How to dye groovy tye dyed top

I dyed my wool top with this really cool technique that I would love to share with you. I used wool top superwash, just because I had to "man handle" the fiber a bit with this technique. Here is how it will look when it's done.

The first thing you will do is weigh out 4 to 5 ounces of top superwash.

Next, make it into a tight chain. Here is a video that shows you how to do that.

Next, pre wet the chain in luke warm water with a splash of vinegar. Soak for about 30 minutes.

Prepare a dye pot with orange (or blue) dye.

When the fiber is pre soaked, put the chain in the dye pot. Turn the heat to just about boiling then turn the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes or till all the dye is exhausted and the water is clear.

Take out the chain and put it in the sink to cool a bit. You could even run cold water over it because it's superwash! It's won't felt! When it's cool enough to handle, take apart the chain.

Now here comes the trick. Re chain, yes I said re chain, the fiber.

Make a new dye pot with yellow (or green) this time.

Put it in the pot and simmer for 30 minutes till all the fiber is exhausted and the water is clear.

 

Take apart the chain and hang the fiber out to dry.

 You can use any colors you like, it's best to go from dark to light.  You can also use more than 2 colors to get a more groovy look.

Here are some beautiful thick and thins spun from this type of top.

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Click here to visit my Etsy shop for wonderful yarns, luscious batts and instructional videos on how to spin art yarn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can spin like me

I love making instructional videos and have many posted on You Tube.  I thought, hey why not charge a small pittance for some of my videos.  Hey, a girls gotta eat ya know.  I have come up with a few unique spinning styles that you spinners might like to learn how to do.  They are yarns that incorporate a few yarn spinning techniques and if you can already spin they will be easy peasy.   I will even show you how to ply on pearls!   And the best part they are only 5 bucks.  Here's where to buy my instructional videos

Ugh, it's been 100 degrees here in Salt Lake, UT the past couple of days and it's just too hot to think about yarn.  So, let's think about chocolate!!  I made these fun little chocolate cups and wanted to share how I made them with my fans. 

I used to run chocolate fountains in a past life and even wrote a book on how to run a chocolate fountain business! Here is where you can find my book "Sweet Taste of Success".

Turning poop into gold

I received this Blueface Leicester fleece about a month ago.  I finally threw it on the skirting table and man was I surprised.  It was the  dirties, greasiest, stinkiest fleece I ever had.  This was going to be a scouring challenge.  I soaked part of the fleece in a huge bucket of cold water overnight.  The next day I washed it in super hot water with Dawn dishwashing liquid.  It was so dirty I had to wash it twice.  I rinsed it two times and in the final rinse I added a little Unicorn Rinse.  Right after the final rinse I chucked it in a pot of dye.  Man did it ever turn out lovely, shiny and silky soft.

Scouring, or washing, raw wool is all about chemical reactions.  Once you understand the way soap reacts with grease and water temperature you are golden.  I did a quick video on how to wash wool if anyone is interested in seeing my side of the golden fleece.

It's so big!

So, I finally broke down and bought my second spinning wheel. I'm well on my way to becoming a truly addicted fiber artist.  I currently have a Louet S10, which is very sentimental to me since it was my first wheel. It does a great job spinning yarn, but the orifice is a bit too small for my bigger yarns.  Hence the new wheel. My new shiny prize is the Ashford Country wheel with an orifice that is nearly one inch!   The bobbin is enormous!  I bet it could hold a pound of fiber, but I've yet to test that out.  It comes "naked" and needs to either be painted, stained or just leave au natural.  My dear husband stained the new addition to my fiber family a lovely, deep stain and sealed it with a Minwax oil.


So to try out the giant orifice I spun a super huge, bubble core spun yarn. I'm always trying to push the envelope...trying to make things bigger and more interesting. Stay tuned for more wonderful yarns.

Dye baby dye

I love dying wool and yarn.  I have been using the Country Classic brand dyes, but have recently tried the Jacquard dyes.  The Country Classic have citric acid right in the dye powder and have more of a veriegation of colors.  For example, the Pansy will turn out many shades of purple.   Where the Jacquards do not have the citric acid included, the colors are extremely vivid and do not have the veriegation....the purple is just purple.

If you want a good book on dying fiber check them out on amazon.  My favorite book is "Dying to Knit" by Elaine Eskesen.  A color wheel is also a great tool for the dyer.

I usualy kettle dye my wool top, but had fun today dying my wool top with dye stock solution.  My last post was how to make the dye stock solution.  My most recent video shows you how to use that stock solution to dye wool top.  Take a look and have fun!

How to dye wool top

You can use the same technique to dye wool yarn

Click here to see how I steam my wool or yarn after it is dyed.

How to make a dye stock solution

How to make a dye stock solution to dye yarn or wool

I made a little video on how to make a dye stock solution.  I have kettle dyed rovings and yarn.  I have also handpainted yarn, but I really want to try and dye roving with squirt bottles of dye stock solution.  I used the technique from the book "Dyeing to Knit" by Elaine Eksesen.  It's a wonderful book on dyeing techniques that translate well into amazing knitted garments.