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Andy
Seriously Hooked
USA
774 Posts |
 Posted - 06/27/2005 : 11:08:45 AM
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I love to think about color, especially about combinations and dye techniques and undertones and special spinning methods that do optical mixing and achieve different results. Color is my thing, is it yours? I wish we had a new category for this, Clara; its what I always hope someone will be chatting about!Yummy colors!
Recently, for instance, I've been thinking about carding in bits of color and making combined rovings from two or more different dyed staples...thinking, should I do foot long or so yarn sections, specks and yards, and/or ply 2 or 3 together for lotsa dots?! Should I do a major (=high contrast) cord or analygous colors, or use subtle (=minor) cord with a triad or split compliment...saaay starting with an orange hue? Split triad I think I like best...and I like minor tones so I might use a shade of orange like burnt orange to bring it down to the other 2 opposites (compliment=blue, so they are on both sides of blue= blue-green and blue-violet) I would love a turquoise muted with the orange to lower the intensity along with the orange being lowered with the turquoise (read cyan), and have to bring up the value of the blue-violet, so I'd use a lovely periwinkle like Crayola, just not light. What do you like? I'd like to do these experiments and photograph them for each other when they are done. What do you say??
Has anybody been playing with KoolAid? I just made some fleece dyed with Lemonade, Orange, Kiwi, I think it was Invisible (but a green type) maybe Apple?, and lots of the Blue. Almost boiled it in a pot and poured it on two sides and the middle like a rainbow. Looks beautiful, but I only used about 12 packages and had probably more than 16 oz of fiber, so there are faintly colored parts also. Plus I had 6 pkgs of the Lemonade, which is very faint, so it is pretty light. I'll get pix and also when I spin it. |
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elspethm
Chatty Knitter
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2005 : 10:47:55 AM
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I've been using Kool-Aid exclusively at this point. It is really fun to mix the colors, although I have tried to stay within one color, like red. It was when I added blue (who would have guessed raspberry would be blue ;) ) because I ran out of Kool-Aid and needed more dye that the red color got more vibrant. Now I'm going to try a blue/purple mix.
The colors I find useless in Kool-Aid are the uncolored (obviously, I think, but I did add them since I had them and nothing happened) and the Arctic Green. It's way too light for my taste and doesn't show up that well either.
Maybe one of these days I'll venture out to other dyes.
Elspeth
http://ladybug326.blogspot.com |
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Andy
Seriously Hooked
USA
774 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2005 : 6:57:51 PM
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| Elspeth, I had the same result with the invisible and Arctic Green KA. My fleece is still drying on a rack (it isn't very warm in the Pacific NW!) But I can see the color comes out more as it dries, which is counterintuitive, if you ask me! I don't know about adding the blue to the purple, I would expect it to dull the purple since it is a green-undertone blue...that's probably why it worked well with the red, because it is a "warm" blue, so it can brighten up the red with out dulling it. Try it and see, you never know! But I think the warm tone blue won't do "blue" things to the purple, but will do browning things in general. |
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elspethm
Chatty Knitter
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2005 : 4:32:09 PM
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I just tried a blue/purple mix. It's drying, but so far I have been unimpressed. I think Kool-Aid does red best, and maybe pastels. A friend of mine has dyed quite a few things and they are all pretty pastel-looking.
I used grape, berry blue and one packet of a red color, and it seems to be pretty red. The grape isn't very purple and the blue is really bright. I was trying to make it for someone who doesn't like red so I'm not sure if I'll send it on or not. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when it's dry. I was so excited to dye again, but now I feel like Kool-Ade can be boring. I guess I'll have to venture out into other "real" dyes!
Elspeth
http://ladybug326.blogspot.com |
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Andy
Seriously Hooked
USA
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2005 : 4:31:26 PM
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| Mine came out pastel also,when I spun the fiber worsted from a fan it did come out interestingly variegated. It came out with three basic colors with shades between them. I used Lemonade, Orange, Kiwi, Apple, and lots of the Blue. The blue went green and the lemonage went orange or green depending on the color next to it, but didn't hold up on their own. Both the blue and lemonade disappeared into the other tones. |
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Lissa
Permanent Resident
USA
4942 Posts |
Posted - 07/15/2005 : 8:35:51 PM
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If you're getting pastels with KA you're probably not putting enough powder in the water. It won't help to use less water - you need more powder.
Lissa
"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." --Dennis Wholey
Oh, and I now have a blog:http://knittnlissa.typepad.com/knittnlissa/ |
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truly violet
Permanent Resident
6397 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2005 : 07:45:23 AM
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now you know why I use the fd&c colors....
I have the OPPOSITE problem........ way to dark most of the time.
and beleive me they are MUCH cheaper in the long run then the koolaide
vi
none of this will matter in 100 years.......except I will finally be at my goal weight...vi
http://notashyviolet.blogspot.com/
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Andy
Seriously Hooked
USA
774 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2005 : 8:41:53 PM
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| Ok, this is probably a dumb question, but what is fd&c? Is it food coloring? I tried that and it didn't go into the wool at all it was just a blue boiling vinegar bath...with white wool that came out white. Obviously I'm missing something, Vi, what is fd&c?? |
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truly violet
Permanent Resident
6397 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2005 : 03:24:41 AM
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they are the colors that make up food coloring but VERY concentrated.
