a few people that this has given them a better black, and that the black did not break.<br />
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<b>What I used</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>100g Bare Opal Superwash Fingering Weight Yarn</li>
<li>Americolor Super Black Food Colouring</li>
<li>Citric Acid and Water Mix (1 Tbsp citric acid dissolved in 1 cup of water)</li>
<li>Rachael Ray Oval Pasta Pot</li>
<li>Stove</li>
<li>Baby Shampoo</li>
<li>Towel</li>
</ul>
<div>
I started off by soaking my yarn in plain, warm water. As I have mentioned in at least one of my previous posts, I have been told that soaking in plain water will help give a more even colour. </div>
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After the water had soaked for about 45 minutes, I removed the yarn and added the dye to the pot. I used 20 drops of the Americolor Super Black. They are not easy drops to work with, kind of thick and gloopy... but I managed to get 20 of them in the pot. I mixed well with my wire whisk and then slowly added the pre-soaked yarn. </div>
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I realized this morning that I did not add any salt to the water. Not sure if that would have made much of a difference, but I did notice that, so I wanted to point it out. Salt it supposed to slow down the bonding of the colour to the yarn, to make it a more even colour.</div>
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After the yarn was added, I turned the stove on to medium and slowly brought up to temperature. My husband came in after the yarn had been in the pot for about 10 minutes and said "Oh, you are dying a dark purple...nice". In retrospect, I almost wish I had taken the yarn out at that point, because I did like the shade I got, but I was trying for black. I might try it again later and stop at that purple stage, although I don't like to waste dye. </div>
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I did take picture during the process, but some of them may be hard to see. Trying to photograph dark yarn in a pot of dark dye with a fluorescent light above you is a little tricky....</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-phowVkiTOqg/VyDBqitzoPI/AAAAAAAAAu8/liSEnyMOYtYiziy7OFqtp364fetdjyxiQCLcB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-phowVkiTOqg/VyDBqitzoPI/AAAAAAAAAu8/liSEnyMOYtYiziy7OFqtp364fetdjyxiQCLcB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After about 10 minutes in the dye as it was heating. A nice dark purple shade at this point. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I let the yarn go for another 20 minutes or so before I added any acid. I didn't want the black to break, so I wanted to add the acid slowly. I added 1 tablespoon of my mixture and then let the yarn for for another 10 minutes before adding the second. I did this one more time, until I had three tablespoons in, then decided to leave the yarn for a while. </div>
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After another half hour or so, I came back to check on it, and it had gotten darker, but was still very much purple. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUqplxLdb3E/VyDBq9fUZtI/AAAAAAAAAvE/3hEZywsS2c01SoIrHRYB6JVN4I0lCu3yQCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XUqplxLdb3E/VyDBq9fUZtI/AAAAAAAAAvE/3hEZywsS2c01SoIrHRYB6JVN4I0lCu3yQCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would have been after about an hour in the dye</td></tr>
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<div>
I also took a picture of how the black dye "breaks" on paper towel. I had wiped off the whisk and the thermometer, and almost instantly the colours broke apart. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lRcIpGxDYNQ/VyDBraza8rI/AAAAAAAAAvo/iT2WQ4HlWHg5SLDA-Uo0HjgR9GKn_eqjwCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lRcIpGxDYNQ/VyDBraza8rI/AAAAAAAAAvo/iT2WQ4HlWHg5SLDA-Uo0HjgR9GKn_eqjwCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see very distinct reds/purples/blues in the dye after it touches the paper towel</td></tr>
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<div>
I added one or two more tablespoons of the acid mix (at that point I think it was whatever was left in the mason jar) and then turned the heat down even lower and left it for another hour or two. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oFqqJA3yLFw/VyDBrtDUgOI/AAAAAAAAAvo/qN256zHxqU8CWYK_U_7C9GQxK6FO9vh5ACKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oFqqJA3yLFw/VyDBrtDUgOI/AAAAAAAAAvo/qN256zHxqU8CWYK_U_7C9GQxK6FO9vh5ACKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How it looked before I added the last bit of acid</td></tr>
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I wanted to give it as much of a chance as I could to get as dark as I could, so I actually had a bit of patience this time! At some point, my husband walked by and said "That looks black now!"</div>
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It was now time to wash dry the yarn. The water had cooled completely, and all but the smallest amount of blue had struck</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zt5PyG6T6bI/VyDBrvSbw3I/AAAAAAAAAvo/-3ycNfpb-cQDMww3TTO23MhD6M0Kh_MigCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zt5PyG6T6bI/VyDBrvSbw3I/AAAAAAAAAvo/-3ycNfpb-cQDMww3TTO23MhD6M0Kh_MigCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost clear dye (keep in mind, the pot is grey)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I washed in baby shampoo, and very little colour came out. I then wrung it out on a towel and tried to take a picture. I am still getting used to my new camera, and it kept changing the exposure, but you get the idea... the "stripes" are from the curtain, they are not on the yarn.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eQ3ecn-P3Qg/VyDBrj4EisI/AAAAAAAAAvo/EzLhXZX_Y5Y-SWOhGsp1vYZFemps-cyDwCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eQ3ecn-P3Qg/VyDBrj4EisI/AAAAAAAAAvo/EzLhXZX_Y5Y-SWOhGsp1vYZFemps-cyDwCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After washing, before drying</td></tr>
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<div>
I could tell at this point that I had something somewhat close to the Dark Chocolate I did in my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/04/how-to-immersion-dyeing-part-one-single.html" target="_blank">How To - Immersion Dyeing (Part One - Single Colour)</a> post, but the colour was not as even. Which is actually how the yarn looked after the first pass of the dye with that immersion dyeing. </div>
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After drying the yarn, I could see a lot of different tones, a lot of lighter spots (even though I added the yarn to the water very carefully and slowly), and I could see hints of purple, of light grey, of a blueish tone, and in sone spot, you can even see where one fuzzy part decided to stay red. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjndQMLFh38/VyDBr_2rdlI/AAAAAAAAAvo/WoWGkVXApngRLj30lLJCZ3ERgYyZDeDpACKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DjndQMLFh38/VyDBr_2rdlI/AAAAAAAAAvo/WoWGkVXApngRLj30lLJCZ3ERgYyZDeDpACKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full skein, not quite the dark black I was going for</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jlVn0VfNUuE/VyDBr4fKvgI/AAAAAAAAAvo/CLrpCbeF4lUJ51buX7L2O76_lMJl4hlmQCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jlVn0VfNUuE/VyDBr4fKvgI/AAAAAAAAAvo/CLrpCbeF4lUJ51buX7L2O76_lMJl4hlmQCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see some of the lighter spots, and the one fuzzy the decided it only wanted to be red</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nfTT0JrZQXI/VyDBsE3p1yI/AAAAAAAAAvo/0ZJRRcIG0mQBAd0Fec92T53byRHkru0ZwCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nfTT0JrZQXI/VyDBsE3p1yI/AAAAAAAAAvo/0ZJRRcIG0mQBAd0Fec92T53byRHkru0ZwCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some darker shades on the other end</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T18YAcmMqsw/VyDBqsGq5lI/AAAAAAAAAvo/fpJokGgjsXcXRUy0U9vmW7gsPttiJP24gCKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T18YAcmMqsw/VyDBqsGq5lI/AAAAAAAAAvo/fpJokGgjsXcXRUy0U9vmW7gsPttiJP24gCKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the fuzzy....weird little guy</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucyvJAlTmdY/VyDBqizdoRI/AAAAAAAAAvo/03ozenf4FOYF3NnLbWIZC3DUCjgPxsUyACKgB/s1600/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucyvJAlTmdY/VyDBqizdoRI/AAAAAAAAAvo/03ozenf4FOYF3NnLbWIZC3DUCjgPxsUyACKgB/s320/AttemptingBlackAmericolor-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I flipped it over, this was what I saw on the back. A much lighter spot than I expected</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So this first attempt at black gave me an interesting multi-tonal shade, but did not result in black at all. It is more of a super dark purple mixed with a super dark brown. </div>
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It was not quite as brown as the other skein I did, but I think a lot of that has to do with the Ghoul Aid. When I mixed that up, there was a very distinct brown tinge to it, and I did not use that in this dye stock.</div>
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I am going to overdye it with 10 more drops of black, just to see if I can even out and maybe darken the colour. I don't expect to get black... just a bit of a more even, maybe darker colour. And I want to see what that one red fuzzy is going to do! I thought about trying another 20 drops, but the last time I overdyed the dark skein, I would up rinsing out a lot of the dye, so rather than waste dye, I am going to soak it and try a little less dye. </div>
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I will try to repeat this experiment with my new Wilton black in the pots, which is not supposed to break. I may try it with the WCR a well, although I know that one breaks, and expect it would be fairly close to the one I did with the Ghoul Aid.</div>
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Have you tried dyeing a full skein of black with food colouring? If so, how did it work out for you?</div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-79151585353149125032016-04-26T13:58:00.000-03:002016-04-27T12:00:03.532-03:00Trying to dye Black... (part one)So you may have noticed that this is not one of my "How To" posts, and that the title has the word "Trying" in it...<br />
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To quote <a href="http://www.dyeyouryarn.com/" target="_blank">DyeYourYarn.com</a>, "...if you want a hank of <i>solid</i> black wool - just go ahead and <i>buy</i> one. It is very difficult to dye large amounts of yarn a true black." <br />
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And there is a very good reason for this, if you are dyeing with food safe colours. It is because there is no such thing as a true black food colouring. Black food colouring is actually a blend of a lot of other colours, and has a tendency to lean more towards one colour or the other. In the blacks I have worked with, the colours tend to be either more green or more red than I had anticipated.<br />
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Part of this has to do with the way the dyes strike on the yarn. As I think I have mentioned in a previous post, reds will strike faster than blues, which can mean you get more of a reddish tinge to the yarn. And black has a tendency to "break" when you use it to dye yarn, meaning the various colours not only strike a different times, but tend to actually separate on the yarn. This is a great effect if that is what you are going for, but can be a pain in the butt if you are trying for a solid colour.<br />
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I have used black a few times in the past as an accent colour. The first time I used it was in combination with some pink. It did give me a dark colour, which looks nice next to the pink, but it is a bit lighter than a black in person, and in one or two spots, looks a bit closer to an extremely dark brown. I don't remember what I used for this one, as this was back when I was not taking very good notes. I THINK this was the new "non-breaking" black from Wilton's. Their old formula broke really easily, while the new one seems to hold together a bit better.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JqDT-Zpzh5o/Vx-Baual_HI/AAAAAAAAAuI/cEZpqXVLk9QZDAqayMemtz1hSB7aaK2xgCLcB/s1600/PrettyInPunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JqDT-Zpzh5o/Vx-Baual_HI/AAAAAAAAAuI/cEZpqXVLk9QZDAqayMemtz1hSB7aaK2xgCLcB/s320/PrettyInPunk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty in Punk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This yarn went on to become a pair of socks and a pair of mittens.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhjmKF-Cn5o/Vx-BwgrqBHI/AAAAAAAAAuM/2zkDensFRfMMdhSp61VZXCy7SEQVjxtDwCLcB/s1600/AlliesPunkySocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WhjmKF-Cn5o/Vx-BwgrqBHI/AAAAAAAAAuM/2zkDensFRfMMdhSp61VZXCy7SEQVjxtDwCLcB/s320/AlliesPunkySocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinky Socks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DmO23KlZU8o/Vx-BwhnYB1I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/A_IYklzuC4USQYXdf1COFNRpXUMmP4T7gCLcB/s1600/Mittens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DmO23KlZU8o/Vx-BwhnYB1I/AAAAAAAAAuQ/A_IYklzuC4USQYXdf1COFNRpXUMmP4T7gCLcB/s320/Mittens.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punky Mittens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have also dyed black using the Wilton Color Right system black. Both times it was done on sections of the yarn, not the full skein<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hxQkt4tl0fo/Vx-Dgxj0H0I/AAAAAAAAAug/_eJ4lLC67gkAJsyY92oHmVQhhNrQdKtngCLcB/s1600/BlueRedPinkPurpleBlack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hxQkt4tl0fo/Vx-Dgxj0H0I/AAAAAAAAAug/_eJ4lLC67gkAJsyY92oHmVQhhNrQdKtngCLcB/s320/BlueRedPinkPurpleBlack.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bigger section of the yarn dyed black. You can see that it has a reddish tinge to it, and can see a few spots where the dye did not really strike, and there are light almost blue sections</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-usEppS2zVlc/Vx-DhIkswFI/AAAAAAAAAus/Ed3lxOFT0hcEUXE7kdCgeAY-gt9VfLYPgCKgB/s1600/StripeySocksForMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-usEppS2zVlc/Vx-DhIkswFI/AAAAAAAAAus/Ed3lxOFT0hcEUXE7kdCgeAY-gt9VfLYPgCKgB/s320/StripeySocksForMe.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That yarn above resulted in this sock. Looks like black stripes to me. As long as you don't look too close</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1w8lnLR4yU/Vx-DhM7MxfI/AAAAAAAAAuo/mSB9CsiG7OIwQInxI9COJMiblL0P7ouBwCKgB/s1600/HawthorneWithBlackStripe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1w8lnLR4yU/Vx-DhM7MxfI/AAAAAAAAAuo/mSB9CsiG7OIwQInxI9COJMiblL0P7ouBwCKgB/s320/HawthorneWithBlackStripe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For this one, I just painted black sections. The black was thickened with guar gum to keep it in place, but you can still see where it bled into the other colours once they were added. Mostly because they were just water, and I was not doing it over a cooling rack, so the water pooled up and caused the black to run</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJLTLpFv3E0/Vx-Dg-WJ15I/AAAAAAAAAuw/1OLs9zWDNOYpsJoZwFNc86wYAXi3-d6iwCKgB/s1600/HawthorneWithBlackStripeKnit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KJLTLpFv3E0/Vx-Dg-WJ15I/AAAAAAAAAuw/1OLs9zWDNOYpsJoZwFNc86wYAXi3-d6iwCKgB/s320/HawthorneWithBlackStripeKnit.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A swatch of the yarn above. I have not knit up socks with it yet. </td></tr>
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Today I am going to try to dye a whole skein, and see how close to black I can get it. I am using 100g of my bare Opal sock yarn, and am going to try the Americolor Super Black. Even though I know this colour contains Red #3, which can be problematic, I have read that some people have had more luck with that one that with any of the Wilton colours.<br />
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I will post again either later today or tomorrow with the results from my full skein of black!Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-87784038090387622992016-04-18T13:26:00.001-03:002016-04-18T13:26:12.393-03:00Have I missed anything?I have been looking through the dyeing projects that I have done, and at the posts I have written so far, and I think I am currently out of "How To" posts to write... pretty much everything I do with dyeing is here.<br />
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I have covered hand painting, speckled, immersion dyeing, self striping and my few favourite, the skillet cake method. Which means I am running out of ideas for posts....<br />
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So is there anything that you guys can think of that might be missing? Is there a technique you are curious about? If I know how to do it, I will write about it, and if I don't, then I will research it and give it a try.<br />
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I haven't gotten into any kind of commercial dyes, and at this point, I don't really plan on it anytime soon. As mentioned before, I like that I can use the same equipment for dyeing as I use for cooking. So I can't really answer questions about that, but I do know some people who use them, and could either pass questions on to them, or tell you how to get in contact with them.<br />
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For now, I am going to finish my next pair of mosaic socks (I may have finally gotten the right combination to get the fit I want), and then I will jump back into some more dyeing. I can at least post the results of the stuff that I dye. And I may do a post or two that shows off the stuff I have dyed already, and maybe even the socks I have made.<br />
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Don't take my silence as a sign that I have forgotten about my blog... just a sign that I have exhausted some of my brain power :)<br />
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-65625121660184600972016-04-12T11:49:00.001-03:002016-04-12T11:53:26.496-03:00Knitting: Mosaic Madness<br />
Ah, they joys of learning something new...<br />
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I have looked at a lot of colour work socks and have wanted to try them, but stranded colour work is a bit intimidating to me, so I decided to try a mosaic pattern instead. Enter the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ugly-duckling-socks" target="_blank">Ugly Duckling Sock</a> pattern. Designed by Karn Aida to "...make use of variegated yarns that are too busy, too vibrant, or just plain ugly." Rather than carrying a bunch of yarn at the back of the work, this pattern works by alternating two rows of each colour of yarn, and slipping stitches to achieve the pattern.</div>
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I looked at this pattern and saw that she was already using a 2.75mm needle, so I figured I was good because that is what I use anyway for my socks. And I was confident that since my Eastern Crossed Knitting was never a problem in any other sock pattern, it wouldn't be a problem in this one either. A sock is a sock, right?</div>
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So I dyed some nice dark brown yarn to use with my Fiery Sunset yarn that I had skillet dyed a while back. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/wIRN25SO2c85ofYPObZe-soKky6kc09uw/s1600/DarkChocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoM/wIRN25SO2c85ofYPObZe-soKky6kc09uw/s320/DarkChocolate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Brown</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzj4G4_ODDA/Vwz69ipjbxI/AAAAAAAAAtY/hRTyuf2WfRgP6qmn5GKCgGfzRFSF6uFvwCLcB/s1600/FirerySunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yzj4G4_ODDA/Vwz69ipjbxI/AAAAAAAAAtY/hRTyuf2WfRgP6qmn5GKCgGfzRFSF6uFvwCLcB/s320/FirerySunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fiery Sunset</td></tr>
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I cast on my stitches and got to work knitting the sock. The colours looked great together, and picking up the stitch pattern was quite easy. It was just a case of remembering when to slip and when to knit.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wwFiUyAfA3c/Vwz7jLdfUdI/AAAAAAAAAtk/2DBprdM5s1Md0v6f4jqqg0Gg7HGKHE7ggCLcB/s1600/MosaicSockStarted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wwFiUyAfA3c/Vwz7jLdfUdI/AAAAAAAAAtk/2DBprdM5s1Md0v6f4jqqg0Gg7HGKHE7ggCLcB/s320/MosaicSockStarted.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first two rows of the mosaic pattern</td></tr>
