Hummingbird Yarn

I want to make a hummingbird illusion pattern that I found on Ravelry, but I want my yarn to look like a hummingbird. Since I haven’t found any yarn I liked in that color, I’m going to try to dye the yarn myself. Here is the inspiration for the colors. 

Here are the steps I took.

Supplies:

• Mask
• Paper towels
• Soaking pan
• Citric Acid
• Dye Pot
• Measuring cup (1 qt)
• JacquaredDyes: Emerald, Turquoise, Sapphire Blue, Purple
• Paintbrushes
• Large wooden Spoon
• Tongs
• Reusable Zip Ties
• Rubber gloves.

1. Put a reusable zip tie on each skein of yarn to use as a handle while dyeing.

2. Soaked 4 skeins of yarn in 8 quarts of water with citric acid for 30 min.

3. Squeezed excess water out of the yarn and put the yarn on the side.

4. In a dye pot, I heated 5 quarts of water till a rolling boil and lowered the heat.

5. I added ⅛ tsp. Of Emerald dye to the water and stirred,

6. I slowly added the yarn until all the yarn was covered with the water.. After a minute, I rotated the yarn until all the dye was used up.

7. I pulled the yarn out by the zip ties and rearranged the yarn.

8. Spread the yarn out in the water so that all 4 skeins have a side showing.

9. I filled a cup with 1 cup of water, added ⅛ Turquoise and mixed thoroughly.

10. I poured approximately. ⅓ of a cup randomly over the yarn.

11. I waited about 1 min. until absorbed (I used my wooden spoon to make sure it was absorbed).

12. I pulled out each skein of yarn and turned in the zip tie. (I hung each zip tie on a wooden spoon laid across the top of the pot to hold the skein after turning so I could do the others.)

13. Spread the yarn back in the water and randomly spread ⅓ cup of dye around the yarn.

14. Wait 1 min. Until absorbed.

15. Turn the yarn again and spread the remaining dye.

Repeat steps 9-15 with Sapphire Blue.

Repeat steps 9-15 with Sapphire Blue.

I decided the colors weren’t rich enough, so I repeated steps 9-15 with turquoise, then sapphire blue, and finally purple one more time.

Lastly, I repeated steps 9-15 with the emerald as the final color.

I was happy with the results.

I heated the water to just below a rolling boil. Then I turned off the heat and let it sit until the water cooled.

After it cooled (a few hours), I rinsed the yarn and hung it to dry.

 

Yesterday’s Yarn Dyeing Adventure

Yesterday I decided it was time to dye some yarn. I’ve been wanting to dye yarn since March but due to unfortunate circumstances, I don’t have a kitchen. I finally decided I would try to dye yarn on my back deck so I found the electric portable stove that was in our camper. I gathered my supplies and worked outside. 

My main goal was to dye some speckled yarn for the Spector sweater that I wanted to make. I have 3 skeins that I needed but I wanted purple speckled yarn as the last skein I needed. It is for a KAL that starts in September. 

I also wanted to dye some yarn to make the Ghost Horses sweater and I have been looking for the right yarn for a year. I finally decided I might try to dye the yarn I wanted. 

It took most of the day because it seemed to take forever for my water to heat up but once that happened, the dyeing process went well. 

I also decided to dye some mini skeins with some dye that I hadn’t used before. I wasn’t sure of the exact color that the yarn would turn out. 

By the end of the day, I can say I was happy with all of the yarn! 

Today the yarn dried for me to take photos and share it here. 

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Green Gradient Mini Skeins

I want to knit a shawl that calls for a gradient and I decided to dye my own yarn for it. After watching several YouTube videos, I decided what I would do and I wanted to share my process.

 

1. I used 6 mason jars, Jacquard Acid Dye (Emerald), a 100 ml measuring cup, measuring spoons, a scale, and 6 disposable cups.

2. Soak mini skeins in water for at least 30 minutes.

3. In each of the 5 disposable cups, I added ¼ cup of water.

4. I measured out 2g of dye powder to 100 ml of water to make my 2% dye solution and mixed it well in a disposable cup.

5. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 1 and added it to cup 2 and mixed well.

6. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 2 and added it to cup 3 and mixed well.

7. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 3 and added it to cup 4 and mixed well.

8. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 4 and added it to cup 5 and mixed well.

9. I took 2 Tablespoons of dye solution out of cup 5 and rid of it.

10. I then poured each cup into a mason jar and added water up to half the jar and mixed well.

11. Then I squeezed out the excess water from each mini skein and put them in each jar.

12. I let them sit overnight.

13. The next day, I put the jars in a steamer basket into a big pot of water and brought the water to a boil. Water should be just below the top of the water level in each jar. I lowered the heat once it was boiling so the jars wouldn’t boil and let it steam for 10 min.

14. I had to do this procedure several times because only 2 jars would fit in at a time.

15. I put all the jars outside to cool.

16. Once the jars were cool, I took the yarn out and squeezed the excess water, and let them cool.

17. I washed them well separately to make sure all the dye was out.

18. Hung to dry.

 

Things I learned:

• I think I would start with a 1% solution next time.

• Take out a ½ c. of solution from each jar.

• I like the 5th darkest skein the best and wouldn’t mind making a full skein in that color.

Things I learned:

• I think I would start with a 1% solution next time.

• Take out a ½ c. of solution from each jar.

