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by Marie Pass
Most of us who have been spinning or weaving over a long period
have our favourite method of dyeing. However it's sometimes interesting
to do a few experiments to find a new effect that you can use.
For simplicity and because they're easily available I use
"Landscape" dyes only. As a rough guide, to dye 450
grams of fibre or yarn I use, for a pale shade, 1 heaped teaspoon;
for a light/medium shade, 2 heaped teaspoons; for a medium/dark
shade, 3 teaspoons; and for a dark shade, 4 teaspoons. This is
very approximate and after short experimentation you need to
make your own decisions on quantity.
If I'm using commercial or spun wool I soak the skeins in
water with a dash of white vinegar for 20 minutes before dyeing.
If I use a rack it's a deep fried chip basket with the handle
removed, placed upside down in a stew pot. This allows for enough
water to be used without the danger of boiling dry.
All pots or other receptacles are used for dyeing only, never
for food and while I use my cooker for heat I don't have food
out in the kitchen while I'm dyeing.
Casserole Method
Soak skeins of yarn in water with a dash of vinegar for 20
minutes. Put some hot water in a good sized casserole dish. Dissolve
the required amount of dye in a small quantity of water and add
to casserole, stir add yarn and carefully add hot water to cover.
Cover casserole with lid or foil and cook in the oven for 45-60
minutes. Remove from oven, rinse and dry.
Gradation Dyeing
For this experiment I used 3 x 50g skeins of yarn. Soak in
water for 20 minutes. Put all 3 in a dyepot with water and bring
to simmering point. Add two teaspoons dye dissolved in a little
water and stir immediately. Simmer 20 minutes, take out 1 skein
and rinse it.
Add to dyepot 2 more teaspoons of dye dissolved in water,
stir and simmer another 20 minutes. Take out another skein and
rinse. Add 2 more teaspoons dissolved in water and simmer another
20 minutes. This should result in skeins of evenly spread gradation
which would be used with good effect in knitting or weaving.
Space Dyeing
Hank of yarn should be scoured, loosely tied in several places
and soaked in warm water for 20 minutes. Suspend the hank in
some way so that only a portion dips into the dyepot. Dye this
in the usual way, rinse well. Reverse hank and dye another portion
in a different colour.
Injection Dyeing
A squirter bottle is required. This should be of the kind
used for hair rinse or a recycled food bottle with a fairly small
hole in the nozzle.
Loosely wind a ball a ball of yarn and soak in water for 20
minutes. Place in dye bath with water to cover and bring to boil.
Wearing rubber gloves remove yarn from pot and squeeze out excess
water. Using the squirter bottle, squirt dyes into all parts
of it, leaving some clear patches. Place yarn back into boiling
dye bath, simmer 20 minutes, remove and rinse.
Warp Painting
(Simple)
Lay some plastic on a table and cover that with several layers
of newspaper. Weigh warp and divide on colours and quantity of
dyes you need. Soak warp in water for twenty minutes and squeeze
out. Lay warp on top of this and spread it to result in 1 layer
of yarn. Dissolve each colour in a large container of water.
Quantity of water should be about enough for the particular warp
to absorb.
Using small sponges or brushes, and wearing rubber gloves,
apply dye solution in a broad design. fine detail is not possible
with this method. Make sure that all parts of the warp are covered
in dye. The newspaper should have absorbed any excess.
Place rack in dye pot. Fill with water to about 1" below
the top of the rack. Coil warp carefully and place in rack. Heat
water to a simmer and maintain this heat for 1/2 hour. This method
is not suitable for a very long or thick warp.
Vary any of these methods or dye quantities to suit yourself
and have fun.
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