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I kept happily knitting the sock, adding in my standard heel flap and gusset (she says you can use whatever heel and toe you like, and I like this heel). On the first sock I realized after about one and half pattern repeats past the gusset join that I had to treat the first stitch on the needle after the patterned top of the foot as part of the pattern, and had to slip it for two row, knit it on the alternating two rows. Otherwise, the pattern on the left (in the picture above) would not have it's nice brown stripe up the side. No problem....just a little tweak, nothing major. </div>
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I was determined to get this sock done in time to count it as that week's sock in a challenge I was doing, so I cast on Good Friday, and was done Saturday night. My first mosaic sock!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zd5AokwcXls/Vwz7PrXuG-I/AAAAAAAAAto/zF9xUj0A7g8Fl0AH2OPVWDu6NK4QTENiQ/s1600/MosiacSocks-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zd5AokwcXls/Vwz7PrXuG-I/AAAAAAAAAto/zF9xUj0A7g8Fl0AH2OPVWDu6NK4QTENiQ/s320/MosiacSocks-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay! It's a mosaic sock!</td></tr>
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Then I tried the sock on... or should I say I attempted to try the sock on. It would not go over my heel. And I don't mean the heel didn't fit... I mean that nice, pretty patterned leg, between the cuff and the heel, decided it did not want to go over my heel. It took a lot of work to finally get it on, and I think I may have cut off my circulation while I was trying, but I was determined to get it on. </div>
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That night, as I was trying to fall asleep, something was bothering me, so I got up and took a really close look at the sock. Had I missed something? Turns out I did... I counted 8 full repeats on the top of the foot, but then part of my brain starting poking me, saying "but you worked your heel over 32 sts....how does that work?" I always work my heel over half the stitches on my needle... if I cast on 68 sts like I was supposed to, shouldn't the foot have been 34 sts? And wouldn't that mean a partial pattern on the top of the foot? </div>
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Sure enough, after counting, I confirmed that I had only cast on 62 sts... I meant to cast on 24/20/24, but I am so used to casting on 20/20/20, that on my last needle, I only cast on 20 sts. And because mosaic work does not stretch as much, this 4 sts could make a big difference. </div>
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So I begrudgingly finished the second sock. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ojtz5zrc1sg/VwKhG1mK8GI/AAAAAAAAAnM/2i5Db9NkHrYOlqW5btLygC2do43DF_W9Q/s1600/MosiacSocks-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ojtz5zrc1sg/VwKhG1mK8GI/AAAAAAAAAnM/2i5Db9NkHrYOlqW5btLygC2do43DF_W9Q/s320/MosiacSocks-4.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first ever pair of mosaic socks</td></tr>
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I don't mind giving socks away, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was my first attempt had not worked out the way I had hoped. But I finished the second sock, and when I posted that it was going to have to be given away to someone with smaller feet than me, one of my Ravelry friends raised her digital hand, and the socks jumped on a plane.</div>
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For the next pair, I had a plan. I was going to use more of my brown yarn, and use the leftovers from my Pink Lemonade yarn, and these were going to be for me! </div>
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I had been doing some online research and talking to some awesome Ravelry members about my style of knitting, and how twisting the stitches can impact the stretchiness of the sock, so I decided that not only was I going to cast on the right number of stitches this time, but I was going to make a very concerted effort not to twist my stitches. I was going to be an Eastern Knitter, but was going to drop the Crossed part for this pair of sock. </div>
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Trying to change your knitting style takes a lot of concentration, and I felt like I was just learning to knit. I had to really think about every stitch I was making, and it was taking quite a lot of time. I was happy that I was picking it up, but when working the heel and the toe, something didn't feel quite right. It felt like they were too big, but I wasn't sure. I decided to keep knitting. The first sock took me 4 days to complete. </div>
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Excited that the sock was finished, and knowing that it definitely was stretchier, at least in some spots, I tried it on. This was going to be my very own pair of Pink Lemonade Mosaic Socks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvZ05k2MOsI/VwKtElJHEjI/AAAAAAAAAoc/nX_2fd31zQIJCK7JWa2aN7_IuVJaznEGw/s1600/PinkLemonadeMosiacSocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvZ05k2MOsI/VwKtElJHEjI/AAAAAAAAAoc/nX_2fd31zQIJCK7JWa2aN7_IuVJaznEGw/s320/PinkLemonadeMosiacSocks-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first Pink Lemonade Mosaic Sock!</td></tr>
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The good news was I could get the patterned part over my heel, even if it was a little snug, it still went over. The bad news... the heel flap was too long, you can see that the cuff come up over the top of the foot form, and the toe was not as snug as it usually is. So I had the right number of stitches, I had not twisted my stitches, and I still had a sock that didn't fit. It took me three days to finish the second sock.<br />
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Then it was time for pair #3. This time I was going to use the right number of stitches, and I was going to go back to knitting the way I always did, with my pretty twisted stitches. I really do like the way they look, and prefer them over the look of the untwisted stitch. Plus, I find that when I twist my stitches, the dot in the middle of the squares looks more centred.<br />
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I figured if 68 sts untwisted was too big, and 64 stitches twisted was too small, then 68 stitches twisted should be just right. This time I used the pink and grey yarn from my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/04/how-to-immersion-dyeing-part-two.html" target="_blank">How To - Immersion Dyeing (Part Two - Multiple Colours, Twisted Skein)</a> post, and the green from my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/04/its-not-easy-being-green.html" target="_blank">It's not easy being green...</a> post. The combination reminded of some of the flowers from my back yard, so I called these my "Impatiens Garden Mosaic Socks. <br />
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I cast on the right number of stitches, decided to stick with 32 sts for the heel to keep full patterns across the top of the foot, and happily knit away, working on what was sure to be MY mosaic socks. As I got close to the heel, I tested the stretch in the pattern, but I have had so much trouble gauging it before that I couldn't quite tell. As the sock got close to the toe, I tried it on... it didn't want to go over my heel. Same issue as the first pair... I couldn't believe it! I had cast on the correct number of stitches, but it still wasn't fitting??? I finished the sock anyway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KsX9JKYeJlg/Vw0HeI9d50I/AAAAAAAAAt4/vYzuvmhgjrISlRgc5vGCKX-Fx2mX0_UFACLcB/s1600/ImpatienGardenMosiacSocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KsX9JKYeJlg/Vw0HeI9d50I/AAAAAAAAAt4/vYzuvmhgjrISlRgc5vGCKX-Fx2mX0_UFACLcB/s320/ImpatienGardenMosiacSocks-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pretty garden inspired socks</td></tr>
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It took a lot of tugging, pulling, swearing, praying and crying, but I managed to get the sock on my foot. Other than the fact that the patterning on the leg did not want to go over my damn heel, the sock seemed to fit fine. I wore it for about 10 minutes, and then struggled to take it off. <br />
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And then I turned to a couple of groups in Ravelry for some suggestions that didn't involve setting the sock on fire and vowing never to knit mosaic again. I am determined that I am going to make this work eventually. At which point I will either never knit mosaic again, or I will have conquered the pattern and will be able to make them for anyone I want.<br />
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One of the suggestions was to increase the needle size, and another to add more stitches. It occurs to me after reading those that any other time I had read about colour work, they said to go up a needle size. I was a bit concerned about the sole of the foot, because I like the way it feels on the 2.75mm needles. After taking to a few people, it seems that knitting just the pattern on bigger needles and the stockinette stitch on my regular needles may be the way to go, if I decide to go the "bigger needle" route.<br />
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The other option is to add more stitches. Maybe one more column of the pattern will be enough for them to go over my heel? Or would I need two? My worry with that is I don't want the heel flap and turned heel to be too big. Working them over 32 sts is almost too much, but I could work it so the heel is done on 32 sts and the top of the foot on 40.<br />
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I did notice this morning, when I went to put it on again to test exactly where it was not fitting, that it was a little easier to get it on. Still a bit of a struggle, but not as much as last night, so I am hopeful that maybe washing and blocking it might help.<br />
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I am sure I will change my mind at least a dozen times before I actually cast on the next pair. I wanted to start the new pair last night, but hubby said I should finish the other sock, just to get it over with. And that is probably a good idea, because I could really wind up with Second Sock Syndrome on this one. Or, I could decide to just tear the first one apart and start over, if I was able to figure out the sizing for the next one. And while I don't mind frogging something, I am sure there is someone out there that these ones are meant for. I think my cousin has skinnier feet than me, so maybe they will fit her.<br />
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It will take me a few more days to finish the second sock of this pair. It is hard to knit quickly when I know the sock meant for me is no longer going to fit, but I am going to try to hold on to the notion that the quick I finish it, the quicker I can start my next pair. </div>
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Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-22043746361703166732016-04-11T10:46:00.003-03:002016-04-11T10:46:58.959-03:00Knitting: Some history about me and knittingThe reason I dye is so I have fun yarns to knit with, so I thought maybe I should write a post here or there about knitting....crazy concept, huh? <br />
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Since I know some people are coming to this blog for the dyeing info, and may not be interested in the knitting info, I will make sure to start my knitting related posts with the "Knitting:" text, so they can skip these if they want.<br />
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Growing up (and up until about a month ago), I would have told you "I knit backwards...." I learned to knit by watching my grandmother and basically doing a mirror image of what she did. I never really had any problems with knitting that way until I started knitting mitts and socks. Then all of a sudden, I was running into a problem.<br />
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For some reason, any time I knit on DPNs, everything I knit was coming out inside out. Not the end of the world, if you know what you are doing and can adapt the pattern to that, but being new to socks and mitts, I could not do that. So I put the DPNs a way for a long time and stuck to scarves, and to a cable knit trench coat that my grandfather bought me the yarn for about 15 years ago. I did managed to get the back panel done, and it is beautiful...but the front was not going to fit me. At least my grandfather got to see the back of it before he passed away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ3GwPz4b7w/Vwuh1QmJciI/AAAAAAAAAsY/Rk4pjKemzusDN1HZpIRNZYmaQqZ76uE3w/s1600/CableKnitTrenchcoat-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kJ3GwPz4b7w/Vwuh1QmJciI/AAAAAAAAAsY/Rk4pjKemzusDN1HZpIRNZYmaQqZ76uE3w/s320/CableKnitTrenchcoat-1.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back of my trench coat, made with wool from the woollen mill my grandmother always bought her yarn from.</td></tr>
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Not knowing much about patterns or how to adapt them, the back of the trench coat went into my hope chest. I really should dig that and the yarn back out, now that I have some idea of what I am doing. Maybe I can finally finish it. Although I did just look at it again, and there is a hole in it :( <br />
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I am going to need to figure out how to fix that...darning was never my thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u5YxjQ9T7T8/VwuiDITF_tI/AAAAAAAAAsc/9c9coD33NCYrCoo322uru7FbySdDZ-2yw/s1600/CableKnitTrenchcoat-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u5YxjQ9T7T8/VwuiDITF_tI/AAAAAAAAAsc/9c9coD33NCYrCoo322uru7FbySdDZ-2yw/s320/CableKnitTrenchcoat-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hole at the edge of one of my cables :(</td></tr>
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At one point, back around 1999 or 2000, I decided that I wanted to knit this cute little crop top cable knit sweater for my then sister-in-law. She was just a tiny thing, so I could make the smallest size. It actually turned out quite nicely, although I think I made the shoulders too wide for her. At that point, I had decided I would knit bigger items, and amassed a huge collection of sweater patterns. But, the sweater took a long time to knit, and I just didn't want to put that level of commitment into everything I was going to knit, so I knit scarves. Really long, thick, comfy scarves.<br />
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<b>The revival of the Dawn of the Socks</b><br />
Skip forward to around 2008 or so, and I decided I really wanted to knit socks and mittens. My grandmother used to knit socks for all of us at Christmas time, and I wanted to bring back some of that tradition. I bought some sock yarn with a pattern on the inside and set out to try to make socks. I made one sock, inside out, with loads of holes around the heel. Turned the sock inside out, got frustrated, threw it in the giant Rubbermaid tote with the yarn, and ignored it for quite a while. I went back to knitting scarves.<br />
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In 2011, we had just moved into our new house and I was going through our many totes when I found that one lonely sock... Sitting in the tote, surrounded by the rest of the yarn I had purchased. I can't remember if I ever actually knit the second sock... I should go find the tote and see what happened... see if it is still lonesome...if it is, I may frog it and turn it into the beautiful sock it should be.<br />
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Looking at that sock I knew I needed to conquer socks. But I knit inside out and backwards, so how was I going to do that? Enter, the internet... It finally occurred to me that I could probably look up videos and tutorials on how to knit socks, and that might help me. The first video I found on knitting was one of the videos by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/knittingtipsbyjudy" target="_blank">Knitting Tips By Judy.</a> I don't even remember what video I watched, but she knew what she was talking about, and she had a Facebook page. I found her Facebook page and posted a message to her, asking her if she knew why I knit inside out, and how I could fix it. She told me I was knitting on the inside of the back needle instead of the outside of the front needle. <br />
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Huh? I was more confused than when I asked, but I took the time to find some videos of DPN knitting and finally figured it out. I knit with my stitches on 3 DPNs. If you lay them out in their triangle formation, with one needle flat right in front of you, and the others on the sides, forming a pyramid, I was knitting on the left side needle, instead of knitting on the needle that was right in front of me. Took a little bit of time to retrain myself, but I finally figured it out, and was ready to venture into the world of socks again. This time, armed with YouTube videos.<br />
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I read through some patterns and tutorials, but was feeling a little intimidated by heels, so back to You Tube I went. I found this great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NQMGCo_mXY" target="_blank">step by step tutorial by Dorett Conway</a> I watched it a few times, then felt confident enough to pick up my yarn and needles and start knitting.<br />
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Now, one thing I wasn't thinking about at the time was gauge. I randomly grabbed whatever DPNs were close to me (I think they were US size 5), a couple of balls of worsted weight yarn, and a pattern meant for US size 2 needles and a fingering weight yarn. Not being able to do anything the easy way, I had decided that I was going to do the heel and toe in a different colour. I proceeded to knit my sock. The result?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTIpLDFH0UI/VwuiPikYh1I/AAAAAAAAAsg/VXt6hFssp9wXCz_I25F6YO0SwkvRHJGhg/s1600/GiantSock-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XTIpLDFH0UI/VwuiPikYh1I/AAAAAAAAAsg/VXt6hFssp9wXCz_I25F6YO0SwkvRHJGhg/s320/GiantSock-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My giant sock</td></tr>
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A sock that was way too big to be a sock (although my cousin tried it on and wants a pair to wear as slippers), but that let me get a really good look at the anatomy of a sock. Other than a kind of gaping hole at the edge of the heel flap, probably from where I changed the yarn, it didn't turn out too bad.<br />
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I then started paying a bit more attention to the needle sizes and yarn weights that were suggested, and have since worked out what works best for my style of knitting. I tend to use a US size 2, 2.75mm needle for women's socks, and a 3.00mm for mens.<br />
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I also have a couple of go to stitch patterns that I use, including one that will fit from a women's size 6 to a men's size 9, just by altering the number of rows and the size of the needle. Recently I discovered <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks" target="_blank">Hermione's Everyday Socks</a>, and have adapted them a bit to use the heel and toe I am used to using. I love how it is such an easy pattern, but adds such a nice touch to pair of socks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lLAi4RQTIIY/VvPfTRQ4_sI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/f6HessBr_Wg1YYxulpaoNYg78ift-zeZg/s1600/i-CordaBeenAContenderSock-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lLAi4RQTIIY/VvPfTRQ4_sI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/f6HessBr_Wg1YYxulpaoNYg78ift-zeZg/s320/i-CordaBeenAContenderSock-3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My self striping socks using the stitch pattern from Hermione's Everyday Socks</td></tr>
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While working on learning these new sock skills, I listened to a podcast from a lady who had knit 200 pairs of socks in her life, and all of a sudden, I had a goal. Never mind that I waited until I was almost 40 to set this particular goal.... I had a goal none the less. Not counting the jumbo sock above, or any other pair I may have attempted before I started to get serious about socks, if I have catalogued and tagged them properly in Ravelry, I am currently at 50 pairs, with sock one one pair 51 on the needles right now. Wow... I am 1/4 of the way there!<br />
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<b>Mittens</b><br />
