I picked up some ivory colored "Heart and Sole" at JoAnns with a 50% off coupon, and armed with my neon colored egg dyes, set off on my very first dyeing adventure!
At this point, I decided to make my self striping yarn in three colors, so I wound the skein around three chairs (wrapping each chair about 10 times before moving onto the next chair). I also cut twelve small pieces of yarn to use as figure-eight ties, to make sure I would be able to untangle my mini-skeins after I was done dyeing the yarn.
After I was done tying the yarn, I slipped it off the chair backs and placed my separate (but still attached) mini-skeins in water with a little vinegar to soak for at about 25 minutes.
While my yarn was soaking, I prepared my dyes by following the package instructions. I knew I wanted to use the yellow, orange, and pink - so for the yellow/orange dyes, I dissolved each dye pellet in its own ziplock bag with 1/2 cup warm water plus 3 T of white vinegar. The pink dye does not call for any vinegar, so I just added it to its own bag with just the 1/2 cup of warm water. After my yarn was done soaking, and the dye pellets had all dissolved, I placed each mini-skein of yarn into the corresponding baggie. I did leave a teeny bit of white at the point where the yarns meet, because I assumed that the dye would wick up the yarn and I didn't want the colors getting too muddy where they meet.
At this point, I placed the whole ensemble into my microwave, and zapped it on high for 2 minutes, followed by a 2-3 minute rest period. I repeated this cycle (squishing each mini-skein around in the dye during the "rest phase") about 3 times. Then, I placed the bags into the sink to cool down (about 15 minutes). I was able to rinse each mini-skein separately, because of my double sink, which insured that there was no overdye from the other colors. I just ran the yarn under cold water until the rinse water ran clear (which took almost no time at all). After squishing out the excess water, I put the yarn into my salad spinner to cut down the drying process, and then hung the mini-skeins outside in the shade to dry. After they were dry, I placed the mini-skeins back on the chair backs, and wound the yarn into one big skein...
Yes... it is definitely a tad Day-Glo... but I know AT LEAST one little girl who will squeal with delight for anything made out of this yarn! Speaking of which... I couldn't wait to cast on and see how these were going to knit up, so after a couple days of knitting, Little E now has day-glo socks, lol!
After modeling them, Little E says, “Oh mommy…. can I wear them forever, and ever? They sooooooooo bee-utiful!” (THAT is what a mommy longs to hear, lol!)
Nice work! Love those socks! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the thick stripes on this pair!
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