So it’s done! We had a beautifully sunny day on Saturday so it was the perfect opportunity to do the dyeing as I didn’t want to completely destroy my kitchen by doing it inside. I set up a dyeing area outside in our garden, laying a bin bag over the table and then covering that with cling film. Here’s the steps I took:
- Laid the yarn carefully on top of a sink full of tepid water which had a couple drops of washing up liquid in it.
- Left the yarn to sink to the bottom by itself (about 30 minutes)
- While the yarn was soaking I prepared the dye by mixing 1 packet of kool-aid per 8oz
- Once the yarn was soaked through I carefully pressed down on it to get rid of any final bubbles that were trapped within the yarn.
- Lifted the yarn out of the sink, carefully and gently squeezing the yarn to get rid of some of the water
- Laid the yarn in a circle on the table
- Created a very basic guide to help me space the colours properly
- Took the first colour and poured it wedge-style onto the chosen sections of the circle.
- Gently rub the mixture through the yarn, lifting and making sure the underneath is coated as well
- To finish each colour I took the spray gun section of a normal squirty bottle and had it’s end in the measuring jug holding the juice, this way I could carefully and accurately get the remaining spots of white with the colour
- Work through the rest of the colours in the same way
- Wrap the yarn in the cling film, folding it over itself so the yarn is separated in layers from the other sections of the yarn (so colour doesn’t mix)
- Put the whole thing in a microwavable bowl and in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, then rest for 2 minutes and then put it on high for another 2 minutes. You should find the water in the bowl is clear at this point, if not then after a 2 minute rest pop it on high for another 2 minutes.
- Leave it to cool COMPLETELY. I found this bit very hard to do, I really wanted to unwrap my yarn and see it but if you do there is a chance you’ll felt your yarn and then it will be ruining, so leave it til it’s cooled
- Fill the sink with water that is the same temperature as your cooled yarn and carefully push your yarn around in it a bit
- Pull the yarn out, gently sqeezing it and then hang it up to dry
And ta-da… the finished product…
The full process has been put on my flickr here
And on Ravelry you’ll find me as Lacuna 🙂
