A wee bit of dyeing

The other day, i looked at the 1kg of white merino sitting patiently and eagerly waiting to be spun up and thought to myself "gee thats a bit dull, reminds me of an uncoated krispy kreme - full of promise but not quite as yummy". So i did a little bit of research on dyeing, and decided to try my hand at kettle dyeing with food colouring (spotted at the local woollies for a measly 80c a bottle - cheap stuff up if it need be!).


So i started by mixing 2/3 cup of water with half a cap of Rose Pink and poured it into the vinegar infused simmering hot water..

The 100gm of fine merino fibre and surrounding water turned a reddish pink, and slowly turned clear. I then added in 1/3 cup of water mixed with 1/2 cap of red to try and give the pink a bit of "depth" . (teehee, loving that word).
Once done, I then gently lifted it out of its pot and drained it in a colander. Then i rinsed it with wool wash.


And then i put it out to dry. It's not as red as I hoped it was. Actually its a bit too hot pink for my liking. But 100gm might just do me for a pair of mittens or a beanie so it wasn't too much lost.

Lessons learnt?
  • learn more about colour theory next time
  • add less water so the colour is more saturated
  • investigate acid dyes

3 comments:

  Maryse

9:59 PM, May 20, 2009

I like that kind of pink (I'm actually about to buy some for a new cardigan), so I'm not worried that you will find something nice to knit with it!

Your neighbors must wonder what is that pink "thing" drying... ;-)

  Nyssa

10:06 AM, May 21, 2009

queen's have a colour called pillar box red. i haven't used it before, but that rose pink it hot hot hot.

to red it out a bit now, you could try a little bit of yellow. not a lot, otherwise the red will go orange. also cool, but y'know. :)

  kae

10:20 AM, May 21, 2009

nyssa: Oh! I would never have thought yellow!! I will definitely try that one.