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by Hannah on June 6, 2012
A partial Earthues Botanical Dye Kit kit found its way to my desk last weekend and I jumped on the chance to dye a little bit of an enormous fleece I bought at last year's Black Sheep Gathering. There was enough cutch left in the packet to dye about 3/4 of a pound of fiber. So, in the pot it went with some Alum as a premordant and then once more into the pot with the powdered cutch for a few hours on a hot stove. |
Category Archives: Dyeing
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by Jenny K on May 10, 2012
Have you seen our new selection of tonal yarns yet? There are so many reasons to love adding the subtle shifts of color found in tonal yarns into your projects. Tonal yarns are a wonderful way to add the subtle variations of a color to your project without fearing that it will distract from textured stitches, cables, or even lace patterns. Each of our tonal yarns are made up of seven different shades of your favorite colors, which combine together to create complex, monochromatic colorways. Not only do tonal yarns add lots of visual interest when worked up with simple stitches, but they also beautifully highlight intricate stitch patterns. |
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by Kelley on May 7, 2012
You’re spinning? Isn’t it just too much fun? Once you are confident with your skills, I know you are going to be happy for years as you feel all sorts of fibers slip through your fingers. But, handspinning isn’t just a tactile experience. Color is a whole other world of spinning. I think it is even more fun because it is a way for you to add your own color preferences to spinning. Color in Spinning by Deb Menz is a large book but Deb’s lessons make working with color completely approachable. The page sizes and quality paper provide a excellent canvas for the large, colorful, detailed photos. |
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by Jenny K on April 10, 2012
As the sugar high of chocolate, jelly beans, and Peeps finally wears off, you might find a box or two of leftover Easter egg dye lying around the kitchen. Instead of tossing them back in the cupboards, grab some of your favorite Bare yarns and start dyeing! You might be surprised to learn that a lot of unconventional dyes, like Easter egg dye and food coloring, are a wonderful way of dyeing protein based fibers like wool, alpaca and silk. In addition to being inexpensive, these are dyes you can easily find at your local grocery store. Another great thing about dyeing with Easter egg dye and food coloring is that these are nontoxic dyes, making them ideal for a fun afternoon crafting project with children. And if you are anything like me, you might already know that right after the holiday is the best time to stock up on Easter egg dye packages for year-round yarn dyeing fun! |
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by Alison on March 5, 2012
This project has been a long time in the making! I dyed my fiber last year using Greener Shades dyes, then spun it into four different 250g skeins of bulky weight 2-ply, and now I've finally transformed it all into a finished object. When I'm stash busting or using up unlabeled yarn, I tend to create my own patterns that are a) extremely basic and b) allow me to change plans mid-stream in order to work around yarn shortages. For this project, I decided to do a basic crochet ripple afghan - I wanted something soothing that let me really enjoy the texture and colors of my handspun without concentrating on a difficult stitch pattern. I also planned on creating stripes of varying widths so that I had more options for using up the majority of my yarn. |
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by Knit Picks Staff on February 24, 2012
I finally got some decent pictures of my Swish Bulky sweater! This is not only to show that I did make said sweater, but to immortalize its temporary whiteness. You see, I'm really, really good at turning white clothes pink. I don't really have problems with any other color of clothing, but white things just don't stay white. So, in order to prevent my inevitable disappointment, I'm planning on dyeing my sweater. But I can't figure out what color to dye it - or what dye to use. |
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by Hannah on November 8, 2011
The idea that a simple walk down the street or through a park can take you past a dozen different plants able to color your yarn in a stunning range of shades has piqued my interest since I was gifted a guide to natural dyes two years ago. Since then I have tried onions, indigo, coreopsis, goldenrod and scotch broom to dye my handspun. |