Knitting socks came really easy to me...for some reason, I was able to turn a heel and pick up the Kitchener Stitch quite quickly, but I had serious issues with mittens at first. Thumbs intimidated me...plain and simple... I didn't like the afterthought thumb because I didn't like the way it fit, and I was having a heck of a time with the gusset thumb.... finally one day I just sat myself down and told myself to suck it up and figure it out. I needed mittens, and I had a great pink and black yarn I wanted to use to make myself mittens.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5U_A3Nfb6Is/VwuogxuctuI/AAAAAAAAAs8/bimZgqInsNo4BY7eZ1GJPuCDpc04HXuQQ/s1600/Mittens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5U_A3Nfb6Is/VwuogxuctuI/AAAAAAAAAs8/bimZgqInsNo4BY7eZ1GJPuCDpc04HXuQQ/s320/Mittens.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mittens for me! This pattern actually has a left and a right mitten, although the pattern was not very intuitive.</td></tr>
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I did wind up using the afterthought thumb for a few pairs of mittens that I found that used Seed Stitch, because I could not figure out how to add a gusset to them and not screw up the seed stitch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDKjFD6j7sk/VwupDtARnBI/AAAAAAAAAtA/-HOPbt5jNKcOaX-3ivE-ZPbo5jnRm1TIQ/s1600/SeedStitchMittens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDKjFD6j7sk/VwupDtARnBI/AAAAAAAAAtA/-HOPbt5jNKcOaX-3ivE-ZPbo5jnRm1TIQ/s320/SeedStitchMittens.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seed Stitch mittens with afterthought thumb</td></tr>
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I don't have very many pairs of mittens at this point... probably less than a dozen. I may do more, but socks are more of my obsession at this point. It is good to know I am able to do the mittens if I want/need to. And someday, if I can ever find a picture of the yarn my grandmother used, I will make mittens for my whole generation, as a throwback to what we got as kids. That was why I started all this in the first place, but, unfortunately, no one has any of the mittens and I can't find the yarn anywhere. I know it was a base of orange with brown, yellow and white in it, but none of the ones I can find are quite the same, and I can't remember the proportions of the yarn, or else I would just dye it myself and make the mittens. I may just dye my own version of it one of these days, and start a new tradition.<br />
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<b>My Style of Knitting</b><br />
One other thing I recently learned was that there is a name for the way I wrap my yarn. I know I am a thrower (I hold the working yarn in my right hand), but I always just said I wrap my yarn backwards. I wrap my yarn over the top of the needle, then around to the back.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oJrptGFc3a4/VwukuPzjDCI/AAAAAAAAAsw/xl1lbO_aJMUHpP86Ytz1oCTxt0yJoNyZw/s1600/HowIMakeAStitch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oJrptGFc3a4/VwukuPzjDCI/AAAAAAAAAsw/xl1lbO_aJMUHpP86Ytz1oCTxt0yJoNyZw/s320/HowIMakeAStitch.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrapping my yarn</td></tr>
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This is opposite from every video and tutorial I have read on how to make a stitch, so I just told people I knit backwards. Thanks to the Ravelry group <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/groups/combination-knitters" target="_blank">Combination Knitters</a>, I now know that I don't knit backwards... I am an Eastern knitter... Eastern knitters wrap their yarn that way.<br />
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But, of course, I still have to be unique. When you wrap your yarn this way, you are supposed to knit into the back of the stitch, because that is where the leading leg of the stitch is when you wrap the Eastern way. I knit into the front of the stitch, like you would do if you wrapped your yarn the Western way. The result is that I twist my stitches. So I am an Eastern Crossed Knitter.<br />
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Most of the time, I have no problems with this. I have to pay a bit more attention to some patterns, especially if I am doing lacework, which I rarely do, and there are lots of great people out there willing to help me. I have been watching a couple of classes from Craftsy on Combination Knitting, including one by Patty Lyons called <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/improve-your-knitting/361?_ct=iuqhsx-kdyluhiqb-huikbj-sekhiu&_ctp=361" target="_blank">Improve Your Knitting: Alternative Methods & Styles</a>. This class is really helping me understand the anatomy of my stitches and how to work with them, even if she does say not to twist them, and that is what I always do :)<br />
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Part of the reason I have gone into this little history of how I knit is to help set things up for my next blog post. I have recently become obsessed with Mosaic knitting, one sock pattern in particular, and due to my knitting style, I have a love/hate relationship with it. More on that in my next post... Knitting: Mosaic Madness.<br />
<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-76202155336048965452016-04-08T15:39:00.001-03:002016-04-08T15:39:47.711-03:00It's not easy being green...In most things in my life, if I try something and it does not work out, I hide it and try to forget about it and move on. But with yarn dyeing, I don't mind sharing what I intended and what actually happened.<br />
<br />
I wanted to do something fun with the yarn I dyed in my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/04/how-to-immersion-dyeing-part-two.html" target="_blank">How To - Immersion Dyeing (Part Two - Multiple Colours, Twisted Skein</a>), and thought that I would continue my recent obsession with mosaic socks. I mentioned this to my husband, who took one look at the yarn and said "dark green."<br />
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So yesterday, I embarked on a dark green. But what shade of dark green should I go with? I wanted a sort of jewel tone to go with the tones in this yarn. I broke out my box of dyes, and looked at the greens.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYBXwwU-sv4/Vu6-jtJCoCI/AAAAAAAAAcU/k0f7zG2uUOw6wBTNEVgZSBAk7Ag1oHUhw/s1600/FoodColuring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hYBXwwU-sv4/Vu6-jtJCoCI/AAAAAAAAAcU/k0f7zG2uUOw6wBTNEVgZSBAk7Ag1oHUhw/s320/FoodColuring.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My tickle trunk of dyes</td></tr>
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I pulled out the Americolor Forest Green and the Teal. Now, as a photographer and a baker, I should know better than to completely trust the little dots on the bottle, or the pictures that show up on a website when you Google a colour. But, I was thinking about socks and had apparently banished the logic side of my brain in the corner. I showed the two colours to my husband and we both agreed that Teal looked like a nice colour, so teal it was going to be. A nice dark teal with the pretty pinks and purples.<br />
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I didn't take pictures through out the process on this one. Not really sure why...probably because I figured "it is just a solid colour...who needs pictures....", but I should have.<br />
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I soaked my yarn, then mixed up my dye stock, starting with 6 globs of teal food colouring. I say globs because Americolor does not come out in nice drops like Wilton Color Right does.... Added my 1/4 tsp dissolved salt, added the yarn, brought up to temperature and left the room for 10 minutes. Came back and it was looking pretty, but very pale. So I removed the yarn, added in 6 more globs, mixed, and put yarn back in. No acid yet...just dyestock and yarn.<br />
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20 minutes later it was a very pretty almost Tiffany blue, but no where near where I was looking for, and there was lots of blue left in the water. So, I decided it needed yellow. In went 3 drops of WCR yellow and a tablespoon of my citric acid mix. <br />
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Walked away again (walking away and doing other things is the only way I can be patient), came back and had green, but it was too much of a mossy yellowy green, so I mixed up 8 drops of WC blue with 3 drops of WCR yellow. Took the yarn out of the pot, added the new dye stock, added the yarn back in with another tablespoon of citric acid mix, then put the yarn back in and left it for an hour. I know! Can you imagine?? I actually let it alone for an hour!!! Yay me.<br />
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When I came back, it looked nice and dark in the pot, so I added some more citric acid mix and took it off the burner (I needed the burner to make supper). It cooled for about half an hour or so, then I pulled it out, tangled it putting it on the plate, let it cool a little, then washed and dried it. I was lucky that when it came out of the dryer, it only took me a few minutes to fix the tangle.<br />
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I started out aiming for something like this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QNqnZmnSPd0/Vwf5yZfe6SI/AAAAAAAAAro/YptD0GIIes0OKxtBAGjck48pT3C6H6q-A/s1600/AmericolorTeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QNqnZmnSPd0/Vwf5yZfe6SI/AAAAAAAAAro/YptD0GIIes0OKxtBAGjck48pT3C6H6q-A/s1600/AmericolorTeal.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very misleading swatch of teal</td></tr>
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And I wound up with this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A_9HrzHp34I/Vwf58oyL3SI/AAAAAAAAArs/2jmqk_REm_0r1050Xke4RJHCtlqvz8J0Q/s1600/GardenGreen-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A_9HrzHp34I/Vwf58oyL3SI/AAAAAAAAArs/2jmqk_REm_0r1050Xke4RJHCtlqvz8J0Q/s320/GardenGreen-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pretty garden green</td></tr>
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Not quite what I wanted, but it turned out to be the colour I needed. I paired it with the other yarn, and started my mosaic socks. The tones seem to match quite well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YlXjqGWZV-Y/Vwf58qtsMrI/AAAAAAAAArw/MBPn136fwBcrBDnCtHXH5weoOmu-X0wcw/s1600/GardenGreen-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YlXjqGWZV-Y/Vwf58qtsMrI/AAAAAAAAArw/MBPn136fwBcrBDnCtHXH5weoOmu-X0wcw/s320/GardenGreen-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two yarns with their yarn baby on top</td></tr>
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I am not working on my Impatiens Garden Mosaic Socks, and hope that this pair might actually fit me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsoE3BFOeao/Vwf58idPO4I/AAAAAAAAAr0/pSicWtOWNGoLBBQ9zmikz4FJHZ-_Ggsog/s1600/ImpatienGardenMosiacSocks-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fsoE3BFOeao/Vwf58idPO4I/AAAAAAAAAr0/pSicWtOWNGoLBBQ9zmikz4FJHZ-_Ggsog/s320/ImpatienGardenMosiacSocks-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the yarn baby</td></tr>
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Yet again, what I had in mind when I started out, and what I wound up with, were two totally different things, but it still worked out.<br />
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The moral of the story? There are no mistakes in dyeing yarn... your yarn is just telling you that it wants to be something else, and if you listen, you might wind up with something beautiful.<br />
<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-33037907983612326262016-04-06T16:20:00.003-03:002016-04-06T16:20:38.210-03:00Immersion Dyeing - Experimenting With 3 ColoursI had so much fun with the pink and grey yarn that I wanted to do another one today, and I even remembered to document the process! I won't go through al the How To steps, since I did that in yesterday's post, but I will show you what I did.<br />
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I did a skein a while back I called Pink Lemonade (shown in the How To - Skillet Dyeing post) that was a combination of pink and yellow, and that I totally loved. It has since gone on to become one pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks and one pair of Mosaic Socks. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Top7Q0GmR0/VvvMcdWTm6I/AAAAAAAAAjk/wgnK7v4CegAR4kNFVJo8odYbnPAWuIrAg/s1600/PinkLemonade-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Top7Q0GmR0/VvvMcdWTm6I/AAAAAAAAAjk/wgnK7v4CegAR4kNFVJo8odYbnPAWuIrAg/s320/PinkLemonade-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink Lemonade</td></tr>
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I decided to play around with that idea with a twisted skein of yarn, and I had an idea of how I could add a little punch of colour to the whole thing.<br />
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So I dyed the yellow first:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMJ4P9ySfU4/VwVdzhNTG-I/AAAAAAAAAq4/hYJ54mcWRx4JiH6CJ4vlRS2PQLfigyr6Q/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMJ4P9ySfU4/VwVdzhNTG-I/AAAAAAAAAq4/hYJ54mcWRx4JiH6CJ4vlRS2PQLfigyr6Q/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 drops Wilton Color Right in Yellow</td></tr>
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Then I dyed the pink:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZv7ur4zjSI/VwVd0yqAdHI/AAAAAAAAArI/4iQtwEffRTwyPZBsXSC6b_NplvD1QVVWA/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QZv7ur4zjSI/VwVd0yqAdHI/AAAAAAAAArI/4iQtwEffRTwyPZBsXSC6b_NplvD1QVVWA/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 drops Wilton Color Right in Pink<br />Looks a bit orange because you can see so much of the yellow, but it was pink</td></tr>
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When the pink was almost entirely exhausted, I decided to add some hints of a third colour. I had pink and yellow, so I figured if I added blue, I would get some purples and greens mixed in. So I mixed up a tiny bit of blue.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s1hH5xNoZtg/VwVd09uQs9I/AAAAAAAAArE/NkbxKXpWSYo7sIy-bpWVuWaKDihwayubQ/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s1hH5xNoZtg/VwVd09uQs9I/AAAAAAAAArE/NkbxKXpWSYo7sIy-bpWVuWaKDihwayubQ/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 drop Wilton Color Right blue in one of my disposable shot glasses</td></tr>
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Then I use the medicine syringe to inject small amounts of blue into the skein, putting some in the pink and some in the yellow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--lLcZYsJrn8/VwVd1ANLepI/AAAAAAAAArc/TL3sc_m1bXgpNKCvqftQm4bIatxYhW7CQ/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--lLcZYsJrn8/VwVd1ANLepI/AAAAAAAAArc/TL3sc_m1bXgpNKCvqftQm4bIatxYhW7CQ/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some pretty blue dots</td></tr>
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What I hadn't really taken into account when I did this was that blue is the colour that takes longest to strike, which means it has more time to travel. And it did travel down into the yarn. When I saw the slightly pink dye bath start to turn green, I decided it was probably time to take it out. I put it on a plate and zapped it in the microwave for 2 minutes - the blue had not been in there for the standard 20 mins, so I wanted to make sure to give it that extra shot of heat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OyuTrceuEm4/VwVd1d8K6SI/AAAAAAAAArc/X-qkkjhDKU8bCj5BqQIKC_-QjnKagNazA/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OyuTrceuEm4/VwVd1d8K6SI/AAAAAAAAArc/X-qkkjhDKU8bCj5BqQIKC_-QjnKagNazA/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the plate, cooling after being zapped</td></tr>
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As with the other skein I dyed, I had no idea what the bottom was going to look like, and was pretty happy to see the colours when I flipped it over.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zPNpwNMVRZU/VwVd1TXoYCI/AAAAAAAAArc/H-QzxgxfI2QFdQjuez2AmDRteXZXmIvew/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zPNpwNMVRZU/VwVd1TXoYCI/AAAAAAAAArc/H-QzxgxfI2QFdQjuez2AmDRteXZXmIvew/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hidden colour treasure!</td></tr>
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I untwisted the skein a bit to let it cool faster, and was very pleased with the mixture of colour I was seeing<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BjcpTF_4qqM/VwVd1jcgAJI/AAAAAAAAArc/DuAOACW9F4MfGz5DTVpT_4Eh5uHAR5vHw/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BjcpTF_4qqM/VwVd1jcgAJI/AAAAAAAAArc/DuAOACW9F4MfGz5DTVpT_4Eh5uHAR5vHw/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly untwisted, still wet (and hot..there was a lot of steam)</td></tr>
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I washed, rinsed and dried the yarn, then reskeined it. I used to hate reskeining, but am starting to like it more and more...it gives a new perspective that you don't quite get when you wind it directly into a cake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-puR2mhHEW9A/VwVdz-iWo4I/AAAAAAAAArc/RWNf58AW3tAfM0fGc2s9wHsKmTNXibHVA/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-puR2mhHEW9A/VwVdz-iWo4I/AAAAAAAAArc/RWNf58AW3tAfM0fGc2s9wHsKmTNXibHVA/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lite Brite Colour Way</td></tr>
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My friend Natalie named it Lite Brite, after the fun toy we used to play with as kids (and of course, now I want one again...)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz7DVVsWDGc/VwVdz_Y5rHI/AAAAAAAAArc/NtGHlJYQ_CgCNeHNjRIT2XWQNJOg1HjSg/s1600/TwistedDye_3Colours-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz7DVVsWDGc/VwVdz_Y5rHI/AAAAAAAAArc/NtGHlJYQ_CgCNeHNjRIT2XWQNJOg1HjSg/s320/TwistedDye_3Colours-15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up of the end of the skein. So many pretty colours!</td></tr>
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I will definitely be playing with this method more often... For the next one, I might try a complete submersion of the first colour, then re-twisting the skein and doing a full submersion of the second colour. If I do that, I might even do something radical like not aim for a super saturate colourway.... Can you imagine? I might use less than 6 drops of colour per shade!!! I don't normally purposely dye anything pastel, as much as I love pastels, but I might try to go for even just 2 drops of each colour and see what I can build up :)<br />
<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-81265091275442395972016-04-05T18:37:00.000-03:002016-04-05T18:37:15.672-03:00How To - Immersion Dyeing (Part Two - Multiple Colours, Twisted Skein)Full disclosure - this is the first time I have ever done this method, but it definitely won't be my last! I was super happy with how this turned out, and am looking forward to trying it more often.<br />
<br />
Since I had not done this before, I asked a Ravelry friend (<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/DistractedKnits" target="_blank">Distracted Knits</a>) how she does it. She always has beautiful yarns, and she was able to confirm the method she uses. I have added her shop to the links on the right....be sure to check her stuff out!<br />
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If you are going to try this method, one of the things you need to be aware of is the impact of mixing colours. The colours are going to mix together, so you want to make sure you are picking colours that play nicely. For example, blue and orange look awesome together, as separate colours, but when they mix, you get brown. If you are not looking for brown, you don't want to mix these two.<br />
<br />
<b>What you need/What I used</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>100g fingering weight yarn (I used Bare Opal sock yarn)</li>
<li>Dye - I used Wilton Color Right for the pink and a combination of two different Kool Aid flavours for the grey</li>
<li>Acid - For the colour that was done with the WCR, I used citric acid. For the colour that was made up of the Kool Aid, I didn't need to add any. For the citric acid, I used my standard liquid mix of 1 tbps of citric acid powder to 1 cup of water, then used that liquid)</li>
<li>Non-iodized salt</li>
<li>A large pot - In this case, my oval pot worked very well, since it let me lay the twisted skein flat in the dye</li>
<li>A stove</li>
<li>Mild dish soap or baby shampoo</li>
<li>Tongs</li>
<li>Towel</li>
</ol>
<div>
<b>Step 1 - Soak and twist your yarn.</b></div>
<div>
For this one, I soaked the yarn as the flat skein and then twisted it. I think for the next one, I will twist it up first. It is a bit of a pain in the butt to twist the wet skein. The skein was soaked in plain water.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sHPT81kIdI/VwP4r_lJNrI/AAAAAAAAApY/LFi3EUIHZX4dEG88ijsUYvk3Zvfy3hr8g/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sHPT81kIdI/VwP4r_lJNrI/AAAAAAAAApY/LFi3EUIHZX4dEG88ijsUYvk3Zvfy3hr8g/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaking my yarn in plain water</td></tr>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I soaked my yarn in the dye pot, so I had to remove it to prepare the dye stock. I squeezed out most of the water and twisted it at this time. I tried not to twist it too tight, because I wanted the colour to penetrate the skein.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-adME8UuU7F4/VwP4sxjNb7I/AAAAAAAAAp0/mC4ApcIgAAQR-Pf4Or6ALnE0MQg5dU9jQ/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-adME8UuU7F4/VwP4sxjNb7I/AAAAAAAAAp0/mC4ApcIgAAQR-Pf4Or6ALnE0MQg5dU9jQ/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The twisted skein... a bit of a pain when it is wet. Wrap it loosely</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 2 - Prepare the dye stock </b></div>
