Dyeing Polworth
Acid for acid exhaust dyes! Who would have thought… In a previous attempt at dyeing, I forgot to add vinegar and the result was murky, slightly felted roving. Ugh. So this time, I soaked the Polworth roving in cold water plus a big glug of vinegar. The result? Juicy colours. Yummy.
I used a slightly different process this time too. Just before the trip, I bought an 18 qt. Turkey Roaster for cheap at Walmart. I didn’t like how the dyes would sink to the bottom of the Crockpot and make a big muddy mess of the roving, so I used the cold-pour/saran wrap method as shown in the Twisted Sisters book. This gives so much more control over where colours go (and stay!).
I broke off 7 lengths of roving, each 30g, and “painted” stripes using the 0.5% dye stocks I had already made up. Wrapped them in saran wrap lengthwise and then coiled them up. Placed them all in the roaster and steamed them for about an hour — I know 20 minutes is enough, but I put them in a cold roaster and heated the whole thing up so that I wouldn’t have to transport potentially leaking coils from the dining table to the kitchen counter…
In the Twisted Sisters book they have a photo where the roving packets are “all puffed up” so that you know they are done. In my case, the crappy saran wrap I used melted onto the rovings. Woo hoo. But it was no problem. Plastic and wool don’t mix so I just ripped the melted saran wrap off and the roving was still safe and intact. Just in case, I bought some thicker, heavier-duty saran wrap for next time!
Here are the lovely colours I got:
After a day of drying, I pre-drafted the whole lot. Just gently attenuating the rovings until fluffy. See pre-pre-drafted and pre-drafted shots here:
And here’s the whole 210-220g lot of dyed Polworth roving! Happily, none of it’s felted and it’s still soft. So pretty just like that, I’ll have to decide how to spin it up!
Next time, I think I should pull back a little and try some more “subtle” colourways! These colours are gorgeous…but blinding, non?
Gorgeous! I just got myself a bunch of superwash wool and planning to dye this weekend also. Cant wait to see some of yours spun up. Candy colors are so pretty.
The colors are gorgeous!
bright but beautiful! can’t wait to see them all spun up.
OMG I am so jealous. Reading about your spinning and dying adventures makes me wish I could. I can’t believe you are new to it!! As soon as I move into a bigger place I am so taking the plunge. I can’t wait to see how it spins up!
Polwarth is one of my favorite wools to spin - you did a lovely dye job, you’ll have a blast turning it into yarn.
Yummy! It looks like candy all rolled up in the Saran!
wow. wow wow wow. beautiful. i’m afraid to use acid dyes at home in my tiny little apartment with no exhaust fan in the kitchen…. you are my dyeing hero. those are so beautiful! if you want to, you know, give some away….
Wow, the dye job is stunningly beautiful! Can’t wait to see the resulting yarn!
Oh wow, that’s absolutly gorgeous
The colours are sooo pretty, and BRIGHT!! What is this Twisted Sisters book, though? I might need to get myself a copy!
beautiful! i don’t dye or spin but those pictures are eyecandy nonetheless.
“Blinded by beauty” would be my term. Thanks for informative pictorial….just what I needed. I can’t wait to get back to some real fiber art….just got to finish the stash busting scarves and boa’s (I’m on #50 whew). I’m relying on you to keep me energized and focused.
Wow! They are gorgeous! you can blind me any day with those!
beautiful! i can’t wait to see what happens when it’s spun. what’s your plan? singles or plied? navajo or not?
the best part is if you don’t get to it right away it almost doesn’t matter. those roving balls are gorgeous as is.
Great colors…can’t wait to see what you do with them. I love to dye wool, but need to get more confident with color combinations. You have a good eye for that.
Maybe the saran wrap melted because you steamed it for sooo long. I haven’t had that problem (yet) with the regular stuff.
Your photos are so lovely, they make me want to dye rovings too! Then I remember that I don’t spin. hmmmm.
I’ve never done any dye-ing of my own, but I am stunned by how beautiful those look. Excellent work. Just gorgeous.
Bee-Yoo-Tee-Full! So gorgeous! The dying ismy “final frontier” of the fiber world. I love the knitting and the spinning — I just need to dive into the dying. And your roving makes me want to do it NOW. Fabulous!
Not blinding at all - just lovely! Especially for the spring and summer. It is so neat to see how you do all of this - I have never done any dyeing, so this is such a treat. Cheers -
I can’t decide which is better, your photos or the wool!
They are both too wonderful.
Even when you’re not photographing food, I still want to eat it! The coiled saran-wrapped rovings look like psychedelic sticky buns! Pass the sparkle caramel and a fork! Yum!
Bright, but gorgeous! Love the photos… I think that yarn will make lovely scarves, hats, mittens, etc! You seem to have a knack for dying and spinning!
Looks good enough to eat! Your dyeing worked wonderfully, and you always take such great photos, especially if I haven’t had breakfast :).
Beautiful! I definitely prefer the steam packets to the crockpot method, too. Turkey Roasters rule! And I think the intensity is fine–they’ll lighten up a little upon spinning.
It’s wonderful to see you back and posting — your photos, as always, are incredible.
One day maybe we’ll meet — it’s nice to know other Vancouver-area knitters.
Have a great day, AA
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
I love how it looks like cotton candy. Just love the look of fluffy balls of roving. Who needs to spin them when they look that cute?
very nice! in my dyeing excursions i only get that ‘puffed up’ package when i’ve left air in, rather than squeezing the air out as i wrap it. with the air, i get more movement/mixing of the dye colors. whenever i push out the extra air, i get the melting wormy look and less spreading of colors. when i spin them out in the washing machine i take the rolls there, unroll them, open one end, and let the wool worm slide out into into the washing machine. then i don’t have to fight with trying to figure out how to unwrap the melted saran wrap.
YUM! YUM! YUM!
Wow, I feel like I’ve just been through the process myself. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Learning to dye is one of my long range goals. I LOVE the bright colors.
Wow, that saran melting would have given me a heart attack. You got lovely results. How did your turkey roaster react to the dyes?
Wow! your roving looks fabulous! I love the color combinations you’ve chosen. You’ve done such wonderful work in such a short while.
your roving looks beautiful! I have a quick question for you about the Debbie Bliss baby blanket/shawl you were working a few months back. I too am working on the same pattern, and I was wondering if you had any trouble with row 5? I’m just confused by the last part of the row with says you 11 stitches left k1,p1 four times to end. Am I just not reading this right? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
beautiful!
Oh My! These pictures are so delicious… mmmmm I’m reading the Twisted Sisters Sock Book (since I have a similar name, and have a sister who dyes, spins and knits socks… hhmmm).
Your blog inspires me. I’m more and more interested in cleaning, carding and dyeing that fibre hidden in my stash. Then I’ll wait for the Muse to help me spin it.
One thing at a time.
I love reading your blog.
After reading your comment on my blog my spinning teacher asked me to pass on a message to you. She said to let you know that there is a HUGE spinning, knitting, weaving guild in Vancouver……200+ members! According to her it is extremely active and worth checking out.
They look like yummy fruity cinnamon buns. Li
I love everything on your blog!!!!! I’m just starting spinning and I want to try dying some roving myself. So if I have already carded roving and dye it carefully, do I need to re card it after dying? Do you just pre draft it after dying and that’s it? And by pre-drafting I mean just sort of stretching it out some