Of course, the first step is not all that fun – measuring out the skeins! I got out my skein winder and niddy noddy and set to measuring off 500 yard skeins of fingering weight yarn from Henry’s Attic. I bought these skeins right after the last time I dyed because I was desperate to dye some more and Knit Picks was sold out of their dye-your-own yarn back then. The jokes on me because if I had been more patient I could have had pre-measured skeins in plenty of time — the last time I dyed was a whole year ago! Anyway, I made up two 500 yard skeins, soaked them in water and vinegar for a while and then I headed for the garage.

Yes, that’s right – I now have a dyeing area in my garage. I can mix and measure and set everything up out there. I still have to use my kitchen stove for setting the dyes but I’m hoping to change that soon, too. One location dyeing will be mine! So here you can see my measuring cups and dyes and utensils and good stuff like that. You can’t see my rubber gloves and face mask because I’m already wearing them. Safety first, you know.

The first skein of yarn I did was handpainted with brown, green and blue. I wanted something that reminded me of my maple trees when the leaves first come out. Handpainting yarn is very simple. I put down plastic wrap and lay out the pre-wetted skein on that. Then I just squirt away with my colors. Once I’ve got it all painted I wrap it all up in the plastic and then steam it in a big kettle for about an hour.

I’m very happy with the results of this one. The green is exactly the color I was hoping for and the brown really does remind me of tree bark. The blue is a bit brighter than the sky but that’s okay by me.

I used the immersion method for the second skein of yarn. I mixed up 2 teaspoons of “turkey red” powdered dye with 4 teaspoons of vinegar and a cup of water. I put the skein of yarn into the dye pot full of water first then poured the dye on top. I only stirred a teeny bit because I wanted the red to be a bit mottled and not evenly dyed. I set this on the stove and let it simmer for an hour or so.

I’m pretty happy with the results of this one, too. There are a couple of spots where I had the skeins tied a little tight and the dye didn’t penetrate as well as it should have but I think that will make for more interesting knitting so I don’t mind too much.

The whole thing only took the better part of a morning. You can bet I’ll be dyeing again soon!

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.

Using the book Dyeing to Knit, an email from Angelia, and the blogs of some experienced dyers as references, I began my journey at the kitchen table.

Here we see Dyeing Command Central. Note all the assembled supplies: laptop, vinegar, newspaper, measuring cups, dyes. Everything is ready to go.

To make my first attempt easy I decided to use the space dyed method as described in Dyeing to Knit. Basically, you immerse a skein of yarn into a dye pot by thirds. For the first third of the skein you use the darkest color. When that color is all absorbed you lift out the yarn, rotate it by 1/3, add the next color to the dye pot, and put the yarn back in. When that color is finished you do it again. Finally, when the whole skein has been dyed and all the dye is absorbed by the yarn, you drop the skein into the water and simmer for 45 minutes to set the color.

Simple, right? Frankly, anything is simple if you plan ahead.

I set about soaking some Knit Picks Dye Your Own sock yarn (sold out, don’t bother checking) in warm water and vinegar. And I encounter my first problem. The skein is only tied in 2 places and when it hits the warm water I wind up with a messy tangle of yarn. Hunh. Note to self: next time, tie the skein in a few more places before wetting.

Ahhh. The first color hits the yarn. And Carole’s second issue erupts. If the dowel sits across the dye pot too much of the skein is going to get dyed by this color. Did I check this in advance? As in, before I dunked the yarn in the dye? Nope. So, here I am, holding the yarn above the pot, trying to figure out a way to suspend it in mid-air. And, of course, I can’t let go and no one is here to help me.

Necessity is the mother of invention. And I’m really glad I keep the cast iron fry pans right next to the stove.

The second color is applied. Mmmm. Green.

And here’s the thoroughly dyed skein, simmering happily.

Finally, a hank of space dyed yarn. Not bad, I think. Of course, I was going for magenta, bright blue, and spring green and wound up with cranberry, navy blue and hunter green, but that’s okay. It’s all about the learning experience, after all. Oh, and the fun. And I had lots of fun.

But wait! There’s more! Tune in tomorrow to see the hand painted skeins that Blogless Sharon and I created together on Saturday night!