darchildre | (no subject)

On Wednesday, I finally received the yarn I ordered for this project (it got lost somewhere in transit and I was worried it might never get here). And so today is dyeing day!

So, first I got my yarn all divided into mini skeins, with the yardage I wanted for each color. Here's half the yarn. You can't tell from the picture but all those wee skeins are still connected.

Then the yarn has to be soaked. Food coloring isn't colorfast on yarn by itself - it needs an acid to stick properly. So my yarn gets soaked for half an hour in vinegar water.

I made all my dye baths in plastic cups - a further teaspoon of vinegar, various colors of dye, and water - and got my yarn lined up on several layers of plastic wrap.

I dyed this yarn by sponge painting, which is a method I like very much for this sort of thing. Sponge painting allows me to be very particular about where each color goes and how much I use. For example, I wanted the first yellow skein to be fairly light so I...just didn't paint on much dye. Sponge painting also, for me at least, produces a pleasing mottled effect that I'm quite fond of.

Here's the second batch of colors!

Then, after they're all painting, they get wrapped up in the plastic wrap and put in the microwave until the dye is set. Then you have to wait for them to cool (so you don't get steam burns), unwrap them, and rinse them in cold water.

And here is all my yarn, set out to dry. Hopefully, I'll be able to wind it into a usable shape this evening and cast on tomorrow!