Dyeing: Attempt #4

Time for my Grandpa D's yarn - 3 skeins of Knitpicks Bulky Peruvian Highland Wool in Bare. My first attempt without superwash wool. 300 grams tied end to end for one large skein equals 411 yards being dyed all at once

My grandfather was once a hunter, so my goal was gunmetal gray and brown. Using four dyebaths I envisioned doing dark brown, light gunmetal, dark gunmetal, light brown, with many shades in between. Then I decided against the gunmetal - acid dye, and go instead for a green since I have that color in Wilton's Gel.

I thought I would keep all 4 dyebaths close, no pre-vinegar wash, just pre-soaked wool, with deep hangs between each dyebath, using the mason jars for dark colors, the crocks for the lighter colors. Also, maybe double the dye tints for the dark color/mason jars to intensify it, and regular day amounts for the lighter colors.

So, I pre-soaked the woll with a squirt of 7th Generation Free and Clear dish detergent. Keep reminding myself this is not superwash. Keep feeling a wee bit scared.

Turn the crock pots on, heat to about 140 degrees, add the dyes to the dyebaths:

Dyebath 1 (crock): 4 quarts water, 1/2 Tsp Wilton's Brown
Dyebath 2 (jar): 3.5 cups water, 1/2 Tsp Wilton's Brown
Dyebath 3 (crock): 3 quarts water, 1/2 Tsp Wilton's Juniper Green
Dyebath 4 (jar): 3.5 cups water, 1/2 Tsp Wilton's Juniper Green

I then add the yarn. Please note that I did NOT warm up this regular wool. Sigh. Another mighty lesson learned. As a result, nothing goes as planned! I end up spooning water in and out, attempting to add vinegar to each dyebath, in the amount of, get this, 1/2 Tsp of Vinegar per bath.

I then resort to the Jacquard Acid Dyes, adding 1/2 Tsp Jacquard Burnt Orange to Dyebath 1 and 2, since the brown is absolutely not taking. The Burnt Orange just barely colors. The gunmetal is so incredibly pale, that in desperation, I add 3/4 Tsp Jacquard Navy and 1/4 Tsp Jacquard Gunmetal to Dyebath 3. Dye still did not hold. At all.



Anyone know what I did? What is the one ingredient I did NOT add? Anyone? Yes, vinegar. I thought that adding the vinegar to the rinse would be enough. It was not. As it was, it being regular wool I was afraid of too much heat and then when I rinsed it in warm water, it rinsed out most of the dye and shocked it a bit into felting a tad bit. Here is the pale ugly mess. It's not a terrible loss, but not what I was aiming for in the least bit, but more importantly, it's not my Grandpa D.

So, what to do? I wait until it completely dries, pre-soaked it again for an hour, added water to crocks, added wet wool, then turned the heat on and let wool and water heat up together.

An hour later, water is about 130 degrees, I take water from crock, put into two mason jars

Jar 1: 1/4 Tsp Jacquard Burnt Orange and 1/4 Jacquard Aztec Yellow

Jar 2: 1/4 Tsp Jacquard Gunmetal

I mix the dyes in, add 1/4 cup vinegar to each jar, remix. Then I lift the wool out of one crock and add the entire contents of one jar, and then repeat with the other crock. Magic!! Dye is wicking beautifully, just very slowly. I have figured it out! But (isn't there always a but!), I swished the yarn, which caused it to felt more and clump together. But all is not lost! Here is the dyed skein:

And here it is re-skeined after I separated it. It actually gave it a haloed effect, and a bit rough looking while maintaining its softness - so very much my Grandpa D. The colors are nice too. Very hunter-ish and warm feeling for winter.

All in all, I'm pleased. Nothing has had to be tossed yet. And I've custom dyed yarn for my wonderful grandparents. I am quite pleased.