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achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
 Posted - 11/05/2006 : 7:57:09 PM
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Not of dying, but of dyeing.
I never had much interest, but I just bought several skeins of off white cashmere wool at Stitches and I'm thinking of dyeing some of it. I know I can read books and info on the net and I will search here for links.
Here's the main thing I'm afraid of: spilling the dye and ruining my kitchen. How do you avoid this? Sally Melville described heating the dyepot (a big canning pot) and then letting it cool off to room temp. At some point you have to lift that big pot and pour it out. I'm envisioning a huge mess.
Anita
My completed projects
and here
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hobbitknitter
Permanent Resident
USA
2284 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2006 : 8:02:55 PM
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Hmm I'm afraid of dying, not of dyeing... 
What type of sink do you have? If it's stainless you should be fine- just pour into the sink. Corian, not such a good idea, probably...
~Sarah Elizabeth
Spinners make the world go round.
Keep on knitting on!
http://knitonespintoo.blog-city.com |
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purlthis
Permanent Resident
USA
2715 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2006 : 8:19:08 PM
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We always dyed stuff in the basement when I was growing up. If no basement was available, it was off to the garage. I'm all about not wrecking the house, the sink, the wood floors...AND! I'm a HUGE klutz, so if it can be spilled, I'm spilling it...
Rachel
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As I get older, I prefer to knit. Tracey Ullman |
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Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2006 : 8:35:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by achrisvet
Not of dying, but of dyeing.
I never had much interest, but I just bought several skeins of off white cashmere wool at Stitches and I'm thinking of dyeing some of it. I know I can read books and info on the net and I will search here for links.
Here's the main thing I'm afraid of: spilling the dye and ruining my kitchen. How do you avoid this? Sally Melville described heating the dyepot (a big canning pot) and then letting it cool off to room temp. At some point you have to lift that big pot and pour it out. I'm envisioning a huge mess.
Anita
My completed projects
and here
At least when working with wool dyes, the wool takes on the dye and you are then left with a big pot of sort of milky water. The only problem in spilling would be when mixing the dye and that can be done with loads of newspaper and a drop cloth.
When dyeing rayon and cotton, I've had dye left in the water, especially when using a union dye such as Rit but that has not been a problem when dyeing protein fibers which is what cashmere is. I'll think you'll be fine. I'm a klutz and a messy cook in general and so far, I have yet to make a mess in my kitchen when dyeing.
M L
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truly violet
Permanent Resident
6397 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2006 : 06:16:23 AM
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anita
wear old clothes
and bleach does take stuff out of counters etc
as does dishwasher detergent, and soft scrub with bleach
but yes a wool dye is exhausted and leaves a clear liquid behind
it's getting the dyes INTO the pot that could be a problem.....
let's just say my smurf blue hands faded in time
and food coloring in deep magenta looks GOOD on a cream colored cat
vi
none of this will matter in 100 years.......
except I will finally be at my goal weight...vi
http://notashyviolet.blogspot.com/ ~now with chickens!
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kdcrowley
Permanent Resident
USA
4773 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2006 : 10:11:25 AM
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A good precaution is to use dyes that do not contain metals....Then get vinyl table cloth and put over the counters. Best not to get the dye on the counter in the first place, and the cloth will make cleanup a snap.
You don't have to do a big pot, you could put the yarn and the dye in a big ziploc bag, squish it around and then micrwave it or put in the oven.....you only need 140 degrees to set the dyes on wools.
I would recommend trying dyeing first on less um elegant fibers though to get a feel for it.
Kelley
Check out my solar-dyed yarns at http://www.ceallachdyes.com
and my blog at http://ceallachknits.blogspot.com
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kdcrowley
Permanent Resident
USA
4773 Posts |
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KS
Seriously Hooked
862 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2006 : 2:21:56 PM
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I bought one of those electric single burner units & use it in the garage. I do end up carrying the pot back inside to dump it in the laundry room sink.
I more of a terror when I'm mixing dyes. That's why I'm in the garage. I don't like the smell of hot vinegar, so I don't really want that in the basement.
Two other precautions I'd suggest are a dust mask when mixing the powders & surgical gloves. Lots of places have cheap gloves now. You can get a box from a dye house, a restaurant supply place, or a drug store to name a few.
Have fun!
KS |
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kdcrowley
Permanent Resident
USA
4773 Posts |
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achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2006 : 11:25:58 AM
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Thanks everyone. That's very helpful. I was envishioning a big pot of say purple water, trying to pour it down the sink. So the wool absorbs all the color, huh?
So now you have a nicely dyed hank and you have to hang it to dry. Isn't it going to be dripping purple? Or do you wring it out in towels first so it's nit dripping anything? I gotta get a book. Maybe I'll get some of the KnitPicks yarn to experiment on. I never thought I would be interested in this, but Sally Melville got me started. She had some swatches that were knit in squares of ugly colors and then she overdyed them and they were gorgeous. She buys cheap cashmere sweaters from discount stores and overdyes them.
Do you know anything about the dyes KP sells? Are they any good?
Anita
My completed projects
and here
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