Dye happy.
It was terribly unfortunate that my yarn order hadn’t arrived by the weekend, so I had no yarn to dye! Agh. Well. In lieu of dyeable yarn, I dyed some wool and silk noil over the weekend…
Last Wednesday was our last spinning/dyeing class and so we did some handpainting with Procion dyes. I’d never used Procion before, so this was a good, new experience. Procion dyes are used for low temperature dyeing of cellulose fibers including cotton, linen, rayon, and ramie. It also dyes silk. Procion comes in both a powder or liquid form and we used powders to mix dye stocks.
I forgot to bring fibre to dye, but did purchase 1 lb. of tussah silk noil from the instructor which I used for dyeing. This silk noil was cheap — about $16 CAD per pound. And one pound of silk noil is about the size of a bedspread! Of course, it does come with complimentary silkworm bits that you have to pick out…but did I mention it was cheap? When I get my drum carder, I want to blend the silk noil with some other fibres for some textured yarns.
Also, one of my classmates had given me a lock of ramie fibre a couple weeks ago that I pulled out and handpainted. This fibre turns out so shiny! But feels a little like really soft linen. I was very impressed with how the colours turn out so vibrant.
I did get an order of new dyes from ProChem last week that I wanted to try out — some new Lanaset and WashFast colours in several shades of green and red. So I did some hot pour dyeing with wool — basically, you place the wool in a shallow amount of water (just enough to cover), then pour a little bit of dye onto sections of the wool. Wait for it to strike and exhaust, then add other colours to the other sections. Oddly, some of the dye colours separated a bit, so something that was supposed to be burgundy separated into reds and violets.
Two and a half hours until the new wheel arrives!!
Tags: place des arts, procion
Hi there, I’m a fan of your blog…just wondering if you have any plans to sell more of the Blueface Leceister for the hat you showed in an earlier post? I’d love to make one…
I hope your yarn arrives soon, and enjoy your new wheel!
I’m so jealous that you have spinning & dyeing classes available. I’m just getting ready to make the leap into kool-aid dyeing! That is, as soon as my “dye-your-own” arrives. I’m loathe to try spinning without supervision.
Gorgeous colors! I love your choices. Can’t wait to hear what you think about the new wheel. I feel that I have one in my future - just trying to hold off!
Ahhh.. for local dyeing classes - that would be so fantastic. I love how vibrant the colors turned out. Have you developed a favorite technique?
ay, i love love the colors. so saturatingly gorgeous. and now you get to spin them!
plus a new wheel to boot?! lucky you
I got a bag of the silk noil as well for blending. But I gave it a go spinning as is and it is so very nice too.
Now the delemma is to spin it or blend it.
Beautiful, vibrant colours!
Have fun with your new wheel when it arrives!!
Oh, such gorgeous colors! You like the same color combinations that I do.
It’s so cute, the way you look forward to the new spinning wheel. I wish I could afford even a spindle! I can’t wait to read how the new wheel is.
Any sign of the new wheel yet. Am eager to read feedback from you.
Any sign of the new wheel yet. Am eager to read feedback from you.
Lovely colors! That ramie is absolutely brilliant!
I love the color results even with the color that separated - sometimes I like the result better when it separates. Ohh a second wheel - you’ve got to post pics when you get it - have fun!
Such lovely colors! Sometimes it’s nice just to be able to rest the eyes on a pretty photo or two. I really need to learn how to use my camera a little better so I can start providing some decent photos, too!
Beautiful colors - I love seeing what you put in the etsy shop - you have definitely made me want to get some “dye your own” and do some experimenting. Thanksgiving dinner made me think of so many colors that would make beautiful scarfs and socks: pumpkin, cranberry, sweet potatoes, spinach, butter. Not so sure I’d get good results using my leftovers to dye with though.