<div>
For the pink, I used 6 drops of WCR pink. I put enough water in the pot to cover about half to 3/4 of the twisted skein, then added the pink. I also added 1/4 tsp to very hot tap water and stirred until completely dissolved, then added that to the dye stock as well. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 3 - Dye the first colou</b>r</div>
<div>
I added the skein to the dye stock and gradually brought up to temperature. I kept it there for 10 minutes, added 1 tablespoon of my citric acid mix. Left another 5 minutes and added another tablespoon of the citric acid. I let the yarn sit in the dye stock for another 10 minutes, until the dye stock was almost clear.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QqY6g9Q95Ns/VwP4tL_v3OI/AAAAAAAAAqU/KJ2pYy24nGQjKwUjI3lPdmqEWWYPeTWiA/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QqY6g9Q95Ns/VwP4tL_v3OI/AAAAAAAAAqU/KJ2pYy24nGQjKwUjI3lPdmqEWWYPeTWiA/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty in pink</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Step 3.5 - Prepare the second dye stock.</b></div>
<div>
I called this one 3.5 because I did this while I was doing step 3. For my second colour, I wanted a grey, and it is hard to get with food colouring. Most times you get a green or blue tinge. But there is a neat combination of Kool Aid that works. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nP3PCauoksc/VwP4tXdy9dI/AAAAAAAAAqU/l7tAhRpD5uMWqXLSRDjDEatFSED02K1bw/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nP3PCauoksc/VwP4tXdy9dI/AAAAAAAAAqU/l7tAhRpD5uMWqXLSRDjDEatFSED02K1bw/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 Pink Lemonade, 2 Great Bluedini</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I mixed the powder in a cup, added 1/4 tsp of salt and some very hot tap water, and mixed well. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJpyXqRZsG4/VwP4tm9G3qI/AAAAAAAAAqU/fK4plkRbjfsfgOqXK_3Poj9u7YYqBOX_A/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJpyXqRZsG4/VwP4tm9G3qI/AAAAAAAAAqU/fK4plkRbjfsfgOqXK_3Poj9u7YYqBOX_A/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My grey dye stock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I had to mix it for a few minutes to make sure it was really well mixed. I could see particles of blue stuck to the side of the glass, and the last time I used this grey, I did not mix well, and wound up with blue spots. So by mixing very closely, I was able to make sure that there was no colour particles sticking to the side of the glass</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 4 - Cool and rinse the first colour</b></div>
<div>
I used the tongs to move the yarn out of the pot so it would cool faster. And so I could see how it looked. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rT8pYs-kQ9E/VwP4tvU8u6I/AAAAAAAAAqU/s5z2o_p6ZAQVu_IxBG0b2t_66o-jSfpbg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rT8pYs-kQ9E/VwP4tvU8u6I/AAAAAAAAAqU/s5z2o_p6ZAQVu_IxBG0b2t_66o-jSfpbg/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the pink, before rinsing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
One thing I wanted to show was the effects of acid on red #3. The WCR pink has red #3, and even when I add the acid slowly, I find the colour likes do this funky thing to my pot, that has also dyed my fingers (see my post on gradient dyeing). It took multiple washes to completely get rid of it. Make sure you take the time to ensure that all of it is gone, otherwise, pink pasta for supper!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tzto_lp7L94/VwP4txZmBDI/AAAAAAAAAqU/vyhqZb9KWQUXdvIs5TWuY2gFt1g6G77kw/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tzto_lp7L94/VwP4txZmBDI/AAAAAAAAAqU/vyhqZb9KWQUXdvIs5TWuY2gFt1g6G77kw/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink residue - took 3 washes to get it all out of the pot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I put the yarn in the sink and ran warm water over it to slowly cool it down. You can just leave it to let it cool naturally, but I was doing this on my lunch break and wanted to get to the second colour. I started to slowly cool it down until it was cool enough for me to handle (it was still pretty warm)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuJno3_rYM/VwP4uMDIUaI/AAAAAAAAAqU/0N9-d30gz_gcpAdRDE5szmuQVRGrQmxQg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuJno3_rYM/VwP4uMDIUaI/AAAAAAAAAqU/0N9-d30gz_gcpAdRDE5szmuQVRGrQmxQg/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rinsing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I accidentally untwisted the skein when I was rinsing it, so I had to re-twist it. I was originally going to just flip the skein over and dye the undyed section (like my skillet cake dyeing post), but it didn't work out that way, and I am pretty happy about that. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A613W0tiu9U/VwP4uMJtB4I/AAAAAAAAAqU/dif6ztbgY_Y41W1fnpIEyCdy2RSmr-dmg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A613W0tiu9U/VwP4uMJtB4I/AAAAAAAAAqU/dif6ztbgY_Y41W1fnpIEyCdy2RSmr-dmg/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Re-twisted, ready for the second colour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Step 5 - Dye the second colour</b></div>
<div>
I added the grey dyestock to the pot, and then added about the same amount of water as I did for the pink (okay, maybe a little more). I found the side of the skein that has the most bare yarn showing, and put that side down in the dye.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TL_UFBCR2_Q/VwP4sN6fNzI/AAAAAAAAAqU/fLwR74BiDEksrwWBQ0-C1kOMKz0IgmyEQ/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TL_UFBCR2_Q/VwP4sN6fNzI/AAAAAAAAAqU/fLwR74BiDEksrwWBQ0-C1kOMKz0IgmyEQ/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the grey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I was a little concerned at how the grey and the pink would react, and was pleasantly surprised that the grey and pink worked together to provide me with a very pretty purple. Probably because the grey was made up of pink and blue Kool Aid.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I find with some of the Kool Aid flavours, it can be hard to tell when the dye stock is "clear" because it seems to stay cloudy. So I let it go for about 20 minutes total, then turned the heat off and let it sit for a little bit. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UId4NZUMFDU/VwP4sOVo3-I/AAAAAAAAAqU/jCszbK5dYVEMEwlfn3a3pa9cc6PETpWvg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UId4NZUMFDU/VwP4sOVo3-I/AAAAAAAAAqU/jCszbK5dYVEMEwlfn3a3pa9cc6PETpWvg/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the grey has set - see the pretty purple?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Step 6 - Cool, wash, rinse and dry</b></div>
<div>
At this point, I had not seen the bottom of the skein, only what you can see here in the pot. So when I took it out and put it on the plate to cool, I was very happy at the bottom of the skien and the depth of colour I had. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR_3Oehj6Kg/VwP4sQFagoI/AAAAAAAAAqU/IL7I_7o_1n4hwDIS1qin00-J9xoyzsi1w/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GR_3Oehj6Kg/VwP4sQFagoI/AAAAAAAAAqU/IL7I_7o_1n4hwDIS1qin00-J9xoyzsi1w/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-12.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The top, that I could see in the pot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AfwNQiJLhj4/VwP4su5iGzI/AAAAAAAAAqY/_XWXmtM77zcjgH4b_JXL1bEnnSylrEc7g/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AfwNQiJLhj4/VwP4su5iGzI/AAAAAAAAAqY/_XWXmtM77zcjgH4b_JXL1bEnnSylrEc7g/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-13.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bottom of the skein! Look at the glorious darkness of some of the colour!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I untwisted the skein to wash, and was even happier to see all the colours running through the skein</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-khYmgj-zh_E/VwP4svNymfI/AAAAAAAAAqU/DS9BPGh5Ius3XDTAAGHDJORpx3D7-zO_w/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-khYmgj-zh_E/VwP4svNymfI/AAAAAAAAAqU/DS9BPGh5Ius3XDTAAGHDJORpx3D7-zO_w/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the sink, ready for a bath</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
As usual, I washed in baby shampoo, rinsed well and prepared to wring it dry in my dyeing towel</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mctfrOnp90s/VwP4s78BjMI/AAAAAAAAAqU/aPZNZB20x1sHQM3eONZR3mw7FR0Ly3cdQ/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mctfrOnp90s/VwP4s78BjMI/AAAAAAAAAqU/aPZNZB20x1sHQM3eONZR3mw7FR0Ly3cdQ/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before being dried</td></tr>
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<div>
<b>The final skein!</b></div>
<div>
I am super happy with this yarn. I have white, light pink, dark pink, light purple, dark purple, light grey and dark grey. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2ELFm4B6Og/VwQHyv5kT3I/AAAAAAAAAqo/8tLQ0z2X-9Atp3wC9442fvyPJcGSVd1Mg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A2ELFm4B6Og/VwQHyv5kT3I/AAAAAAAAAqo/8tLQ0z2X-9Atp3wC9442fvyPJcGSVd1Mg/s320/ImmersionDyed_TwistedSkein-18.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
I will try this again where I just flip the skein and do not re-twist it.</div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-49508557129061071952016-04-05T09:31:00.000-03:002016-04-05T11:59:34.177-03:00Kettle Dyeing Gone WrongBefore I move on to the second part of the Immersion Dyeing posts, I wanted to share this with you.<br />
People worry that they are going to make mistakes when dyeing yarn, and that life, as they know it, will be over. I used to think that too... then this happened. <br />
<br />
My first ever attempt at Kettle Dyeing (a.k.a immersion dyeing), was not the spectacular success I was planning. But it was the first time I learned that one person's massive failure can become another person's most favourite yarn ever.<br />
<br />
I think this was probably the second yarn I tried to dye on my own. I had successfully done a hand painted yarn, and had watched a video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbmTRT_y6oE" target="_blank">creating multicoloured yarn on the stove with food colouring</a>. In that video, she used food colouring, but I figured I had Easter Egg dye tablets, so why not use those?<br />
<br />
My plan seemed brilliant to me. I was going to use a blue, a yellow, and a red. In theory, the blue and yellow will combine to make green, the yellow and red to make orange, and the red and blue to make purple. It was all going to be a picture perfect rainbow, and I was going to have the greatest skein of kettle dyed yarn ever!!<br />
<br />
So I started by adding my yarn to the pot I was going to dye in, and added lots of water. I had forgotten that the dye tablets have some citric acid in them, so I added a bunch of vinegar to the water. I think one of her previous videos has said one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water, so that was probably what I added<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nWuOdpGiRwI/VwK9J2LSiXI/AAAAAAAAAok/TYQnDXqsuroz-MWymkNKrBz2a-4eiUdaw/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nWuOdpGiRwI/VwK9J2LSiXI/AAAAAAAAAok/TYQnDXqsuroz-MWymkNKrBz2a-4eiUdaw/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaking the yarn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I pulled out the Easter Egg dye tablets and found my red, blue and yellow. Sometimes the colours are a bit tricky... the red looked pink and the blue looked purple. Even the yellow looks like it has specks of green in it. (Tip - if you are not sure of the colour, get a slightly damp piece of paper towel and rub the edge of the tablet on the towel to see what colour you get)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A2_XoWr8fww/VwK9KF4IqOI/AAAAAAAAApM/Jbty3uWWcP8o82zKri0r6VhGuYLUXuYAg/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A2_XoWr8fww/VwK9KF4IqOI/AAAAAAAAApM/Jbty3uWWcP8o82zKri0r6VhGuYLUXuYAg/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dye culprits, I mean tablets.</td></tr>
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<br />
The water got to a bit more of a boil than I expected. Turns out this is "what not to do #1". Or at least, if you get it to a rolling boil, make sure it has time to reduce to no movement at all. Pretty sure she said that in the video, but I was new to this and, as you know, am a teensy bit impatient. Making sure it has no movement means you need to move the yarn around to make sure that the water under it is not moving! That was one of my mistakes. The water on the top wasn't moving, but under the yarn, it was bubbling away<br />
<br />
Next it was time to add the dye tablets. I knew not to just drop them on the top, since it would not penetrate, so I moved the yarn slightly to make space, and added the dye tablets. I added all of them along the sides, hoping to get the solid colours along the edges, with the blended colours in the middle.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WjMnLiZPHuY/VwK9Kkk1JKI/AAAAAAAAApM/ywJ5O70fe-cmcgDPujwnT3e3P8X91H59g/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WjMnLiZPHuY/VwK9Kkk1JKI/AAAAAAAAApM/ywJ5O70fe-cmcgDPujwnT3e3P8X91H59g/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All three colours added to the dye pot</td></tr>
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Almost immediately, I knew something was not going to go right. If you look closely, the blue is very fizzy... that was the reaction from when I added the blue tablet to the water that had vinegar in it. It hissed and bubbled and spit at me. And it started to spread out and take over all the other colours. "What not to do #2"... too much acid.... The spot that looks purple was from where the blue was taking over the red. In fact, you can't see any red in there at all, but I know I put in a red tablet. I hoped that maybe a little more time would help...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TcqIcOqeC2I/VwK9K35kE_I/AAAAAAAAApM/vADJ41QmCT8FUdkvITqqHweeSRRhJnSZQ/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TcqIcOqeC2I/VwK9K35kE_I/AAAAAAAAApM/vADJ41QmCT8FUdkvITqqHweeSRRhJnSZQ/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a few minutes</td></tr>
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Time did not help... the water was bubbling under the yarn, causing anything under it to move around, mix and take over. Where there was supposed to be yellow, the blue and red had already mixed together, and when they hit the yellow, I got a nasty looking brown<br />
<br />
Then I did something really silly... "what not to do #3"... I decided that I was going to move the yarn a bit to see what was going on underneath. I saw the rolling boil of the water, and then watched as the blue and yellow mixed and completely took over the yarn<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XagkXIBwFE4/VwK9K5ZDnNI/AAAAAAAAApM/Uywy-T3EDbYDpEOQBQ8Sk0D9lVHtkNcNQ/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XagkXIBwFE4/VwK9K5ZDnNI/AAAAAAAAApM/Uywy-T3EDbYDpEOQBQ8Sk0D9lVHtkNcNQ/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My rainbow dream go up in steam....</td></tr>
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I turned off the pot pulled the yarn out, put it in a bowl to cool and walked away, deflated. My dreams of the perfect multi-colour yarn had gone down the drain. Or at least they were about to, when I dumped the dye stock. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwJXw36PzRg/VwK9LadV7yI/AAAAAAAAApM/SkF5znrwE28zep_dzakuzeokRIaCXPcaw/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwJXw36PzRg/VwK9LadV7yI/AAAAAAAAApM/SkF5znrwE28zep_dzakuzeokRIaCXPcaw/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-6.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My failed experiment, sitting in a bowel while I tried to find my pride...</td></tr>
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The purple was nice, as was some of the brighter green, but the remaining yellow had produced what appeared to be a nasty brown. The damage was already done, so I figured I might as well just finish the yarn. Washed it, rinsed it and got it ready to dry<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a3tknIvS9AE/VwK9Lqg2zZI/AAAAAAAAApM/WVWczHGvcokWhTNnnVO28vU0VuboR_dRQ/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a3tknIvS9AE/VwK9Lqg2zZI/AAAAAAAAApM/WVWczHGvcokWhTNnnVO28vU0VuboR_dRQ/s400/KettleDyingExperiment-1-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wet dye... A couple of pretty spots, but also a couple of pretty gross looking spots</td></tr>
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After I dried it, it didn't like quite as horrendous as I thought it would. It was still not what I was expecting at all, but it looked like maybe it would have some promise. What were nasty brown spots on the dark yarn had dried to sort of light green/dark yellow spots, and there were not as many of them as I had though. In fact, most of the yarn was a rather pleasing green, with an equally pleasing purple.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o3NNyAAJ3uQ/VwK9LpO04PI/AAAAAAAAApM/Ym_gE7G4CkgOh7FVVhVtvHYijDXIGzS0w/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o3NNyAAJ3uQ/VwK9LpO04PI/AAAAAAAAApM/Ym_gE7G4CkgOh7FVVhVtvHYijDXIGzS0w/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-8.jpg" width="222" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once it was dry, the colours were not as horrific as I thought</td></tr>
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I caked it up and put the picture on my Ravelry stash page. At the time I was also posting my new dyeing skills on Facebook, so this fail was out there for the world to see.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzajzqV1bhs/VwK9L2Pg_NI/AAAAAAAAApM/3BvTqqZONP4yLBH2h-jYF0rzog7sWwJ7g/s1600/KettleDyingExperiment-1-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzajzqV1bhs/VwK9L2Pg_NI/AAAAAAAAApM/3BvTqqZONP4yLBH2h-jYF0rzog7sWwJ7g/s320/KettleDyingExperiment-1-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried and caked, ready to knit with</td></tr>
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Surprisingly, people were commenting saying they really like the colours, and thought it would be really nice when knit up. All I could see when I looked at it was the failed colourway of my dreams, but when others looked at it, they saw the possibilities. I put the yarn aside for a while and went back to hand painting my yarn. At least when I did it that way, I was getting somewhat predicable results.<br />
<br />
A few months later I was talking to a friend about the socks I was going to make for her. I told her she could have her pick of yarns, and asked what her favourite colour was. She was looking for something green. I told her I didn't have much with a lot of green, but that I would show here one mistake I had made a while back. If she didn't like it, which I didn't expect her to, I would custom dye something for her. I sent there picture of the caked yarn and she absolutely loved it! She claimed it right off the bat. That was they yarn she wanted her socks made out of. Turns out "what not to do #4" is convince yourself that a failure is a failure...<br />
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Still skeptical that anything good could come of what felt like a catastrophe to me mere weeks ago, I cast on her socks. And was very surprised to see that as they were knitting up, the yarn was actually growing on me. I was liking it! How could that be? This yarn had crushed my kettle dyeing dreams, and I liked it?<br />
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I finished the socks, took a few pictures, and mailed them off to their new owner. She got them just as she was on her way to Scotland, and she wore them almost the whole time she was there.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BC7spMWby8/VwK9KKeuLGI/AAAAAAAAApM/C9BixH6jBB4t7gZqovxJxCzDTyRpeNpHw/s1600/KellysSocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0BC7spMWby8/VwK9KKeuLGI/AAAAAAAAApM/C9BixH6jBB4t7gZqovxJxCzDTyRpeNpHw/s320/KellysSocks-2.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kelly's Socks</td></tr>
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So don't let what you perceive as a fail, even if you think it is an epic fail, deter you from either knitting with it, or dyeing more. For a while I told myself I would never kettle dye another yarn again, but now I know that even if I don't get what I was intending, I might still get a what someone else is hoping for!<br />
