Monday, June 21, 2010

wool roving dying tips

well I have been a busy bee! I did a whole heap of wool dying last night and this afternoon. I've taken photos but my manly creature has to edit them for me as I'm hopeless at that stuff.

So until then some tips for you all who wish to try dying or who want to improve their dying skills

most of it is pretty simple its just preparation and time

boil kettle full of water fill up a dish with water and acid I have used both lemon juice and vinegar I've worked out for me lemon juice works best for some reason at making sure the color doesn't run.

I soak the wool after tearing the amount I want colored first in with lemon juice I find whilst you're boiling other wool its best to have the wool in for about 20 minutes and then the acid really works.

I then boil the kettle again, pour into sauce pan I'm using, add the color into the water and stir so its even in the pot. I then add wool and gently press it until it submerges.

Wait until pot is boiling, gently pressing a couple of times to make sure wool keeps under water so the color is even.

When I tip the wool in I tip it in with the water it was being prepared in as it keeps the acid process going with the heat and you get really vibrant colors. I say simmer it for about half an hour.

Drain, rinse wool with cold water and lay out on kitchen sink to dry

I'm also using at the moment a merino white wool with 29 microns I hope to buy some softer wool in future

so have on hand

gloves
color for dying I used general food dye in primary colors
strainer
saucepans I say two at least cause you can use one for dark colors and one for light colors so the two don't mix if remants of colors remain
metal spoon or fork
plastic containers
I used an icecream container and a small yoghurt container to mix dye and acid/water

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