Dyeing Fiber with Tea II

One of my most popular blog posts and memorable projects was when I dyed fiber with tea a few years ago.  The end product was a gentle color that I have admired every time I've seen it while digging around in my stash.

In addition to having that naturally dyed skein brightening my stash, I had a skein that had the exact opposite effect on me.  It was the result of a past food dye experiment that did not yield very impressive results.  I thought the colors were too light and bland, and almost every time I saw that skein I would think "Someday I'll do something with you, poor little guy".

Lately I've been stockpiling used tea bags and freezing them.  It took me a while to get a substantial number saved because I prefer loose leaf tea, but the other day I decided that it was finally time to put them to good use.

I followed pretty much the same exact method as I did last time, starting with soaking the yarn in a 1:3 white vinegar to water solution.  The colors actually appear much darker here than when they are dry.

Then I added ~30 used tea bags (most of them were generic black teas) to boiling water and let them sit until the water was saturated.

The base yarn was Knit Picks Bare Merino DK, which really dyes well and has an excellent texture following the process, I love working with it.

I removed the tea bags and added my yarn... 

...and ended up with this!  I think it is a huge improvement, the colors are more rich and have a delicate gradient.  The best part of this was, it took very little time and effort for such a wonderful effect.  I'm very pleased with it.

Now that skein won't be pitied anymore and I'm already dreaming of what I'll knit with it!

Do you have any yarn in your stash that just doesn't appeal to you very much?

Blue raspberry BFL

I'm amazed at how quickly I spun this fiber, it was just so soft and comforting to spin.  I bought it last summer while visiting Lisa because I loved the feel of it.

100% Bluefaced Leicester wool

2 ply, ~217 yards, 4.0 oz.

DK weight

Fiber from Wicked Stitch in Wamego, Kansas

I really enjoyed working with this fiber, it was well processed and smooth.  I wasn't really picturing any particular end product for this fiber, I was just enjoying the process.

After I plyed it and admired my handiwork for a little while, I had some fun dyeing it!  The only dyes I have on hand here are egg dyes, so I used four tablets to get a nice bright color.

It did turn out rather bright as you can see.  It definitely reminds me of those blue raspberry dum-dum pops.  I like how it turned out, I don't think I could imagine how it would turn out in the end.

Reflecting on 2012

Since today is the last day of 2012 (whew, what a year!), I decided to sit down and reflect on my fiber accomplishments for this year.  That is one of my favorite things about writing a blog, it allows me to go back in time in a sense.  I definitely learned a lot of new things and knitted a lot of fun and challenging projects!


Upcycling thrift store sweaters:

- Acrylic/Wool upcycling disaster
- Upcycling cashmere
- Upcycling soft wool


Tutorials:

- Dyeing with tea
- QR code yarn labeling system
- Organizing stash with recycled materials


Knitting without a pattern:

- Textured cowl
- Scrap blanket


New experiences:

- Spin to knit sock
- Steeking
- Granny squares


Dyeing:

- Dyeing for a project
- Dyeing with Wiltons food dyes
- Dyeing with egg dyes


Handspun:

- Lagoon merino
- Brown alpaca
- Lilac
- Silk hankie

- Pretty pink alpaca
- Targhee jewel
- Cotton candy
- Romney

In addition to having over a hundred posts here this year, I have been so incredibly fortunate to meet so many knitters, crocheters, and spinners from all over the world.  You all are so talented and creative, and inspire me every day.

Looking forward to another wonderful year!

 

What's in my library

I don't buy a whole lot of crafting related books, I usually reference the internet for techniques that I want to learn and I vastly prefer patterns from Ravelry to those in dedicated pattern books.  However, there are a few books that I do own and reference frequently.

Spinning:

Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont:  If you are new to spinning or if you are fairly experienced, I would wager that you can learn something new from this book.  The photos are wonderfully descriptive and she perfectly describes (at least for my learning style) a variety of techniques.

The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius:  If you love fiber, this is such a fun book to just pick up and flip through.  There are so many amazing fiber options out there and this book describes many of them in detail.  I especially love how they provide great photos of the raw fiber, spun fiber, and knitted yarn to give you an idea of the texture.

Dyeing:

Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece by Gail Callahan: Much of what I learned about dyeing is from this book.  It provides detailed instructions on so many different techniques and the chapters are so well written, this woman knows what she is talking about.

Knitting:

The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt: This is a new addition to my knitting library.  This is probably the most comprehensive knitting resource I have ever seen, as soon as I opened this book I wanted to read half of the chapters.  The only problem I have with this book is the lack of photos in sections describing complex techniques.

Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy Johnson: This is the only pattern book that I have ever found where I love every single design in it.  I learned to do toe-up socks two-at-a-time from this book, her instructions made so much sense to me and the photography is gorgeous.

What are some books that you just had to buy or continue to keep coming back to?

Dyeing Fiber with Food Dyes

I wanted to let you all know that I will be on a trip to Las Vegas for a conference this weekend, so if I'm slow in responding that is why, I apologize in advance!

Before leaving, I decided to dye some roving I purchased a while ago.  It is apparently Cheviot wool, which I have never really experienced before.  I actually ordered this fiber online, and upon opening it up I was really disappointed with how it had been prepared.  Because of the bits of stuff sticking out of it and the overwhelming smell of lanolin, I have reason to suspect that it has not been processed very well.  This was further evident in the fact that it was very difficult to dye.

I dyed part of it using Wilton's food dyes, pretty much the same way as I did in my previous post and I was not completely satisfied with it.  The colors just didn't want to stick!

Once I finish spinning this fiber, I plan on washing it thoroughly and then attempting to dye it again to see how that might work.  Also, I remembered that the awesome Sara from A Year at the Wheel, has tons of tips on how to wash wool correctly, so I may follow her directions and see if that might make a difference as well.

But, if dyeing teaches me anything, it is that sometimes it doesn't go at all according to plan.  I'm looking forward to this fiber as an ongoing challenge that I have to tackle.  Perhaps I will make something I'm truly proud of in the end!

Dyeing Your Own - Egg Dyes

I received a lot of positive feedback on my last post about dyeing yarn.  I'm certainly not an expert on the subject by any means, but I truly enjoy experimenting (I am a scientist after all) even if those experiments turn out a little funny like this one did.  I also hope that many of you will try your own dyeing adventures!

First experiment: Egg dyes:

Right after Easter you can usually find those boxes of egg dye tablets (there are many different brands) for about $0.25 a piece.  I've found them to be a really easy and nontoxic way to dye yarn, in fact that was the only type of dye I would use while at college.  While the color choices might appear to be slightly more limited (usually only about 6-8 different colors per box), you can use the amount of vinegar added to change how vibrant the colors turn out.

First I soaked my yarn (Cascade 220) in a 1:4 vinegar to water solution for at least an hour in order to allow the dye to correctly set in the fibers.  Then I gently squeezed out as much of the water out of the fiber as I could and placed the yarn in a microwaveable dish.

I always experiment with how I prepare the dye, but this time I added 2 cups of boiling water to about 3/4 a cup of white vinegar (the volume of vinegar is where I usually experiment), and then added two tablets of the same color to the mixture.  After the tablets completely dissolved, I was ready to go!

I poured the dye mixture over half of the skein and then microwaved it on high for 2 minutes, allowed it to rest for at least 5 minutes, microwaved for 2 minutes, and then allowed to cool before squeezing most of the water out.

I repeated the dye step with another color (which I totally chose at random just for the fun of it) until I had a pretty variegated skein (can't you tell I just love dyeing those the best?).

I think that out of all of the different dyeing methods, egg dyes are some of the easiest and least messy, and I highly recommend them to people wanting to give them a try.

Still interested?  Check out my other posts on dyeing:

Wilton's Food Dyes

Dyeing with Tea

Dyeing Your Own - Wilton's Dyes

Here is the start of a little summer series recording some of my yarn dyeing experiments (and possibly fiber too).  I don't have any concrete plans for how I want to structure this yet (please do let me know if you want to see anything in particular).  I just want to explore the dyeing process again because I haven't had the chance since last year.

I have been really inspired by Lisa of Wickedly Artsy, who has some really amazing dyeing ideas, so many that she would probably need a huge book to record them all.  Lisa and I will probably be collaborating on some of these for ultimate dyeing awesomeness.  As well as by Stacey of FreshStitches who recently did a great set of posts on dyeing with Kool-Aid.

First experiment: Wilton's food dyes:

I was lucky enough to already have some Wilton's food dyes in eight different colors (a remnant of my sister's cupcake phase), as well as some white Cascade 220.  I have worked with the Wilton's dyes once before but couldn't remember much about the process.

 

I set up my dyeing station while the yarn soaked in a 1:4 white vinegar to water solution.  I felt comfortable using kitchen equipment because I was using a food dye (this is my preference, but some people do not like to do any kind of dyeing in the kitchen). 

Naturally I decided to go with the whole rainbow.  I added a small amount of dye (pea-sized maybe?) to hot water mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar.

Then I admittedly went a little color crazy...

