You too can dye yarn (part 2)

Have someone heat up leftovers and keep an eye on the babies.
Or... keep an eye on the small one and let the big one be naughty.

While dinner is being heated up. Get your dyes ready. You need vinegar, dyes, hot water, cups, and something to stir with.
Per cup (not actual "cup" but those plastic cups I use) I use less than "just a pinch" of dye, 3/4 of the cup is hot water, and 1/4 vinegar. Look around the web you can probably find better measurements. It's not perfect, but so far I haven't had any total disasters. Oh, be creative with your dyes. Ecru works great for softening your colors. I've been using jacquard. You can get them on dhramatrading.com for $3.10 when you buy 10 or more and shipping is like $11.

Right now, I haven't made the perfect amount of dye. I keep making way too much and have no place to store it and it gets wasted. When I figure it out I'll update the blog.
Go eat dinner and put the babies to sleep. You used hot water to make your dyes so they need an hour or two to cool down. Felting would be bad.

Also, you should probably wear a mask while dealing with the dyes. I've been making my dyes outside so it doesn't bother me. The great dyers probably wear masks and wear gloves. But they also can do like 12 skeins at a time and a stock of dyes. I don't think my husband would be okay with me taking up cupboard space for stock dye solutions. We have limited space.

You too can paint yarn (part 1)

First things first. I'm new to this myself. It's a learning process. This is how it works for me and I'm sure there are better ways. I'm a busy mom, but dyeing wool takes several steps that can be split up during the day.

This first step works best during naptime. So, put the babies down for a nap. If they don't nap - find something they can do for 30 minutes that doesn't require them hanging on you.



Stretch your yarn out. I make a pretty big circle so it's not too thick. I also do 8oz at a time. This step goes much quicker when you don't have a baby at your leg - that's why I suggest nap time.
Once it's all wound you are going to want to figure eight some spots. Trust me - not doing doing this will make a big mess. I usually put it in 4 spots. I hate knots and will do anything to avoid them.
See that green tub? I put a small squirt of blue dish detergent and a cup of vinegar in and fill with warm water. I fill it so that all my yarn will be submerged.
Soak your yarn. Don't forget your trim. I let this sit for a few hours.

Seriously, go about your day.