Dye-o-rama Drama

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It was getting down to the wire for the Dye-o-rama Swap.  They're due in the mail by June 12th.  The rain had stopped for the moment.  The yarn was skeined.  The dyes had arrived.  Last night was the time.  I changed into and old shirt and overalls.  Who needs a fancy apron when you've got (apparently now out of fashion) a pair of bibs? 

Setting everything up outside, I started the water to boil on the Coleman stove and then went upstairs to read to E before bedtime.  Next thing I knew, C was waking me up saying, "Uh.  You have something cooking on the stove outside."  Bleary, I dragged myself downstairs and out the door.  It was after 9:oo pm but still light outside.  I mixed about a teaspoon and a half of each dye with a teaspoon of synthrapol, 3 teaspoons of citric acid crystals, and a little over 1 cup of boiling water.  Working quickly and without much of a plan,  I started dropping dyes on different sections of each skein, pushing the dye into the skein with my gloved hand, making sure it saturated all through the skein.  By the time I got to the second skein, it was now quite dark and although not ideal, I could just see well enough to work.   

Moving the dyepot inside to the kitchen stove so I could see what was going on, I left the doors open for ventilation, wrapped each skein in Glad Wrap and steamed each one separately for about an hour.  When I first unwrapped them, I had thought that all the colors had run together into a dark purplish hue.  I let them cool in the sink and then rinsed and washed each one.  Only the smalles amount of red washed out in the water.  The lighting in the house was only so-so too but they looked at least a bit better by the time I hung them to dry.  I thought for certain that I'd be starting all over again tonight after the boys were in bed again. 

This morning they were still damp so I hung them up in the shade outside to dry.  It wasn't long before the skeins dried and brightened up.  The pictures above are close but a slightly brighter than the true colors.  They're still a bit oversaturated, I'd say, but they actually follow the preferences of my Dye-o-rama pal fairly well.  They remind me a bit lighter version of Mountain Colors which, afterall, is a Montana company.   Too bad I don't live close enough or maybe I could get a job.  Just think how much I'd learn about dyeing!  After they were fully dry, I wound each 100 gram skein back into the two 50 gram balls that they originally were, then reskeined each 50 gram ball into it's own skein.  WHY DON'T I HAVE A BALL WINDER YET?  Luckily, a friend of ours' thirteen year old daughter who is staying here with her dad for the summer asked to come spend the day with us, so the boys were fully entertained. 

I still am not entirely comfortable with using these chemical dyes around the house, or at all for that matter, but I've got quite a bit of dye left.  I can see myself dyeing up some more skeins with the leftovers to give to knitting friends or to knit up into socks for gifts.  Maybe I'll move the operation over to the shop next time, where there already are chemical finishes in use and so that I'm not directly in our living space.

I am really quite surprised at how well these turned out, considering my doubts along the way.  Oh.  The dyes were Washfast Acid Dyes Kits from ProChemical.  I used all the colors from the Winter Holiday sampler, except I substituted the "Turkey Red" from the Autumn sampler for the "Bright Red".

Comments

[Bethany]

I think your yarn is gorgeous!!

[Lizz]

Great colors!

[fleur]

It is very nice!

[Eva (EvaLux)]

Oh wow!!!! I'd pay mucho money for gorgeous colors like that!!! I'm sure your pal will love them!!!

Cheers Eva

[jess]

beautiful. I'd pay too... simply stunning. Lucky recipient.

[Ruth]

Those are absolutely LUSCIOUS. Great job.

[chawne]

Wow! Your yarn is beautiful. I've only done monochrome immersion dyeing because I didn't understand how the colors wouldn't run this way. Thanks for showing that it works!

[Adrian]

Beautiful!! It will make wonderful socks.

I work diligently to keep/make bib overalls in style. You may join me if you like.

[Chery]

Beautiful!

[The Purloined Letter]

Wonderful colors!

[Heide]

Very professional results and drop dead colors too. I want to be your Dye-O-Rama pal! I still wear my bibbed short overalls in the summer and I will continue to do so until they are worn out beyond wearability.

[ramona]

those colours look wonderful! i wonder how they will look like when knitted..

[Carole]

Those skeins are fantastic! Lucky dye pal!

[Jes]

Those are very cool! I'd say you did a great job, especially working outside at dusk!

[Kat]

Those are lovely. I need to try chemical dyes, Kool-Aid colors are kind of bland.

[silverarrowknits]

Great dye job! The yarn looks beautiful!

[Larjmarj]

Nice job! One day I'll move past kool-aid and get into some "real" dye.

[ani]

wow! those are lovely!

[Scout]

Fun!!!

[Kimberly]

Great job!

[alison]

Wow, nice job! I can totally see the similarity to Mountain Colors. Well done!

[Chris]

Wow - they turned out so beautifully! Good for you.

[spaazlicious]

I love it!