Who says you need a hot date to have a good time on a Saturday night? When I found myself with a free Saturday evening because Dale had a band job I got right on the phone with dear Blogless Sharon and invited her over for a yarn dyeing festival. And we did festival it up a bit. There was a bit lot of wine and a bit of cheese and quite a bit of dyeing.
Since I had successfully mastered already attempted space dyed yarn, I decided it was time to try some hand painting. So, out came the dyes and the squirt bottles.
It was really simple and really fun! Following Dave’s very scientific instructions, I put 1/2 tsp of powdered dye (PRO Chemical One Shot Dyes if you’re shopping) and a plastic spoonful of vinegar into an 8 oz squirt bottle from the beauty supply shop, then filled the bottle the rest of the way with hot water. We then took wetted skeins of yarn and squirted them with dye. Then we wrapped them in plastic wrap and steamed them for about 1/2 hour each.
Right out of the steam pot
Unwrapped. Note the presence of wine. Just saying.
We made four skeins total and here they are hanging out after they had been rinsed until the water ran clear.
I left them there to dry over night. In the morning they were still a bit damp so I stuck them out on the deck in the sunshine. Finally, after an hour or so, they were dry and I set about re-skeining them.
Voila. Hand painted yarn. One is for my dye pal and Sharon and I are fighting over dividing up the other skeins.
maryse Said,
so pretty! looks like fun too, with the wine and all.
Ann Said,
Re-skeining is magic.
Cheryl Said,
Oooh, love that one on the very bottom there. You really took to this fast!
Scout Said,
Hey those are great!
Norma Said,
They’re beautiful. One of these days I’m going to get up the nerve to try this. Mine so far has been single-color stuff. And I agree with Ann: Re-skeining is magic!
margene Said,
They are all happy yarns!! I love them all.
Chris Said,
Outstanding! You two make a good pair, but then, I knew that already.
Laurie Said,
Very nice. I like the purple best. Must have been fun. It’s one of the few endeavors where it doesn’t matter where you spill the wine.
Judy Said,
Color and SUN!! Wow… I need some.
Lolly Said,
Such beautiful results! I really want to try this.
Karen Said,
Ooo pretty! My favorite is the bottom one in the second picture. How are you going to divide 3 skeins between the two of you though?
Kathy Said,
Beautiful! Next weekend is dye weekend at my house.
--Deb Said,
Ooh, pretty!! I’m very impressed.
Leah Said,
I love those colors! This may be a dumb question, but what exactly do you mean by reskeining?
Amy Said,
That is gorgeous! You could go into business! Except then you couldn’t drink wine while dyeing.
amanda Said,
Don’t you love super scientific methods like a handful of this and a pinch of that? BTW, I think she who provides the vino should have first choice of yarn. The skeins look lovely Carole!
Teyani Said,
wonderful yarn! and it looks like a great combo to me – glass of wine, a bit of cheese, and fiber dyeing. yahoo!
Angelia Said,
Beautiful yarn! Aren’t you glad you joined the Dye-O-Rama?!? Isn’t it amazing to see your plain yarn turn into beautiful colored yarn?
Chris Said,
Hee hee – our dyeing (mis)adventures involve liberal application of wine and whine, too! Love that purpley skein.
deidre Said,
Fascinating. You make both processes look so easy that I may have to give it a try.
They turned out great.
Lucia Said,
Very nice! I like the purply one too. (You knew I would.) I note a darkish red in most of the skeins, almost a wine color.
elizabeth Said,
Looks nice! Have you considered selling any?
Snow Said,
What lovely skeins! I like your color choices.
Cecily Stewart Said,
Those all look awesome! That top one in the bottom picture is my favorite.
I want to learn how to do it…AFTER my move to my new apartment.
Liz Said,
A Festival of Colour! They look just beautiful.
Beth S. Said,
I like that bottom-most skein in particular. Nice job!
mamacate Said,
Beeyooteeful!
Kristi aka Fiber Fool Said,
Those are all very beautiful skeins, Carole! Your dye pal will be very lucky!
Kelly Said,
That sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday night to me. Beautiful job on the dyeing love all those colors.
Susan Said,
They’re just beautiful! Sounds like lots of fun.
Dave Daniels Said,
Those turned out really great! I can’t believe you can drink and dye. (Note to self: remove dyeing directions from site.)
Imbrium Said,
You make it sound so easy….
Theresa Said,
If you can’t decide, you can split the difference and send them to me. I’d be happy to help you out.
Jess Said,
Beeyewteeful! ;o)
heather Said,
Wow! Really pretty Carole. It was worth the wait!
Debi Said,
Lovely! Koigu has nothing on you Carole
Jennifer Said,
They look great, so colorful!
Monica Said,
Happy Spring colors!
Monica Said,
Happy Spring colors!
Debbie Said,
I have seen theese in person and I must say I was very impressed. Debbie
Siri Said,
VERY Koigu-like, only with your own twist to it. Stunning results. My dyes from PRO Chemical arrived today as well as my dyed yarn, which was done by Scout J herself, so I’m both nervous and ready to start dyeing. Thank you for the inspiration!