Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Dye Session 02: Picture Essay continued

That's right... this is a continuation... so read Dye Session 01 first =)

Okay...so I was itching to make green...and itching to dye something right... so I started over again. This time, I left the ties tight, but tied in 6 places instead of 4. And, I got smarter with the soaking. I added a glass and put a loop around it so I know where I can grab the yarn without tangling it.


I followed all the same procedures except
1. i used less dye powder in total (even though i mixed to get the green)
2. i used 1/3 - 1/2 cup of vinegar
3. i used warmer water for both the bath and the crock pot
4. this time i went to check and move the ties =)... but after 30 minutes and not 2-3 hours LOL


I thought it was looking pretty...but maybe a bit bright... so
1. I made more mix, but in lesser quantities than what I originally had
2. added 1/4 cup of vinegar.

now when i lifted the yarn (this is why I burned) i just let it drip into the crock pot. with the other hand, i added the new dye and vinegar bath. the dripping, in my mind, did the mixing.

i moved the ties (all 6 of them on HOT WET yarn) and relaid them in there - i went back to check after 30 minutes and was pleased with the color


so then i went to check on the magenta-ish abomination that I did yesterday. and yes...


there were white spots.


so i took a jar, some blue, some hot water and made another dye bath with a crock pot i just bought that day (which was yesterday LOL...yes, i went on craigs list and bought a crock pot while at work... picked it up during lunch too). anyways, after 30 minutes, it was distinctly BLUE and RED...which kinda had me panicing.


so i went to check on the lovely green again and felt better =)


so after 3 hours of cooking, 7-8 hours of cooling over night, 30 minutes of rinsing...here are the picutres of both yarns...

i love the green...maybe not as subtle solid as i hoped (a bit on the solid side) but that's okay... it still has to dry


this will definately be a subtle solid, but damn did it get dark! it went from magenta to a deep burgundy color - you can see some blue highlights in it...which i think will be cool once it's dried. i would like to see what this looks like on a much lighter scale... it's summer time and all so i wanna see some happy colors...


all that remains is
1. what color to dye next
2. what color to dye the worsted weight yarn for the roomie
3. should i keep dying or actually knit it first LOL.

=)

---end---

2 comments:

Marin (AntiM) said...

Ahhhh... water glass in a crockpot. Genius! I shall learn from your experience.

Loving the green.

Say, did KnitPicks send you a mask with your dye or is that something you just had lying around the house?

And if you just had a surgical mask lying around the house, do I want to know why?

Red said...

Ha! Marin's great. Hey, I don't have a swift...