<br />
UPDATE - I discovered on YouTube today that Rebecca from ChemKnits did the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gn1MssCv-U" target="_blank"> same type of experiment,</a> using Easter Egg dye tablets, back in early 2015 (I did mine in 2013), and it looks like it did something similar to her. The green just took over. In hers, more of it washed out later, but nice t know it is not just me it happens to :)<br />
<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-79775494985983715332016-04-04T15:18:00.002-03:002016-04-04T15:18:39.100-03:00How To - Immersion Dyeing (Part One - Single Colour)Also referred to as kettle dyeing, and probably my least used method of dyeing yarn so far. Until recently, most of the yarns I dyed were multi-colour, and I didn't have a whole lot of interest in solid or semisolid colours. But I recently discovered a mosaic sock pattern that I wanted to try, so I decided to do a solid colour. Here is the first pair I made, and this blog post will show you how I got the solid colour<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ojtz5zrc1sg/VwKhG1mK8GI/AAAAAAAAAnI/ZLusDPM1ztwV1rweBsQvxNtxRuKSjQMJQ/s1600/MosiacSocks-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ojtz5zrc1sg/VwKhG1mK8GI/AAAAAAAAAnI/ZLusDPM1ztwV1rweBsQvxNtxRuKSjQMJQ/s320/MosiacSocks-4.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first pair of mosaic socks, that turned out to be way too small for me.</td></tr>
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<b>What you will need</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>100g of yarn - I used Bare Opal sock yarn (superwash)</li>
<li>Dye - I used a combination of Kool Aid and WCR black food colouring</li>
<li>Acid - I used citric acid in my premixed formula (1 tablespoon citric acid powder in one cup of water). If you are using Kool Aid, you may not need this, as there is a lot of citric acid in the Kool Aid itself.</li>
<li>Non-iodized salt - I use fine grain sea salt because that is what I happen to have on hand. </li>
<li>A pot big enough to be able to get lots of water around your skein</li>
<li>A stove</li>
<li>Mild dish soap or baby shampoo</li>
<li>Tongs</li>
<li>A towel</li>
</ul>
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<b>Step 1 - Soak your yarn</b></div>
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<div>
Because we are going to be immersion dyeing the yarn, and are going for a solid colour, the yarn should be soaked in plain water, with no acid. This way the colour will absorb more evenly</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d0nawVqhM8w/VwKlV5FQWOI/AAAAAAAAAnU/52pEDjWcMNsdCteunr_Mu9VFJW83_nA3g/s1600/ImmersionDyed_01_Soaking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d0nawVqhM8w/VwKlV5FQWOI/AAAAAAAAAnU/52pEDjWcMNsdCteunr_Mu9VFJW83_nA3g/s320/ImmersionDyed_01_Soaking.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since I am only doing on skein, I soak the yarn in the pot I am going to dye it in. </td></tr>
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<b>Step 2 - Prepare your dye stock</b></div>
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For this yarn, I started with just Ghoul Aid (A Halloween special edition of Kool Aid). I started with 5 packages. I also added my 1/4 tsp of salt to this mixture, but you can't really see it in the picture. To ensure the salt was dissolved, I mixed the dye stock with very hot tap water. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5s3cCyhBi3Y/VwKlXyiwVrI/AAAAAAAAAn0/uqyvQO0yxKsKsoTFl0k43kS20I8C1MqbA/s1600/ImmersionDyed_02_DyeStock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5s3cCyhBi3Y/VwKlXyiwVrI/AAAAAAAAAn0/uqyvQO0yxKsKsoTFl0k43kS20I8C1MqbA/s320/ImmersionDyed_02_DyeStock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three packages of Ghoul-Aid and salt in a glass. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBMF7iv2XHc/VwKlVyGeXhI/AAAAAAAAAnY/uDGtfCNpF-McKBqoK8K8RcXvuSPbyejrQ/s1600/ImmersionDyed_03_DyeStock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cBMF7iv2XHc/VwKlVyGeXhI/AAAAAAAAAnY/uDGtfCNpF-McKBqoK8K8RcXvuSPbyejrQ/s320/ImmersionDyed_03_DyeStock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After adding the water and mixing. The mixture turns black, and you can see there is a slight brown film at the top. </td></tr>
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<div>
<i>NOTE: For the final yarn that you see, there is a total of 10 pkgs of the Ghoul Aid and 20 drops of Wilton Color Right black dye. I will try to remember to add info in the post as I go along as to where I added more. I also think I added too much in total, so if you are trying this.... use about 1/3 less than what I used</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<b>Step 3 - Dye your yarn</b></div>
<div>
I removed the yarn from the water, squeezing out a fair amount of the water, and put in on a plate off to the side. I then added the dyestock to the water, mixed it well, and slowly added the yarn back in. The theory being adding it slowly will help with a more even colour distribution. I turned the heat on medium and let the water come up to temperature</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0L8-kzwjjo/VwKlWSjHS2I/AAAAAAAAAnc/JbVe9Qlvwws2QQUdofUPuAbrqNAyKKBag/s1600/ImmersionDyed_04_DyePot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E0L8-kzwjjo/VwKlWSjHS2I/AAAAAAAAAnc/JbVe9Qlvwws2QQUdofUPuAbrqNAyKKBag/s320/ImmersionDyed_04_DyePot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ghoul Aid on it's own gives a nice grey colour, but when you look at it in the pot, there seems to be a lot of green in the dyestock. The yarn didn't seem to have the green, but the dyestock did</td></tr>
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<div>
After about 30 minutes, the dye was almost exhausted, but I realized the yarn was not going to be anywhere near as dark as I wanted it. I didn't have a specific colour in mind, but I had depth of colour in mind, and this was not it. I mixed up three more packages of Ghoul Aid with 10 drops of WCR black in the same glass I used before. I removed the yarn from the water, added the new dyestock, then added the yarn back in. This time I got a very dark colour, that seemed to have hints of red and brown in it (probably from the WCR black).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I let the yarn go for another 20 minutes or so, and even though I know there was a lot of citric acid from the Kool Aid, I still added one tablespoon of my liquid citric acid mix to help move things along. I highly doubt I needed to do this, and probably should have just used one of my pH strips to test the water (when I do test it, I aim for about 4, unless there is red #3, then I go for 6), but old habits dye hard, and since I normally only use food colouring, I think I added the citric acid in auto-pilot mode.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Be careful if you are using your tongs or other utensils to check on your yarn. It is better to just leave it alone as much as possible. I have a tendency to poke at it a bit much, and have tangled it up quite nicely a few times. If you must look, try to make sure you are picking it up near the ties. That way you at least have a hope of keeping it untangled.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 4 - Cool, wash, rinse and dry your yarn</b></div>
<div>
As with all other dyeing I do, I am impatient, so I used my tongs to pull it out and put it on a plate to cool faster. I dumped my dyestock and washed out my pot, then put the yarn in the sink to wash it. And guess what? I tool pictures of that part for once!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IwZU3EQReBQ/VwKlX4Wg_YI/AAAAAAAAAn4/OS61v81bIdoiH92z_Ot3juA3Z9V_M5PXw/s1600/ImmersionDyed_06_Washing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IwZU3EQReBQ/VwKlX4Wg_YI/AAAAAAAAAn4/OS61v81bIdoiH92z_Ot3juA3Z9V_M5PXw/s320/ImmersionDyed_06_Washing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My somewhat tangled yarn in the sink, going for a bath</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
The good news about getting your skein somewhat tangled as I did, is that when you are washing it, and can actually see it, it can be pretty easy to untangle. I found one of the ends with the ties and carefully lifted it out of the water, separating the two sides of the skein until it was back to normal and not all scrambled. Once washed and rinsed, I squeezed out the excess water. </div>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-km25sor7x-w/VwKlXN6tviI/AAAAAAAAAn4/xuN6-mPXx947vQ1qc8TsMoJZVaOnjlecg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_06_Squeezing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-km25sor7x-w/VwKlXN6tviI/AAAAAAAAAn4/xuN6-mPXx947vQ1qc8TsMoJZVaOnjlecg/s320/ImmersionDyed_06_Squeezing.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squeezing the water out after the bath. I like to twist it around the tap to give me extra leverage to squeeze out the extra. Just don't squeeze too hard... you can actually break your tap if you are not careful.</td></tr>
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<div>
Once my yarn was washed and rinsed, I wrapped it in a towel to get out as much extra water as possible. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkM4UIfu6FM/VwKlXkn-3AI/AAAAAAAAAn4/tVyXlGv2y7U5ftNcjTSrsLR8Pu-o1N1Kg/s1600/ImmersionDyed_06_SqueezingTowel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkM4UIfu6FM/VwKlXkn-3AI/AAAAAAAAAn4/tVyXlGv2y7U5ftNcjTSrsLR8Pu-o1N1Kg/s320/ImmersionDyed_06_SqueezingTowel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrapping the yarn in a towel</td></tr>
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<div>
After it is wrapped, I put one end of the towel on the floor, hold it down with my foot, and twist the ever loving crap out of the towel to get out as much water as I can. I then put my yarn on the shoe rack in my dryer to speed up the drying process</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svnpBOAP__Q/VwKlXLhfryI/AAAAAAAAAn4/EwR2n6lQZHAKPmLBavTqNDGcCzmx4Hrug/s1600/ImmersionDyed_06_Drying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-svnpBOAP__Q/VwKlXLhfryI/AAAAAAAAAn4/EwR2n6lQZHAKPmLBavTqNDGcCzmx4Hrug/s320/ImmersionDyed_06_Drying.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This rack has never seen a shoe in it's life, but has seen about 75% or more of my yarns!</td></tr>
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After the yarn had dried completely, I was relatively happy with the colour, but noticed that around the areas where it was tied, even though it was tied incredibly loosely, there seemed to be some really light spots. If they had been a lighter version of the brown I had gotten, I would have been fine with that, but they were actually a lighter version of the grey that the first batch of Ghoul Aid gave me. And they were big enough spots that I felt it would really impact the mosaic pattern if I knit with it, so I decided to overdye the yarn. </div>
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I soaked the yarn again, although I don't think I soaked out long enough this time because I was in a rush. I mixed up 2 more packages of Ghoul Aid and about 10 drops of WCR black. After 8 drops the bottle started just giving me air, so I filled it with water to get the rest out, which I think gave me about 10 more drops. In retrospect, I probably could have done maybe 1 package of Ghoul Aid and 5 drops of black and would have gotten what I was going for. I then repeated steps 3 and 4, including adding another tablespoon of citric acid. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bpGN8EVmm3U/VwKlWeHhHoI/AAAAAAAAAn4/kmLPw_kPWU0QOj-AKhIsD699o4v-ehGlw/s1600/ImmersionDyed_05_DyePotOverdyeing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bpGN8EVmm3U/VwKlWeHhHoI/AAAAAAAAAn4/kmLPw_kPWU0QOj-AKhIsD699o4v-ehGlw/s320/ImmersionDyed_05_DyePotOverdyeing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overdyeing the yarn to get a much deeper colour. WAY too much dyestock in the overdye.</td></tr>
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The dye seemed to almost exhaust, and I used my "close enough" rule for the colour on this second round of dyeing. Rinsing this one out took about half an hour or more, and I lost a LOT of brown and green in the rinse. I have a bad habit when overdyeing to oversaturate the dye. And then spend more time washing the excess out than I did dyeing the yarn. But I did manage to get rid of almost all of the light spots. I did find one little spot when it was done, but I wasn't about to overdye a third time. </div>
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After the yarn was completely dried, I wound up with this skein, which I called Dark Chocolate. In certain lights it has almost a purple look, but most light shows it as a dark brown with some red highlights. You can still see some very faint spots where even with the overdyeing, the grey showed through, but they appear to only be a couple of stitches worth, so I did not worry about them So far I haven't seen them on any of the three socks I have knit. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoE/kPfze9xNRIcHMwLl72CFDNtHXhmB2_iyA/s1600/DarkChocolate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbYqjAy2Jnw/VwKr6pWtBHI/AAAAAAAAAoE/kPfze9xNRIcHMwLl72CFDNtHXhmB2_iyA/s320/DarkChocolate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark Chocolate</td></tr>
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And when used with a different colour, it really appears brown. Here is my second attempt at the mosaic pattern I showed at the top of the post.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SvZ05k2MOsI/VwKtElJHEjI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/aueppv8GdgERkrNSWEUUh584FhT1paPHA/s1600/PinkLemonadeMosiacSocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SvZ05k2MOsI/VwKtElJHEjI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/aueppv8GdgERkrNSWEUUh584FhT1paPHA/s320/PinkLemonadeMosiacSocks-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>On the next instalment of The Impatient Dyer....</b></div>
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I am going to do something that I know a lot of people do, but have not tried yet. It will be a part two of the immersion dyeing, but I will be dyeing the skein in one colour while it is twisted, then taking it out, re-twisting it, and dyeing it a second colour. I may even do three, depend on how well it works. </div>
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Until then, happy dyeing!</div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-73203486307445859222016-03-31T15:49:00.004-03:002016-03-31T15:56:07.954-03:00How To - Gradient/Ombre - Ball MethodThis one was a lot of fun, but you have to be willing to work with wet yarn to accomplish this look. The idea for this came from a thread on the What A Kool Way to Dye forum, that was inspired by another post, that was inspired by a video someone had posted of this method. So, like a lot of the other techniques, I didn't come up with this one... I am just giving you my notes on how to replicate what I did with it.<br />
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This method will result in a ball of yarn that fades from one colour to another, and when finished, will give you something that may look sort of like this:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b99Qh92nZCQ/Vv1heCT7_8I/AAAAAAAAAl8/SqiEIxQHXaw7e5Q8_C3qJ9jnKqsUfbKSw/s1600/GradientDyeing_Skeined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b99Qh92nZCQ/Vv1heCT7_8I/AAAAAAAAAl8/SqiEIxQHXaw7e5Q8_C3qJ9jnKqsUfbKSw/s320/GradientDyeing_Skeined.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<b>High Level Details</b><br />
Basically, you are going to wind a loose ball of yarn, dye it one colour, rewind it, and dye it a second colour. I have actually done it where I also rewound the ball into two balls and dyed a third colour in the middle.<br />
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<b>What you will need</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>100g fingering weight yarn - because I am knitting a pair of socks, I divided this into two 50g balls, so I would have matching yarn for each sock</li>
<li>A pot tall enough that you can put enough dye stock to cover the balls of yarn</li>
<li>A cooling rack that fits in the pot (optional but will help the dye penetrate more evenly)</li>
<li>Dye - Wilton Color Right was my dye of choice</li>
<li>Acid - I use citric acid powder, but you can use vinegar. For my citric acid, I mix one tablespoon of the powder in one cup of water, and then use that mixture.</li>
<li>A stove</li>
<li>Tongs long enough to reach into the pot and get your ball of yarn</li>
<li>A plate</li>
<li>Paper towels</li>
<li>Mild dish soap or baby shampoo</li>
<li>Towel</li>
<li>Niddy Noddy/Swift - Optional but will help the yarn dry faster</li>
</ul>
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<b>Step 1 - Wind your yarn into loose balls</b></div>
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This can be tricky, because too loose and they fall apart, but too tight and your dye does not penetrate. What I did was wrap the first 1/4 of the ball as I normally would, then for the rest of the ball, I placed three fingers on the ball and wrapped over them 10 times. I then pulled my fingers out, move them and wrapped over them 10 time in a different direction. Repeat until the ball is about one repeat of this from being finished. With the last section of yarn, wrap it loosely around the ball in all different directions, basically creating a little cage, then tuck the ends in. This will stop the layers of yarn from falling off the ball as it is being dyed. </div>
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<b>Step 2 - Soak the balls of yarn</b></div>
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Soak the yarn in plain water for at least half an hour, but longer may be better. Because the yarn is wound in a ball, it may take longer for the water to penetrate all the way through the ball.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DB6ASSweio/Vv1hcjiZsYI/AAAAAAAAAmE/nCDW_zc6gzYQAMxIsNtUc_yHyjqUOvVeg/s1600/GradientDyeing_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9DB6ASSweio/Vv1hcjiZsYI/AAAAAAAAAmE/nCDW_zc6gzYQAMxIsNtUc_yHyjqUOvVeg/s320/GradientDyeing_01.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 50g balls of Bare Opal Sock yarn, soaking in a bowl of warm water</td></tr>
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<b>Step 3 - Prepare the dye stock</b></div>
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Put lots of warm water in your pot and add your dye. For this purple in this one, I used 15 drops of pink and one drop of blue. Mix thoroughly and add the cooling rack, if you are using one. </div>
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<b><i>Note</i></b>: Do not add the citric acid at this point<br />
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<b>Step 4 - Add your yarn, bring your dye stock up to temperature, and hold it there for what seems like forever....</b></div>
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I am going to say this part at the very beginning, so you are not prepared. In all the times I have done this method, I rarely get the colour to exhaust completely from the dye stock. If you have loads of time and patience, and want to heat it, let it cool, let it sit overnight, heat it again, etc., you may be able to get all the dye to exhaust. I don't have that kind of patience, so I make a "close enough" call when dyeing this way.</div>
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Add your yarn to the pot of dye stock, adding more water if necessary to cover the yarn, then bring the dye stock up to temperature.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppMGOMUFiFw/Vv1hb9O16jI/AAAAAAAAAmE/vvTv-Ie1vUI00kf0180SHZe7RxigjMhmA/s1600/GradientDyeing_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppMGOMUFiFw/Vv1hb9O16jI/AAAAAAAAAmE/vvTv-Ie1vUI00kf0180SHZe7RxigjMhmA/s320/GradientDyeing_02.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going for a bath in the purple</td></tr>
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Once the dye stock has been brought up to temperature, you can start slowly adding your acid. I add one tablespoon at a time, and usually wind up with about 3-4 tablespoons in total. For this particular yarn, I actually added a full tablespoon of the powdered citric acid to the dye stock before adding the yarn. That was WAY too much acid... </div>
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Want to see what happens if you add too much to a dyestock that has red# 3 in it? The colour decides to turn into a sort of a mist, that sticks to the sides of the pots, and hovers at the top of the dyestock, even though you can't see it.... and when you put your hands in the water to retrieve the yarn after it has cooled, you will get a manicure you didn't intend..... </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJkBszxPlEw/Vv1hdMSOVbI/AAAAAAAAAmE/yNxXChDTFTsU7BftrzpYt92OUqKeLhUig/s1600/GradientDyeing_08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WJkBszxPlEw/Vv1hdMSOVbI/AAAAAAAAAmE/yNxXChDTFTsU7BftrzpYt92OUqKeLhUig/s320/GradientDyeing_08.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">I guess I should have put all fingers in at the same time to get a more even colour on my unintentional manicure. It actually took about three days for this to finally wear off</td></tr>