I also use them in soap
I got a deep dark purple in the solar dying jar right now with a hunk o roving.......
it is about ready to come out
blue boiling vinegar bath????
vi
none of this will matter in 100 years.......except I will finally be at my goal weight...vi
http://notashyviolet.blogspot.com/
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SerMom
Permanent Resident
Canada
6412 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2005 : 05:06:17 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Andy
Ok, this is probably a dumb question, but what is fd&c? Is it food coloring? I tried that and it didn't go into the wool at all it was just a blue boiling vinegar bath...with white wool that came out white. Obviously I'm missing something, Vi, what is fd&c??
I've been very successful using food colouring. I soak the yarn for about 20 min. first, in tepid water, then squeeze out the water, pour on the colouring, stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes and take it out. If there's still too much colour in the liquid (and not enough in the yarn), I let it rest for a couple of minutes, then stick it back in.
I love the results I get, particularly when I start out with a coloured yarn to begin with. It forces me to be more creative.
(You can see some examples here
Barbara
Healthy conservatism promotes the continuity of civilization, the importance
of community, the dangers of thoughtless change. It does not, or should not,
assert the right of white, Christian heterosexual males of a certain age to
limit the rights of everyone else. The past 100 years of social history has
been dedicated, on good days, to constraining the dominance of this
minority. Yesterday was a good day: J.Ibbotson, June 29/05, on the passing of the same-sex marriage bill.
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belacane
Warming Up
USA
92 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2005 : 5:36:46 PM
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I'm a relative newcomer to this forum but a long-time color junkie. I recently started a shadow knitting shawl where my "dark" color is cherry red and my "light" color is tomato red. Besides making me hungry whenever I knit, the colors really please me; they are so close to each other that they are quite harmonious, yet the overall effect is very bold.
I do most of my color theory using commercially-dyed yarns, because I always get iffy results when dyeing. Most of my hand-dyed stuff I give away or sell to friends. I do it with Jacquard or Gaywool dyes in a large crock pot, and while I do get neat colors, I don't always get what I'd planned for. So mixing/combining/alternating commercial yarns usually makes me happier.
At Tricoter a few months ago I saw some "Naturwolle" for the first time (at the freakish price of $26 for 100 yards, just plain wool). Gorgeous stuff, but it was simply a heavy worsted singles spun in a Noro-ish kind of way (long strands of bright colors with some mouline at the overlaps). With a bag of sample fiber I can make a few pounds of this for the price of one skein! So this is one of my future spinning projects, once I get around to spinning again.
Donna |
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carols
Permanent Resident
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2006 : 5:47:34 PM
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Has anyone else found that purples are the hardest to get right? Mine always end up separating into bluer sections and mauver sections.
Carol |
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KS
Seriously Hooked
862 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2006 : 09:34:56 AM
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What type of dye are you using? I haven't had that problem, but I'm not using Kool-aid.
I use fiber reactive dyes & mix my own purples using various reds & blues, depending on what color I want.
I use soda ash & salt on cellulose fibers, & vinegar & salt on protein fibers. That way I don't have to keep 2 types of dye.
I think Kool-aid is a nice way to try dyeing, but if you want to get serious about it, fiber reactive dyes, or acid dyes designed for the purpose are cheaper to use & work better.
KS |
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bungalowmum
Warming Up
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/29/2006 : 05:24:21 AM
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Acid dyes are heavenly compared to KoolAid. Much cheaper, too, even if you only do a little dyeing from time to time. The colors are more true, lightfast and washfast. Plus, they exhaust much better. I really like the WashFast Acid dyes from Pro Chemical.com & they have sampler packs with the primary colors and the auxiliaries, for a great price, too. ($5.95 for a starter pack)
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katie - crazy spinner, dyer & knitter |
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carols
Permanent Resident
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - 01/29/2006 : 07:37:05 AM
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I just worry about working with toxic chemicals - I have little kids and it's impossible to find a time when they aren't around when I can experiment, put on gloves and dust mask, etc.
Carol |
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nataleeza
Warming Up
New Zealand
86 Posts |
Posted - 01/29/2006 : 12:06:57 PM
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I agree, I don't have kids, only a tiny flat, so I don't have the room to be able to keep things I use for dying in a separate place, and that worries me.
But I use food colour, and I've been able to make pretty much any colour that's been in my head, except for yesterday, when I ran out of blue, so I'll have to wait until I get some more to finish the dying ;)
--
Check out what I'm up to at my blog - HookStars |
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bungalowmum
Warming Up
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/30/2006 : 12:32:55 PM
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I have 3 kids under the age of 2 & it works out pretty well. I only mix w/ powders when they're not in the room (nap time and night time.) I mix 16 ozs of stock solution at a time and work with that instead. Wet acid dyes are fairly nontoxic. They are a lung hazard if inhaled, but one dissolved in water there's very little worry. I can mix colors (from stock solutions)& paint with the kiddos around. I will also wrap and steam with them up. I do NOT space dye if they're awake. I have to leave the lid off while the yarn simmers to space dye & there is a small chance that a few acid dye particles could become airborn and then inhaled.
Dyeing is messy, and hard to do with children around, but that's pretty much a given whether you use acid or food dyes. My main deciding factor was when I had a washing "accident" with a purple cake dyed handknit. My kids are cloth diapered and wear wool soakers for covers. Even though the dye was set & rinsed clean, the dye bled off the second the wool got wet. I never could reset it sufficiently, so I switched to avoid wrecking more outfits and unusable handknits.
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katie - crazy spinner, dyer & knitter |
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