• I like the 5th darkest skein the best and wouldn’t mind making a full skein in that color.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Dyeing Yarn – October 2021

Yarn - Pumpkin Spice

Dyes used: vermillion, pink, golden ochre, emerald

1. 100 grams of superwash fingering weight yarn

2. Soak the yarn in warm tap water with a T of citric acid for at least 30 min.

3. Heat pot of water and a T of citric acid to a low simmer

4. 
   Mix together - 1/8 of a tsp. of each color: vermillion, pink, golden ochre (wear mask)

5. Squeeze out excess water from yarn and then shake it out.

6. Put in hot pot.

7. Spread out yarn so it is randomly distributed.

8. Turn up the heat to bring to simmer.

9. Take 1/8 t of mix and carefully sprinkle over the top of the yarn.

10. Leave for a minute.

11. Then push the yarn down gently below the surface of the water.

12. Leave for a few minutes for the color to absorb.

13. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

14. Repeat 9,10, 11, and 12 two more times.

15. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

16. Remove some water so the yarn is not submerged and slightly above the surface of the water.

17. 1/16 tsp. of emerald color and sprinkle on top of yarn (can use a paintbrush

18. Let it sit for a minute

19. Push yarn down in the water.

20. Leave for 5 minutes.

21. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

22. Repeat 17, 18, 19, and 20 one more time.

23. Bring to simmer.

24. Let cool.

25. Wash yarn to get rid of any excess yarn. Make sure water is clear. Leave for 10 minutes.

26. Squeeze out excess water. Do not wring.

27. Hang to dry.

    

Yarn - Forget Me Not

Dyes use: brilliant sapphire, purple, silver-gray

 

1. 100 grams of superwash fingering weight yarn

2. Soak the yarn in warm tap water with a T of citric acid for at least 30 min.

3. Heat pot of water and a T of citric acid to a low simmer

4. Squeeze out excess water from yarn and then shake it out.

5. Put in hot pot.

6. Spread out yarn so it is randomly distributed.

7. Remove some water if necessary so the yarn is not submerged and slightly above the surface of the water.

8. Using a paintbrush, sprinkle brilliant sapphire on top of the yarn

9. Let it sit for a minute

10. Push yarn down in the water to see if water is clear.

11. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

12. Repeat 8, 9,  10and 11 one more time.

13.  Using a paintbrush, sprinkle purple on top of the yarn

14. Let it sit for a minute

15. Push yarn down in the water to see if water is clear.

16. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

17. Repeat 13, 14, 15, and 16 one more time.

18. Using a paintbrush, sprinkle silver-gray on top of the yarn

19. Let it sit for a minute

20. Push yarn down in the water to see if water is clear.

21. Pull out skeins and move around on holders.

22. Repeat 18, 19, and 20 one more time

23. Bring to simmer.

24. Let cool.

25. Wash yarn to get rid of any excess yarn. Make sure water is clear. Leave for 10 minutes.

26. Squeeze out excess water. Do not wring.

27. Hang to dry.

 

Things I Learned:

1. Wearing gloves keeps the dye off my hands. 

2. Powder clumps on the paintbrush when speckling. Next time I might try using my fingertips (in thin gloves). 

3. It took about 90 minutes from start (soaking the yarn) to end (letting yarn cool). 

4. I can’t wait to try other color combinations. 

Dyeing Yarn

Last week I decided to play around with some dye and dye some yarn. Here is the process I went through.

Gather all my materials: cooking pot, soaking pot, kitchen tongs, rubber gloves, mask, reusable zip tie, yarn (1 skein/100 g of superwash fingering weight yarn - BFL 75% and 25% nylon, citric acid, measuring spoons, paper towels, dye, paintbrushes. All of these are dedicated to yarn dyeing and none are used for food cooking.

First I put a zip tie around the yarn and shook it out. Then I soaked my yarn in a citric acid bath (1 T of citric acid to enough water to cover yarn). I soaked the yarn for 30 minutes.

I filled the cooking pot with enough water to barely cover my yarn and heated it up to a simmer. I also added 1 T citric acid to the water. Once it was simmering, I squeezed the excess water from the yarn and shook it out to let the yarn strands flow freely. Then I lowered the heat and added the yarn. I rearranged the yarn some of one side was pulled over to the top.

I added ¼ of a tsp of teal dye by sprinkling over the top of the yarn. I barely pushed it down in some places. After a minute, I pulled out the yarn and rearranged it on the zip tie before returning it to the hot water. I raised the heat a little to bring it back to simmer and then lowered the heat again. When it soaked up all the dye, I pulled up the yarn and moved it around the zip tie again. Then I lowered the yarn back into the water and rearranged it some of the yarn on the bottom side was on top.

I followed the same process with the sapphire blue dye but too much of the dye fell in one spot. Next time, I would use a paintbrush for the sprinkling.

Next, I followed the same process with hot Fuschia dye but I used a paintbrush for sprinkling.

Following that, I used sun yellow and sprinkled it with the paintbrush.

I decided I needed more pink so I used a paintbrush to sprinkle more pink over the yearn but I don't think it made much of a difference. 

  
Once I was sure all the dye was absorbed, I raised the temperature again and brought it to a simmer to help set the colors. Then I took it outside and let it cool down.

Once it was cool, I washed it in a cool water bath with some Soak detergent. I squeezed the water out and put it outside to dry.

I was happy with the results but I would do some things differently next time.

Things I would do differently:

• I would measure out the dye but I would dip my paintbrush into the measuring spoon and then sprinkle it on the yarn. That I way I would know how much of each dye I was using.
• I would start with the lighter color and speckle with the darker colors.

Having students learn something new is a good way for them to learn about following a procedure. Then have them reflect on what they could do differently next time. I think reflecting on my actions will help me make a different color yarn next time.

Original photos by Pat Hensley