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Make sure to move your balls of yarn around fairly often, so there is no one spot sitting on the bottom of the pot or on the same section of the cooling rack for very long. If they are sitting in one spot, that spot will not take up the dye as well. </div>
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I found that this type of dyeing takes quite a long time. This picture is from the yarn being in the dye stock for about 30 to 45 minutes. You can see by the dye stock in the background that there is still dye that needs to strike. Blue always takes the longest to bond to the yarn. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nkQqrBQMUbQ/Vv1hbyuz1KI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ZilZZYz2xcUsiuesauPNPzMRdcDdE0sZg/s1600/GradientDyeing_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nkQqrBQMUbQ/Vv1hbyuz1KI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ZilZZYz2xcUsiuesauPNPzMRdcDdE0sZg/s320/GradientDyeing_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what the outside looked like after about 30 minutes</td></tr>
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I had to take the pot off the stove so I could make supper, so it sat for about half an hour or so while I cooked. I then put it back on and let the yarn go for another 30 minutes. The dye stock was clearer, but it was not completely exhausted. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xWmQoGtOyps/Vv1hcaoY-7I/AAAAAAAAAmE/OK557FG7CJcFoIzczSUMmje_G-HJg3Bxg/s1600/GradientDyeing_04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xWmQoGtOyps/Vv1hcaoY-7I/AAAAAAAAAmE/OK557FG7CJcFoIzczSUMmje_G-HJg3Bxg/s320/GradientDyeing_04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I decided the blue was never going to set, and also decided this was close enough</td></tr>
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This became my "close enough" moment, and I removed the yarn, placing it on some paper towel on a plate to let it somewhat cool. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6BoT49YT5-g/Vv1hceC-ZHI/AAAAAAAAAmE/a9bTQ17xmwAWxRpf9P5kfqkk9qNbAjrIA/s1600/GradientDyeing_05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6BoT49YT5-g/Vv1hceC-ZHI/AAAAAAAAAmE/a9bTQ17xmwAWxRpf9P5kfqkk9qNbAjrIA/s320/GradientDyeing_05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see where the yarn has fallen away that the deep outside colour does not penetrate very deeply</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iU_iU93VZXk/Vv1hcpurkoI/AAAAAAAAAmE/BxwpwbTyYvM8h63ASIbinak2z8rOpEtLw/s1600/GradientDyeing_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iU_iU93VZXk/Vv1hcpurkoI/AAAAAAAAAmE/BxwpwbTyYvM8h63ASIbinak2z8rOpEtLw/s320/GradientDyeing_06.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pushed a bit more out of the way to see how far the colour had penetrated.<br />
It did not go very deep with the purple, but I was seeing a lot of pink and pale pink</td></tr>
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<b>Step 5 - Rewrap the yarn for the second colour</b></div>
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This is what a lot of people refer to as the yucky part, since wrapping damp wool is not exactly the most fun process, and your fingers will prune up big time! </div>
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Once the yarn has somewhat cooled, you can do a rinse under the tap to get out any excess dye, then squeeze gently to remove excess water, and even wrap in a towel if you like and squeeze more. Since I am using superwash wool, I squeeze the ever loving crap out of it to get out as much of the water as I can. </div>
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Next, put the yarn in a bowl so it will have something to roll around in while you rewind it. Otherwise you are chasing a ball of wet yarn all around your countertop/floor. </div>
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The neat thing I could see what that each section of the yarn I wrapped seemed to work as a resist for the layer below it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lm_EG03_5ms/Vv1hc0eJCrI/AAAAAAAAAmE/X_NXy4k1548j1ns3ruwVe7dinNgO502pg/s1600/GradientDyeing_07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lm_EG03_5ms/Vv1hc0eJCrI/AAAAAAAAAmE/X_NXy4k1548j1ns3ruwVe7dinNgO502pg/s320/GradientDyeing_07.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About 1/4 of the way through</td></tr>
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<div>
As with the first time, wrap the first 1/4 normally, then use the finger spacing method to wrap the rest of the yarn. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4PwvQyLLs4/Vv1hdA5VjoI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ByFxHqkxAfM_g7pRFuvj0VPEjWORPakkQ/s1600/GradientDyeing_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t4PwvQyLLs4/Vv1hdA5VjoI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ByFxHqkxAfM_g7pRFuvj0VPEjWORPakkQ/s320/GradientDyeing_09.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Completely rewrapped, you can just barely see a hint of pink </td></tr>
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<div>
Once the yarn has been rewrapped, you will need to wash and rinse your pot out, to avoid transfer of any residual colour. Even if it doesn't look like there is any in there, look at the picture of my fingers above....that was from this purple dye bath, that looked like it only had a bit of blue left in it. The top layer of the water and the sides of the pot were covered in a fine pink residue. </div>
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<b>Step 6 - Repeat Steps 3 and 4 - Prepare dye stock and dye the yarn</b></div>
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For the second colour, I decided to go with a teal. I used 12 blue and 3 yellow. I added the rewound balls of yarn to the dye pot, bought everything up to temperature, and played the "add acid and wait" game. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DiJRlyFIO6o/Vv1hdWNyZWI/AAAAAAAAAmE/_LFCl5r3-og0CTR6xAOAjOQ9LmwawDUiQ/s1600/GradientDyeing_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DiJRlyFIO6o/Vv1hdWNyZWI/AAAAAAAAAmE/_LFCl5r3-og0CTR6xAOAjOQ9LmwawDUiQ/s320/GradientDyeing_10.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for teal</td></tr>
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<div>
After about half an hour, the colour was still really light</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lq3MmWkaxm4/Vv1hdWhIOKI/AAAAAAAAAmE/DjYzGQRsyMo4_q23pbYmS03oLRrrml10w/s1600/GradientDyeing_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lq3MmWkaxm4/Vv1hdWhIOKI/AAAAAAAAAmE/DjYzGQRsyMo4_q23pbYmS03oLRrrml10w/s320/GradientDyeing_11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems more green than teal - you can see that the blue is not striking nearly as fast as the yellow</td></tr>
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<div>
After another 45 minutes or so, I had a nice deep green on the outside. Took it out of the pot to see how well it had penetrated</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XB_AmC6K1oQ/Vv1hdsZv3YI/AAAAAAAAAmE/wbiNldD39s4W2Yjk0xSg6v2Jpb8xjRyAQ/s1600/GradientDyeing_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XB_AmC6K1oQ/Vv1hdsZv3YI/AAAAAAAAAmE/wbiNldD39s4W2Yjk0xSg6v2Jpb8xjRyAQ/s320/GradientDyeing_12.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh out of the pot, just as I was starting to rewrap it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For this colour, I decided to try something different. To get a deeper penetrations, I re-wrapped the each ball of yarn so it was divided into a 1/4 and a 3/4 ball.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFngZKSc62M/Vv1hd14LEQI/AAAAAAAAAmE/bFVMuYaLIF4TYeca48Fowi824O-S9jawQ/s1600/GradientDyeing_14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uFngZKSc62M/Vv1hd14LEQI/AAAAAAAAAmE/bFVMuYaLIF4TYeca48Fowi824O-S9jawQ/s320/GradientDyeing_14.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About 1/4 of it wrapped into a separate ball</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Once that was done, I added it back into the dye pot</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LQ8JDJa-4Gs/Vv1hd0qseRI/AAAAAAAAAmE/yH34eLnNshgkpgpzRuUXo5zdC3yuc8Cng/s1600/GradientDyeing_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LQ8JDJa-4Gs/Vv1hd0qseRI/AAAAAAAAAmE/yH34eLnNshgkpgpzRuUXo5zdC3yuc8Cng/s320/GradientDyeing_13.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The re-wrapped yarn - more water was added after the second ball was added</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<b>Step 7 - Cool, wash, rinse, reskein, wash, rinse, and dry</b></div>
<div>
Once you have gotten to the dye to exhaust, or have gotten to the "close enough" stage, you can either leave the yarn in water to cool, in hopes of exhausting the dye a bit more, or you can take it out and put it on a plate, like you did before. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For this method, I find that you really do need to take the time to reskein it. Both to make sure you are washing all the extra dye out, and to help with the drying process. Give it a quick wash in some mild dish soap or baby shampoo, rinse it out, squeeze out as much excess water as you can, then put it in a bowl (like you were doing when rewrapping it) and let it bounce around in that bowl while you reskein it. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For this particular yarn, I used my swift to reskein it. I don't use that anymore, because it kills my arms. I now use my niddy noddy.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ro6SFb3XvNA/Vv1rBWvK-KI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/lo3trYWd5akmg1kYPRC39FBx_7YZ1Rjow/s1600/GradientDyeing_OnSwift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ro6SFb3XvNA/Vv1rBWvK-KI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/lo3trYWd5akmg1kYPRC39FBx_7YZ1Rjow/s320/GradientDyeing_OnSwift.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reskeining on my swift</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
After reskeining, wash and rinse again. The dye will have gotten trapped inside the ball of yarn, and this is the best way to make sure you have gotten rid of all of the residual dye.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dry using your preferred method (by now you know that for me it is a shoe rack in the dryer, thanks to my superwash yarn).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 8 - Enjoy your yarn!</b></div>
<div>
Twist up your skein, or rewind your yarn, and enjoy</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gdzTgc1eYG4/Vv1heJAC_FI/AAAAAAAAAmE/w-Je3sLoa3Ui0UFP9qiMZFVmDnO3Qf_2Q/s1600/GradientDyeing_Wound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gdzTgc1eYG4/Vv1heJAC_FI/AAAAAAAAAmE/w-Je3sLoa3Ui0UFP9qiMZFVmDnO3Qf_2Q/s320/GradientDyeing_Wound.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You got to see the skeined yarn above, so here is the wound yarn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BYBCWywHbPs/Vv1hh0DL0nI/AAAAAAAAAmE/m_PcG99R92ER7CTsWalr5HO9ry0tKHJtw/s1600/EntrelacSocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BYBCWywHbPs/Vv1hh0DL0nI/AAAAAAAAAmE/m_PcG99R92ER7CTsWalr5HO9ry0tKHJtw/s320/EntrelacSocks.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My purple to green gradient became these lovely entralac socks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
One thing I did notice was that because I don't need a whole 50g skein to make my socks, I missed out on most of the dark green from this skein of yarn. I realized this was going to happen right around when I finished the heel and had picked up the gusset stitches. I contemplated frogging it completely, or even just back to the entrelac and adding more rows of entrelac, but realized the cuff would be too tight to go any higher on the leg, so I just went with it. Next time I will knit the socks toe up, so I can make them as tall as I need to in order to see all the colours. Or I will dye smaller balls of yarn. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was able to use the leftover green for the contrasting colour on a pair of ankle socks, and still have enough left over to do the same thing for at least one more pair of socks. As you can see, I still have not made it to the dark green. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEcq19whuHo/Vv1sGzX_71I/AAAAAAAAAmY/lHXNdZVf4K0V5_rkmwTqpl5_gGqTODCaQ/s1600/AnkleSocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEcq19whuHo/Vv1sGzX_71I/AAAAAAAAAmY/lHXNdZVf4K0V5_rkmwTqpl5_gGqTODCaQ/s320/AnkleSocks.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using some of the leftovers for toes and heels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have since done a couple more gradients this way...</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a2uW5qasDuA/Vv1u0RftiVI/AAAAAAAAAmk/iYA0_3tkYXUKOuWtnLtediPyJlPYoGzSA/s1600/ChristmasOmbre2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a2uW5qasDuA/Vv1u0RftiVI/AAAAAAAAAmk/iYA0_3tkYXUKOuWtnLtediPyJlPYoGzSA/s320/ChristmasOmbre2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Ombre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4wyIGcGcXs/Vv1u0oDBcaI/AAAAAAAAAmo/HCt31CqV2E4yvvEes3wCC-Jwcd7kVUnIg/s1600/PinkToBlueOmbre2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4wyIGcGcXs/Vv1u0oDBcaI/AAAAAAAAAmo/HCt31CqV2E4yvvEes3wCC-Jwcd7kVUnIg/s320/PinkToBlueOmbre2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink to Blue</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
And even did one where I dyed three colours. I did the brown first, rewrapped and did the blue, then rewrapped again so each ball was divided in half and did a black in the centre. Once again, I overestimated how much yarn I needed (it was easy to do...men's size 12 and he wanted super tall legs), so I had enough to make his wife a pair of ankle socks.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fgvwTemv5kc/Vv1viPABknI/AAAAAAAAAmw/7i0YEDgm0U0eEE89JiphRSj2VFE2Sjl0w/s1600/BlueBlackBrownBallDyed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fgvwTemv5kc/Vv1viPABknI/AAAAAAAAAmw/7i0YEDgm0U0eEE89JiphRSj2VFE2Sjl0w/s320/BlueBlackBrownBallDyed.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wound yarn and the beginning of the sock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4IZ0R3dn9XE/Vv1viHCP_ZI/AAAAAAAAAm4/5sL0E5leTZIhAKBQpXIWMG_nAiVchNOHg/s1600/DansChristmasSocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4IZ0R3dn9XE/Vv1viHCP_ZI/AAAAAAAAAm4/5sL0E5leTZIhAKBQpXIWMG_nAiVchNOHg/s400/DansChristmasSocks.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished socks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvqu0sJkUg0/Vv1viLEV02I/AAAAAAAAAm0/uJPx6-5MbycGELaI1IhRjTFkzhlliRwFA/s1600/ChrissysAnkleSocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvqu0sJkUg0/Vv1viLEV02I/AAAAAAAAAm0/uJPx6-5MbycGELaI1IhRjTFkzhlliRwFA/s320/ChrissysAnkleSocks.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Complimentary ankle socks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>On the next instalment of The Impatient Dyer...</b></div>
<div>
For my next How-To, I will most likely do immersion dyeing. I don't do this very often, and when I do, I tend to only do it with one colour, but I know a lot people like to do multiple colours and retwist the skeins in between, so I may have to do multiple parts for that one. I am not sure if I have the images for any of the posts I want to do for that one, so it may be a few days. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Till then, happy dyeing!</div>
Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-74421938499584503962016-03-30T11:11:00.000-03:002016-03-30T11:11:31.352-03:00How To - Skillet Cake DyeingI know the title makes this sound like you are going to wind up with yummy pink pancakes, but, sadly, there are no breakfast goods involved with this method. Although you may wind up with yummy pink and yellow socks like these:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RwTFmlpWhfk/VvvMcx0kS3I/AAAAAAAAAjg/0qDYUFrDO9oA8SVMVg4Ck4LpQdtYF0Wig/s1600/PinkLemonadeSocks-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RwTFmlpWhfk/VvvMcx0kS3I/AAAAAAAAAjg/0qDYUFrDO9oA8SVMVg4Ck4LpQdtYF0Wig/s320/PinkLemonadeSocks-5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Pink Lemonade Socks with funky wood grain pooling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /><div>
This was one of those cases of me looking at a cake of yarn and thinking "I wonder what would happen if I dyed my yarn in a cake, but rather than rewinding the cake, I just dyed one half of it in one colour, the flipped it over and dyed the other half in another colour?" For some of you, that is probably all the info you will need, and you may not even bother to read the rest of the post. I will say there are some tips in here, so it is worth reading, but if you are the adventurous type and want to just go for it, have at it!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now this How-To is a bit out of order, because normally I would put the baseline immersion dyeing technique first, then the gradient cake dyeing technique, and then this variant of the gradient cake dyeing technique, but I love this method so much, I am going to skip over the other ones for now. I will write those up later, and they will appear on the handy little "How To" box on the right hand side of your screen, but for now, let's play with skillet dyeing!</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>What you will need</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>100g bare yarn, wound into two 50g cakes (see Step 1)</li>
<li>A skillet that is tall enough to put enough dyestock to cover half the cake</li>
<ul>
<li>can be done in a pot, but I find it easier in a skillet, since it is easier to see</li>
</ul>
<li>Dye </li>
<ul>
<li>I used Wilton Color Right for this one</li>
</ul>
<li>Non-iodized salt</li>
<ul>
<li>I use sea salt, because that is what I happen to have on hand</li>
</ul>
<li>Acid - I used my citric acid and water solution</li>
<ul>
<li>1 Tbsp citric acid powder in 1 cup of water</li>
</ul>
<li>A stove</li>
<li>Tongs big enough to let you pick up the a cake of yarn</li>
<li>Mild dish soap/baby shampoo/wool wash</li>
<li>Towel</li>
<li>Niddy Noddy (Optional)</li>
<ul>
<li>You can let your yarn dry in the cake, but it will take much longer. Being able to reskein it helps it dry faster</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Step 1 - Cake your yarn</b></div>
</div>
<div>
So the theory behind this is that I am using this yarn to make socks, and I want both socks to match, so I need to dye two matching cakes of yarn. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You will want to wind the cakes loose, but not too loose. If they are too loose, they may somewhat fall apart, and you may also get way too much dye penetration, which can result in the two colours mixing and you getting something completely different than what you were going for in the first place. If you wind them too tight, the colour won't penetrate all the way through. That can give you some really cool designs, but can also give you lots of bare yarn. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 2 - Determine how much dye stock you will need</b></div>
<div>
Place the dry cakes of yarn in the dry skillet. Determine where your dye stock needs to come up to in order to cover half of the cake. Remove the dry cakes and put them aside. </div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Step 3 - Prepare your first dye stock</b></div>
<div>
The first couple of times I did this, I went from dark to light, thinking that if I did the light first, then the whole cake would be wet and the darker colour would wick up into the already dyed yarn. For some colours this will work (this pink and yellow combination), but for other (brown and pink), this does not work so well. So I would say it is probably better, as with most times you are working with multiple shades, to work from light to dark. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Add enough water to the pan to reach the half way mark of the cake, and add the dye. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 4 - Bring your dye stock up to temperature </b></div>
<div>
You are aiming for 170-180 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you reach that temperature, reduce the heat to a simmer. You want to keep the temperature but lose the bubbles. By doing this, you can avoid the dye bubbling up in the middle of the cake (see next picture). You also give the dye less time to wick up into the other half of the cake. At this time, you can also add about 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodize salt. The salt should help slow the absorption of the dye and help you get a more even colour. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 5 - Add your cakes of yarn to the dye stock</b></div>
<div>
I like to add my caked of yarn when they are dry. If they are wet, there is more of a chance of the first colour wicking up into the yarn. It will still wick into the dry yarn, but it won't wick as fast. This may give you more a heathered look to your yarn, but I kind of like that. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhOiE8GLJI8/VvvMbyt2brI/AAAAAAAAAjk/ttao2RZJaHsc1uSI83QsoVvhg7RjEwkZg/s1600/PinkLemonade-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhOiE8GLJI8/VvvMbyt2brI/AAAAAAAAAjk/ttao2RZJaHsc1uSI83QsoVvhg7RjEwkZg/s320/PinkLemonade-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have a Rachael Ray Oval Skillet (much like my Oval Pasta Pot)<br />I also like to use my stainless steel skillet so I can see the colour of the dyestock better</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Make sure you add them both at the same time, and hold your hands over the tops of them so they don't flip over. The goal is to get them to slowly submerge in the dye stock, so the colour gets evenly distributed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Because the cakes are going to be sitting on the bottom of the skillet, you will not get as much colour if you just let them sit there. Using your tongs, carefully lift them just high enough for the dye stock to circulate under them. Repeat this a few times throughout the process, being careful when you put the yarn back in that you do not splash. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The other option is, if you have a round cooling rack that will fit inside your skillet, you can use that as well, just remember to move your cakes around a little bit so it is not always the same spot sitting on the cooling rack. I have one, but it is too tall for use in the skillet I have, and I didn't want to break out my pot. I might, however, have a friend break out their grinder and cut the legs off the cooling rack so I can use it. Other people have suggested trying to put skewers or long knitting needles through the cake and rest them on the top of the skillet, but I have not tried this yet, and am worried it may distort the shape of the cake, thus giving me a completely different effect. There was also one neat suggestion in one of the forums in the What A Kool Way to Dye forum about crocheting a sort of mesh basket type thingie to hang the yarn in. I can't remember what thread it was in...if I remember, I will try to come back and update this part of the post. </div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>Step 6 - Add citric acid, wait for dye to absorb</b></div>
<div>
I used to do this based on the colour (yellow and green, add right away; anything with a lot of blue or red, add gradually later), but now I just add it later for all colours, so I don't have to remember which ones get acid later. Let the yarn sit in the dye stock for about 10 minutes, then slowly add your citric acid/water combination. I tend to add 1 tablespoon at a time, but you can see by the picture above that it can be too much for pinks/reds, so you may want to start with a teaspoon at a time. I typically wind up using about 2 tablespoons in total.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have found that with some colours, like blues and purples, if I leave the yarn in long enough for all of the colour to absorb, it also means there is more time for the dye to wick up into the other half of the cake, so there are time that I will just say the colour has absorbed enough, and move on to the next stage.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
You will need your yarn to remain in the dye stock, at temperature, for at least 20 minutes. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 7 - Remove the cakes from the dye stock, prepare new dyestock</b></div>
<div>
I keep a plate beside my skillet, and when the first colour is done, I gently remove the cakes (usually by putting one end of the tongs inside the middle of the cake and the other on the outside of it), let as much extra water drain as I can, then put them on a plate. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6DZ6hTgiZk/VvvMb_FMHzI/AAAAAAAAAjk/1Av0o4bIdy0lxQrw8z1U9qNffqgc3LOtg/s1600/PinkLemonade-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F6DZ6hTgiZk/VvvMb_FMHzI/AAAAAAAAAjk/1Av0o4bIdy0lxQrw8z1U9qNffqgc3LOtg/s320/PinkLemonade-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the pink bath</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
If you are going from dark to light, it may be a good idea to carefully rinse the cakes at this point, to get some of the excess dye out. That way, it doesn't bleed into the next dyestock. If you are going from light to dark, this does not seem to be as much of an issue, but you can still do it if like. Just remember to fluff up your cake a bit when you are done, as you will have squished it pretty flat rinsing it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Pour out your excess water from the first colour and let your skillet cool a little, then give it a quick wash. Some colours will leave residue, and you don't want that in your second colour. Mix up the second colour the same way you did the first, but use a little less water. Because the cakes are now wet, they will slump a bit, so you don't need as much dye.</div>
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Again, bring your dye stock up to temperature before adding the yarn.. </div>
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<b>Step 8 - Add your yarn to the second colour, adding acid later, as you did in Step 6</b></div>
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Flip your cakes over and add them to the second dye bath. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jc8P6nX19ks/VvvMbyUxGpI/AAAAAAAAAjk/VMRqAp460SE5pTpwVJskjgeFmNoL5t_uw/s1600/PinkLemonade-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jc8P6nX19ks/VvvMbyUxGpI/AAAAAAAAAjk/VMRqAp460SE5pTpwVJskjgeFmNoL5t_uw/s320/PinkLemonade-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tum to add the lemon to my pink lemonade yarn</td></tr>
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At this time, you may find that stray strands of the other colour get into the second dye bath. Especially if you have rinsed and squeezed the cake to get rid of the excess water after the first dye. That tends to make the cake a bit looser. I don't worry about these fiddly bits. They just add character. </div>
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After 10 minutes, slowly add your acid while waiting for the dye to absorb. Again, you want to make sure it is in the heat for at least 20 minutes. </div>
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<b>Step 9 - Remove your yarn, cool, wash and rinse</b></div>
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I never seem to think to take pictures of the washing and rinsing part, for some reason. But here is picture of the yarn after it has been removed, washed and rinsed.</div>
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Because it is in a cake, the centre of the yarn will retain a lot of the hot water, so be careful when washing and rinsing. It may seem like the yarn is cool, but in reality, there may still be some hot left inside of it. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzE8Xu1FTBQ/VvvMcSE49KI/AAAAAAAAAjk/zxByloyoKyc9iVKsP6Lt4gBpyvZnelUOg/s1600/PinkLemonade-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PzE8Xu1FTBQ/VvvMcSE49KI/AAAAAAAAAjk/zxByloyoKyc9iVKsP6Lt4gBpyvZnelUOg/s320/PinkLemonade-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 10 - Reskein the yarn (Optional but recommended) then dry your yarn. </b></div>
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You don't have to reskein your yarn, but I find it helpful for a couple of reasons. First, it lets you wash and rinse the yarn one more time, getting rid of any excess dye that may still be inside the cake. And second, it will help the yarn dry faster. A cake of yarn can take days to dry completely, and we all know how much patience I have for waiting for yarn to dry!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Top7Q0GmR0/VvvMcdWTm6I/AAAAAAAAAjk/wgnK7v4CegAR4kNFVJo8odYbnPAWuIrAg/s1600/PinkLemonade-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Top7Q0GmR0/VvvMcdWTm6I/AAAAAAAAAjk/wgnK7v4CegAR4kNFVJo8odYbnPAWuIrAg/s320/PinkLemonade-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After reskeining and going for a ride on the shoe rack of my dyer</td></tr>
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<b><i>Tip :</i></b> If you are going to reskein, make sure you start in the same place for both skeins (they are in a centre pull ball, so it is easier to start with the yarn in the centre), and make sure to tie whatever end you started with in a particular way. I like to use a nice big bow at the end of the my figure 8 tie, but using a different colour yarn works as well. That way, when you go to rewind it later, you can make sure that both skeins start in the same place. The outside is going to be much darker than the inside, so unless you want fraternal twin socks, it is good to start at the same end for both socks. </div>
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<b>Step 11 - Enjoy your beautiful creation!</b></div>
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You are now ready to knit with your new yarn. And, if you are lucky, you will wind up with some kind of funky pooling, like these socks have.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gNQvGlEA25U/VvvYNDrN0SI/AAAAAAAAAj0/0Q5nU3uDQX4-d36Zq4sp9xVMmqh1-Cu_A/s1600/PinkLemonadeSocks-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gNQvGlEA25U/VvvYNDrN0SI/AAAAAAAAAj0/0Q5nU3uDQX4-d36Zq4sp9xVMmqh1-Cu_A/s320/PinkLemonadeSocks-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side shot of both socks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5fxnHdB8W8/VvvX6CMLqYI/AAAAAAAAAjw/TKaFC9LUgp0O9f_nqOilRVDCHJFoQLcZw/s1600/PinkLemonadeSocks-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5fxnHdB8W8/VvvX6CMLqYI/AAAAAAAAAjw/TKaFC9LUgp0O9f_nqOilRVDCHJFoQLcZw/s320/PinkLemonadeSocks-8.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bottom of my socks</td></tr>
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<div>
I use size 2.75mm needles and am working with 60 sts, plus I twist my stitches when I knit, so my gauge might be different than yours, meaning your socks may pool differently than mine.</div>
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I was able to replicate this pooling effect on a second pair of socks, this time using pink and blue. I dyed the blue first, then added the pink. It gave me this yarn, and these cool socks, which my friend immediately claimed upon seeing the picture. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yLb6T7_uqc/VvvYwmkEHWI/AAAAAAAAAj8/q7BVQnjdA0cJEnxYFMgw_49Hbf29912tQ/s1600/Belewelled2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yLb6T7_uqc/VvvYwmkEHWI/AAAAAAAAAj8/q7BVQnjdA0cJEnxYFMgw_49Hbf29912tQ/s320/Belewelled2-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Bejewelled 2 Yarn <br />Bejewelled 1 was done with a different method and will be shown in a later post</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IWa3uc6Ibo0/VvvYwp972RI/AAAAAAAAAkA/b4N7Q6lphT4ADm6QNA0UPQ2tI8ng66FXQ/s1600/SulleySocks-Composite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IWa3uc6Ibo0/VvvYwp972RI/AAAAAAAAAkA/b4N7Q6lphT4ADm6QNA0UPQ2tI8ng66FXQ/s400/SulleySocks-Composite.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sulley Socks! These reminded me of Sulley from Monsters, Inc. </td></tr>
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<b>One interesting colour fact I learned testing this method</b></div>
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If you dye with brown first, the bottom will be brown, but green will wick up into the other section of the yarn. If you try to overdye that with pink, you will just get a lighter brown... so this is one of those cases where lighter first is definitely better.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NQzBbqM_yGM/VvvZwvBvzcI/AAAAAAAAAkM/iTwlSaKpwvQvvvQIzVJV9slqysOsIroQw/s1600/BrownWickingGreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NQzBbqM_yGM/VvvZwvBvzcI/AAAAAAAAAkM/iTwlSaKpwvQvvvQIzVJV9slqysOsIroQw/s320/BrownWickingGreen.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was attempting to do a brown and pink, and wanted to dye the brown first. To my surprise, the yellow and blue in the brown decided to run away to the top of the skein. I wound up dying the other half green</td></tr>
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I did re-do the intended colourway, dyeing the pink first, and then the brown, and got the results I was aiming for</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jmzw0TmWLI/VvvbxO1yICI/AAAAAAAAAkc/eqYjZdyRg3EOFpviXHTBEziC6bqposALg/s1600/ChickenBones-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jmzw0TmWLI/VvvbxO1yICI/AAAAAAAAAkc/eqYjZdyRg3EOFpviXHTBEziC6bqposALg/s320/ChickenBones-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink dyed first, then brown. One cake flipped so you can see both colours</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KOvUjR6lgEU/VvvbxNsGuoI/AAAAAAAAAkg/c4f0ZK7dsHg1aG6MJ8FMs2Mcxnk5Uvm2g/s1600/ChickenBones-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KOvUjR6lgEU/VvvbxNsGuoI/AAAAAAAAAkg/c4f0ZK7dsHg1aG6MJ8FMs2Mcxnk5Uvm2g/s320/ChickenBones-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Chicken Bones colour way</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYNNQnjKTKg/VvvcXqy7XDI/AAAAAAAAAko/3TTXCioK6PgH0BXWcVNyCEIHE1NiWmUaA/s1600/ChickenBonesSocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYNNQnjKTKg/VvvcXqy7XDI/AAAAAAAAAko/3TTXCioK6PgH0BXWcVNyCEIHE1NiWmUaA/s320/ChickenBonesSocks.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This time I wrapped the cake so I started with the outside, darker yarn first. I still got one section of the pooling, but also got a really funky spiral stripe at the top. </td></tr>
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Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-37251794407739305782016-03-29T15:06:00.002-03:002016-03-29T15:11:57.106-03:00Guar GumI have mentioned using guar gum in a few of my previous posts with a note promising more information on it, so here is that post :)<br />
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Sometimes, when applying dye to my yarn, I need to dye to stay if a very specific spot, and I do not want it to bleed into the surrounding yarn/dyes. In order to do this, the dye stock needs to be thickened. Enter, guar gum<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cl2EKDm3N8o/Vu6-kEINbZI/AAAAAAAAAcU/Wb7vJEIZMcY5OwGyWWyuOytYPDJo-TAGw/s1600/GuarGum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cl2EKDm3N8o/Vu6-kEINbZI/AAAAAAAAAcU/Wb7vJEIZMcY5OwGyWWyuOytYPDJo-TAGw/s320/GuarGum.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any brand will do, this just happened to be what they carried at my local Bulk Barn</td></tr>
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Typically used as a thickening agent in food, particularly gluten free recipes, this nifty little powder is great at thickening up your dye stock. You can usually find it in the grocery store in the gluten free section, or at places like Bulk Barn. I always have trouble pronouncing the name, but luckily, as long as you are close, most places will know what you are looking for.<br />
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I first heard about guar gum in <a href="http://tomboyknits.blogspot.ca/2013/09/unicorn-farts-tutorial.html" target="_blank">tomboyknits Unicorn Farts tutorial</a>. I highly recommend you read this, as the resulting yarn is awesome, and the explanation of the technique of applying it is very detailed. I used the technique to make some Santa Farts, and Mrs. Claus Farts yarns last year.<br />
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It can be a bit fussy to work with, as it doesn't always like to blend nicely in water, and I don't have a blender, so that is where my little helper, glycerin comes in handy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gPt-sSJWymg/Vu6-kEMqD8I/AAAAAAAAAcU/BEMLZhu14VA2vTQ8650WbA4xg2sFFKDUA/s1600/Glycerin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gPt-sSJWymg/Vu6-kEMqD8I/AAAAAAAAAcU/BEMLZhu14VA2vTQ8650WbA4xg2sFFKDUA/s320/Glycerin.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can pick this up pretty cheap at the drug store or the pharmacy section of any other store. </td></tr>
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I like to mix up the desired amount of guar gum (see info below on how much) with about a teaspoon or so of glycerin, until it is nice and smooth, then add it to one of my squeeze bottles that is about 3/4 full of very warm water. (Here are my bottles, not with water in them though...sorry, only picture I have right now)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx38faxt1p8/Vu6-k9UJgzI/AAAAAAAAAcU/1fegxzBNV9wVuZiOmTLnK5tHpjsv8Tg2Q/s1600/SqueezeBottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sx38faxt1p8/Vu6-k9UJgzI/AAAAAAAAAcU/1fegxzBNV9wVuZiOmTLnK5tHpjsv8Tg2Q/s320/SqueezeBottles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Any squeeze bottle will do - these just happen to be ones I got on sale. These are Wilton Candy Melt bottles.</td></tr>
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I then add the drops of food colouring, make sure the top is screwed on tightly, and that either the little red cap is on, or for the one missing the cap, make sure my finger is securely over the top of the tip, and shake the crap out of the bottle until everything is mixed. Using very warm water will help mix everything together smoothly. <br />
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If you are still seeing lumps, you can do a couple of things. You can try to microwave it for about 30 seconds to heat it up a bit more and shake it again, to see if it will blend. Sometimes this will help, unless you have a really big lump. These bottles are not supposed to be microwaved, so don't do it for very long...<br />
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The other thing you can do, which will also make your life easier when you get to the application stage, is to strain the mixture into another bottle, although this can be tricky. I like to put the second bottle inside of a large cup or mug, to hold it in place, put a funnel in the bottle, put a fine wire strainer over top of the funnel, and pour the dyestock through the strainer, and the funnel, into the new bottle. This sometimes requires more hands that I have, so this is sort of a last resort. I usually find if you mix the powder really well with the glycerin first, you wont have as much of an issue with the lumps.<br />
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Another thing to watch out for with the lumps is them getting caught in the tip of the bottle. If this happens, stop, take the top off the bottle and try to rinse out the lump. Don't try to just squeeze past it.... think dye stock explosion when the lump finally gets through, or the top pops off (been there, done that...at least twice). You should also do some test squeezes on a paper towel or something, so you know what to expect when you start applying it to you yarn, and to make sure you don't have leaky bottle. You could also use a medical syringe for this, but due to the thickness of the dye, it may be a bit more work trying to squeeze it through the smaller opening in the syringe. I prefer the bottles, since I can mix it in the bottle, and then apply it from the bottle.<br />
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<b>So how much do you use?</b><br />
There are some great stories out there on Ravelry from people who use a little (or maybe a lot) too much guar gum and the adventures they had rinsing it out. If you are on Ravelry, check out the notes on t<a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/vintagenettles/stash/vintagenettles-squishy-twist-mcn-6" target="_blank">his stash page by VintageNettles</a>. So it is good to have a starting point to work from. It is one of those thing that you will fine tune with time and practice.<br />
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According to the tomboyknits tutorial, for most colours you can use 1/4 of a teaspoon per 8 oz of dyestock. For red and purple, which tend to bleed a lot faster, 1/2 a teaspoon is recommended. My bottles are 8 oz, and I don't fill them all the way, but I still use either 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon per bottle. I tend to use the 1/2 more than the 1/4, because I like to have really thick dye to work with.<br />
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Once you have the dye stock the consistency you are looking for, you can start applying it to your yarn. Here is one yarn I was working on where I wanted some thin black stripes in between my coloured sections. I made up a black dyestock using 50 drops of Wilton Color Right food colouring and 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qHOE75nSfg/Vvq-yxEpgdI/AAAAAAAAAio/H4CFnVkZ-_Y0ZF7tQtWUmlDmHaxZCqxzQ/s1600/BlackStripes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4qHOE75nSfg/Vvq-yxEpgdI/AAAAAAAAAio/H4CFnVkZ-_Y0ZF7tQtWUmlDmHaxZCqxzQ/s400/BlackStripes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can see, the stripes are behaving quite nicely, and the lines are relatively crisp. Any unevenness is due to the yarn moving more than anything else. If you look at the full size picture, you will actually see that the black is staying quite nicely in place while the purple is bleeding under the black and through to the other side of the black stripe.<br />
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Using the method from <a href="http://tomboyknits.blogspot.ca/2013/09/unicorn-farts-tutorial.html" target="_blank">tomboyknits' tutorial</a> (which I highly recommend you read if you have not done so yet), I squeezed the dye onto the yarn close to where I wanted the stripes to send, the gently pushed the dye to where I wanted it to go. Gloves are definitely a must when doing this part, as is extra paper towel!<br />
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I also like to separate the yarn and make sure the dye is getting as deep into is as I can, usually pushing the tip of the bottle into the yarn and squirting a little, then carefully squishing it around. I then flipped the yarn over and did the same on the other side.<br />
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One thing I have noticed working with guar gum and superwash yarn is that sometimes, by the time you turn the yarn over, the other side is coated in the leftover guar gum from the dyestock you used on the front of the skein. Much like water will soak through when using regular dye stock, but in this case, you have thickened the water. I have sometimes had to wipe that off to get the dye to penetrate properly on the other side of the yarn. I have talked to other dyers about this, and they don't seem to have the same issue. I know that a few of them are not using superwash, so that could be a factor. They may also not be making their dyestock as thick as I am.<br />
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When all your dye is applied, heat set as you would normally do. For me, that is wrapping in plastic wrap and using the microwave.<br />
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<b>Caution - </b>Guar gum will get, and stay, insanely hot from the microwave! If you used a lot of it, don't try to take the plastic wrap off early, and don't try to wash it too soon. Give it the time it needs to cool. The guar gum is thick, and not only is it crazy hot, it will also stick to your skin a lot more than regular hot water does!<br />
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Once your yarn has cooled, you are ready to wash and rinse. It may take a bit more effort washing the yarn to get the guar gum out, so be prepared to give it a couple of washes to get it all out.<br />
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The final yarn I made with the black stripes looked like this after washing and rinsing:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wS98V3cABcY/VvrBGMnmjVI/AAAAAAAAAi0/0dArHA2M5A0Wz7gwFAKS47kzhCTXunGIw/s1600/BlackStripedFinished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wS98V3cABcY/VvrBGMnmjVI/AAAAAAAAAi0/0dArHA2M5A0Wz7gwFAKS47kzhCTXunGIw/s400/BlackStripedFinished.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
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And the test swatch knit up like this, with my black stripes giving me about 3 stitches per stripe:<br />
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<br />Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300827981856413677.post-56352120528251087282016-03-28T11:50:00.000-03:002016-03-28T11:50:44.267-03:00How To - Self Striping (Part Two)As promised, a part two to my <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/03/how-to-self-striping-part-one.html" target="_blank">How To - Self Striping</a> post.<br />
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In my first post, I showed you how to wrap a ridiculously long skein of yarn, and dye it in plastic food storage bags in the microwave. In this post, I will show you an alternate to the gigantic skein of yarn, as well as show you one alternate way to dye the yarn, and talk about a second alternate way that I have used but not photographed yet.<br />
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<b>How to get self striping without a 60+ foot skein of yarn</b><br />
All of the credit for this one goes to <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/shilo" target="_blank">shilo</a> on Ravelry. When she showed me this, I was intrigued, and now I am obsessed! For the record, I know there are other ways (warping boards, for example) but since I have not worked with them yet, I don't really want to comment on them. I might touch on them later on, but for now, we are going to focus on this absolutely brilliant idea.<br />
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Ready? It's crazy but it works.... <i><b>Knit your skein of yarn into an i-cord first!</b></i> Based on my calculations, one foot of i-cord was equal to about 17 feet of yarn! This measurement will probably vary based on the yarn you use, so you may want to test it out yourself before you do your math to determine the size of your stripes. But regardless of the exact calculations, it means you can get nice super wide stripes by dying smaller sections of the i-cord.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXk-jw-9wLc/Vvk1aZDy4YI/AAAAAAAAAh8/epSrOp2IW-sDo9qiZan4sWsA5syxoePXQ/s1600/icord_before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXk-jw-9wLc/Vvk1aZDy4YI/AAAAAAAAAh8/epSrOp2IW-sDo9qiZan4sWsA5syxoePXQ/s320/icord_before.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">100g of Bare Opal Sock Yarn, in an i-cord, with ties every 2 feet</td></tr>
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Now, before you say "Are you nuts, lady? I am not knitting a giant i-cord just to pull it apart later!!!", there is a handy dandy little helper that you can get for this. If you go online, or to one one your local craft stores, you can find an Embellish Knit Machine. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdCcB0bPjF0/Vvk1qzMJGuI/AAAAAAAAAiI/ZuhtU07hFpwFOEJSy-sfpQdpo4K0bAw6A/s1600/EmbilishKnitMachine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tdCcB0bPjF0/Vvk1qzMJGuI/AAAAAAAAAiI/ZuhtU07hFpwFOEJSy-sfpQdpo4K0bAw6A/s320/EmbilishKnitMachine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Embellish Knit machine - be sure to read the instructions!</td></tr>
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This thing is awesome. Using a little crank on the side, you can crank out an i-cord in much less time than it would take to knit or crochet one. And if you really want to do it really fast, with the addition of a cordless drill, you can zoom through it....just check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAUylZadsOI" target="_blank">this video</a> to see how!<br />
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So I learned a very important lesson when I was first using my little i-cord maker. As you knit a few feet/yards of the i-cord, wrap it in a ball, secure with a nice wide elastic (or scrunchie) and then move on to the next few feet/yards. Don't let the stuff hit the floor, and make sure you keep wrapping as you go. If you don't, you are going to wind up with a gigantic twisted i-cord that takes longer to untwist than it did to make.<br />
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For my first attempt at i-cord dyeing, I put ties every two feet, which would give me stripes that were about 34 feet long. One of the benefits of tying off sections of the i-cord is that you can weave the yarn through the stitches, so your ties don't slip! The stripes were nice and wide, and I loved them! Because the yarn was knit before it was dyed, I got a sort of a heathered look where the stitches acted as resists, which I thought gave the yarn some great character. Here is a look at the final yarn, and at the socks it made.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2WaQS260JY/Vvk2_1B_rpI/AAAAAAAAAiY/oVGVdUmHCqQKzn-rfIR-Ch2KyGnG6UPeg/s1600/i-CordaBeenAContender-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B2WaQS260JY/Vvk2_1B_rpI/AAAAAAAAAiY/oVGVdUmHCqQKzn-rfIR-Ch2KyGnG6UPeg/s320/i-CordaBeenAContender-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">i-corda been a contender</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lLAi4RQTIIY/VvPfTRQ4_sI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/f6HessBr_Wg1YYxulpaoNYg78ift-zeZg/s1600/i-CordaBeenAContenderSock-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lLAi4RQTIIY/VvPfTRQ4_sI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/f6HessBr_Wg1YYxulpaoNYg78ift-zeZg/s320/i-CordaBeenAContenderSock-3.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My nice, wide stripes!</td></tr>
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I plan on repeating this quite often, and will try it with varying widths of the stripes. My next ones will be three feet long sections of the i-cord (mostly to see if I can get the whole heel done in one colour), and then I am going to try alternating some wider and thinner stripes. The possibilities are endless, and all you really need is the patience to make the i-cord and then to tie off the sections.<br />
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The added bonus of dyeing in an i-cord? As long as you have marked which end was the end of the icord, you can wind it (or even knit it) right from the i-cord. It unravels quite nicely. You may get the odd section where some of the fibre has shed a bit and wrapped around itself, and may have to carefully be pulled apart. Just be patient and try to avoid scissors.<br />
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<b>Alternate Dyeing Technique - Mason Jars</b><br />
I promised you alternate ideas to dyeing the yarn in the plastic food storage bags, and it just so happens I used one of those ideas in the i-cord yarn shown above. I have this amazing pot from Rachael Ray that is meant for pasta, but also just happens to hold 6 mason jars quite nicely. In case you missed it in the post about my dyeing equipment, here is a shot of it<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MRCPzShAUek/Vu6-kYFXosI/AAAAAAAAAcU/-6gF3AlKBkkrrasTXExJJhp045tx4RG2A/s1600/RachaelRayOvalPotWithMasonJars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MRCPzShAUek/Vu6-kYFXosI/AAAAAAAAAcU/-6gF3AlKBkkrrasTXExJJhp045tx4RG2A/s320/RachaelRayOvalPotWithMasonJars.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rachael Ray Oval Pasta Pot</td></tr>
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This is my go-to pot for pasta and for self striping yarn. You may have already guessed by the picture above, but just for the sake of complete details, we are going to use the mason jars instead of the plastic bags, and these will be heated on the stove.<br />
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First, soak your i-cord. When I first did this, I added the citric acid to the water, but I have since changed that method, and I now add the citric acid to the jars later in the process. Mostly because I know that some of my dyes have the dreaded Red #3 in them, and also because I was told that adding the acid later will help get a more even colour on the yarn. The dye wont strike so fast.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTrdBiQVhg/Vvk1a0X3_JI/AAAAAAAAAiM/7z2bv1cMJZg3aUjd4udo9G_eshHAwEm3Q/s1600/icord_soaking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTrdBiQVhg/Vvk1a0X3_JI/AAAAAAAAAiM/7z2bv1cMJZg3aUjd4udo9G_eshHAwEm3Q/s320/icord_soaking.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crappy shot of my i-cord soaking, but you get the idea</td></tr>
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Next, set up your jars in the pot. I have been going back and forth between adding the dyestock first or adding the yarn first. I tend to add the dyestock to the jars first, filling them about 2/3 of the way up, and then adding water to the pot. I then add the yarn and any extra water required to bring the dye stock up high enough in the jars.<br />
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The plus side of this is that you are not trying to pour the dye stock in over top of the yarn, you are adding the wet yarn to the dye stock, and it seems like the yarn takes up the dye a little better that way. The down side is that I find the colour can wick faster between the sections, but more on that in a moment. Whichever way you do it, add about 1/8th of a tsp of non-iodized salt to the dye stock, making sure it is dissolved. The salt should slow down the absorption of the dye and give a more even colour. You can dissolve it in just a little bit of hot water before you add it.<br />
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Starting with one end of your i-cord, add the yarn to the first jar until you see the tie. Leave a little bit of the yarn, and the tie, hanging over the side of the jar, and start putting the next section in the next jar. Repeat the process until all of your yarn is in the jars. <br />
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Next you want to take the sections hanging between the jars and dip them into the colours on each side. I tend to do the lightest colour first, then the darkest. Try to leave a little space between the jars and let the sections with the tied hang down between them. You will get some higher shades in between the stripes, but I have found when I knit with them, they worked to my advantage because the stripes sort of faded into each other, rather than having an abrupt transition.<br />
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As you can see in the picture below, I kept them up at the top of the jars, and you can also see where the colour really wicked into the other jar. Particularly the orange wicking into the yellow. It was supposed to be a bright sunny yellow, but came out a bit darker than I intended. If I had left a bit more room and let the yarn dangle, the excess dye would have dropped into the water on the outside of the jars instead. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNYtfO2aCfo/Vvk1aboMBAI/AAAAAAAAAiM/P3rSS3NlU8UCsas8ffr96vnr-aWnh7suQ/s1600/icord_dyeing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNYtfO2aCfo/Vvk1aboMBAI/AAAAAAAAAiM/P3rSS3NlU8UCsas8ffr96vnr-aWnh7suQ/s320/icord_dyeing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My i-cord split into 6 different colours.<br />Pay attention to what colours you put beside each other, because they will wick into each other, and you wan the combination to be pleasant </td></tr>
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If you put the yarn in the jars first, and then add the dye stock, there seems to be less time for the colour to wick, but you run the risk of the dye striking first at the top of the yarn, and that yarn further down in the jar not getting as much colour. This really is one of those places where you will need to experiment for yourself and see what you get.<br />
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Once you have brought your dye stock up to temperature (170F -180F ) , you can add your acid. I use the citric acid and water solution (1 tablespoon of citric acid to one cup of water), and add 1/2 a tablespoon to each colour. Hold them at the target temperature for 5 minutes and repeat. I like to add it slowly like this to all colours in the event that any of them have Red #3 in it that I am not aware of. Too much acid to Red #3 and you can get colour that won't bond.<br />
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I try to let these simmer at the target temperature until the dye baths have run clear. I do find that for any that contain blue, I may need to add more acid, up to a tablespoon more, to help the process. And I frequently get to a point where I feel like the dye bath is "clear enough".<br />
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Turn off the heat and let them cool. This is one of those cases where I do try to have the patience to let them cool as much as possible. It helps set any dye that may still be in the water, and this stuff is really freaking hot, so it needs time to cool. Gently wash and rinse as you do with any other yarn, and you will wind up with what looks like a very pretty pile of multicoloured spaghetti.<br />
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<i>A note when rinsing your yarn</i><br />
I mentioned this in the first self striping yarn post, but it bears repeating. When you are washing/rinsing your colours, start with the lightest colour first, and work your way through the colours. I like to put the cooled pot beside the sink and start with the yellow, pulling it right out of the jar. As the colour is washed, I pull it back out and put it on a plate, careful to keep the colours separate. This will ensure that if there is any residual dye left over, it wont transfer onto the other colour.<br />
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Dry your yarn in whatever way you usually dry it. For me, that is the shoe rack in the dryer, but for you it could be hanging it up to dry. Which could be fun with this giant cord...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c_9U13iIG2c/Vvk1aXATMiI/AAAAAAAAAiM/E_VKJyBOl2wOTk4RDVq3wXSO5khZttUbA/s1600/icord_after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c_9U13iIG2c/Vvk1aXATMiI/AAAAAAAAAiM/E_VKJyBOl2wOTk4RDVq3wXSO5khZttUbA/s320/icord_after.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The i-cord after being washed and dried</td></tr>
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<b>Alternate Dyeing Technique - Hand Painting/Dip Dyeing</b><br />
I have done this with some skeins that I have made where I needed both speckled yarn and solid stripes. I prepared my dye stock, making sure the solid colours were in large amounts of water and in larger dishes, then dipped the larger sections directly into the dye stock, wringing them out, before placing the smaller sections on my cooling rack and hand painting them. (This is a time when gloves come in handy....otherwise you are going to dye your hands...trust me, I know). <br />
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In the examples below, I have thickened some of the dye using guar gum so I could get more solid breaks between the colours. I will try to make the post on guar gum be my next post. But this will work without thickening the dyestock if you are making solid stripes. The only reason I did it with guar gum for these was because of the speckled sections. They have a lot of white, and I didn't want the other colours bleeding into that white.<br />
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Here are two examples where I have used this technique:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdOe2GBmheQ/VvLL8M45o9I/AAAAAAAAAdw/3Li2qdLO0cEWORmRRIUGKTl1_PuabCLjg/s1600/RikisRadicalStripeySocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jdOe2GBmheQ/VvLL8M45o9I/AAAAAAAAAdw/3Li2qdLO0cEWORmRRIUGKTl1_PuabCLjg/s320/RikisRadicalStripeySocks-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The yellow, blue and purple had the edges hand painted with thickened dye, and then were dipped, while the speckled section was hand painted</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NuVG3isFmCk/VvPohPTT4qI/AAAAAAAAAeg/oVqNjHrkf3IPH0vuMfG-t2IaD06MtXZhQ/s1600/TotallyAwesomeStripeySocks-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NuVG3isFmCk/VvPohPTT4qI/AAAAAAAAAeg/oVqNjHrkf3IPH0vuMfG-t2IaD06MtXZhQ/s320/TotallyAwesomeStripeySocks-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The blue and purple were thickened and hand hand painted before the pink and green sections were dip dyed. The speckled sections were hand painted.</td></tr>
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I know that shilo has done her stripes by laying out the sections of the i-cord beside each other and hand painting them, so if you don't have a large pot with mason jars, or if you just prefer hand painting, you can definitely hand paint your stripes!<br />
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<b><i>There you have it!</i></b><br />
One alternate way to wrap your skein, and two alternate ways to apply the dye. I hope this post and the <a href="http://missreenaknits.blogspot.ca/2016/03/how-to-self-striping-part-one.html" target="_blank">Part One</a> post inspire you to make some self striping yarn. Chances are you will groan about or outright curse the process while you are doing it, and may even vow to never do it again, but the first time you knit something up with the self striping yarn, you will be in love, and will be planning out your next skein.Miss Reenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00128984207177724065noreply@blogger.com0