I microwaved (or "nuked" as my dear father says) this lovely swirl of colors for two minutes at full power, allowed it to cool for five minutes, microwaved for two more minutes, and then allowed it to sit until cool.  After cooling, I gently rinsed the yarn and hung it up to dry. 

And guess what I ended up with?

Isn't it pretty? 

Now, I haven't extensively tested the colorfastness of this dye job, but in my experience, if the dye doesn't come out when rinsing, it is pretty well set.

If I were to do this again I would probably add little bit more dye to the mix for more richness and add slightly less vinegar so that this yarn will be easier on the eyes.

Exploring the stash

After reading Truly Myrtle's post on "stash grooming", I was inspired to reevaluate my own stash.  I actually have two stashes as many college students do, one at my parent's house and one at college.  Inevitably, I often forget what I have in my home stash.

So, this morning I broke out my stash, organized it, and entered it all onto Ravelry, and it felt great!

Here it all is (not counting a bag I'll mention later):

I've got a healthy mix of handspun, luxury, self dyed, and acrylics (that people always seem to gift me).

I remembered how much I loved to dyed yarn a couple of years ago.  I've had some pretty experiments and some not so pretty experiments.  I'm definitely going to make time to dye some more this summer.  I especially want to try dyeing with tea again (the brown skein below).

Some wonderful family friends gifted me some amazing new yarns that I've never tried knitting with before.  The first two are Cascade Sierra (cotton/wool blend) and the third one is Manos Silk Blend.  Didn't they pick out the best colors?

Lastly I dug through my undyed base yarn bag and I have a lot of yarn to work with.  I have a skein of Knit Picks Bare DK, 6 skeins of Cascade 220, and 5 skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash.  This was excellent news because Lisa and I have been planning a yarn dyeing party this summer, we are going to have a blast!

I've always been proud of being able to maintain my stash at a reasonable size, this summer I'm planning on downsizing it a lot with some great new projects.

Have any exciting stash plans?

Day 1: Color Lovers (3KCBWDAY1)

Today is the first day of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2012!  This is going to be such an exciting week, and I cannot wait to meet new bloggers and get to know my blogging friends a little bit better!

I love working with color, which is part of the reason why I love knitting, and spinning in particular.  There are so many amazing colors available between yarn companies and indie dyers.  Essentially the possibilities for yarn and the projects which can come from yarn are endless, isn't that fantastic? 

Whenever possible, I like to dye my own fiber to spin, because it gives me full control over the product.  I always seem to start a dyeing project by finding inspiration from somewhere and doing a color study in one of my journals.  I usually start by trying to replicate the color study in my journal, but usually I get a little derailed (what would happen if I added a touch of this color?) 

I love the idea of combining colors in combinations that you don't often see together while I dye:

I also love combining colors together in crazy combinations while spinning just to see the interesting results that can come from it:

I'm also really interested in all the possible (often vibrant) color combinations you can get from interesting dye sources.

Such as food dyes from the grocery store: 

Or from plants, such as tea leaves:

I also love combining color while knitting in colorwork projects, because such rich patterns can be produced this way:

In honor of this post, I actually pulled out all of my hand knit socks that I didn't gift, which I think really speaks to my taste in color (as well as my apparent love for socks):

I can certainly say without a doubt that color is one of the most enjoyable parts of knitting and spinning.  

Dyeing Yarn for Colorwork

One of my more lofty Fiber Goals for 2012 is to Complete a colorwork sweater. After a bit of thought I have found the perfect pattern: Velvet Morning from Knitty, Winter 2011.  From the very beginning I decided that I wanted to dye the secondary color yarns myself for a special touch (I'm going to buy the yarn for the primary color).

So, I broke out my acid dyes and got to work dying some Cascade 220 Superwash:

I'm not sure why, but Cascade superwash is a lot of fun to dye.  I'm not sure how to describe it, it's just a friendly yarn to dye with.  It always looks great and doesn't felt, but it is fairly pricey.

My favorite one is the gray for sure.  It has this wonderful frosted look to it.

I have to run by Webs to buy the yarn I need for the primary color before I can cast on.  I almost cannot wait, I'm so excited to cast on!

Dyeing Fiber With Tea

I love tea.

I love tea so much that I often end up drinking 6-7 large cups a day.  Inevitably, I have had some situations where I have accidentally spilled tea and found that it dyes a variety of surfaces fairly easily. Naturally, I had to experiment with it.

Being one of those people who never wants to jump into a situation without background knowledge and a firm plan, I looked at what others have done.  After clicking around for a while I found a pretty good tutorial on how to dye yarn with black tea at a blog called tinateaspoon.

I didn't deviate too far from what she did; however, because I am a scientist, I feel obligated to record exactly what I did to allow for repeatability and to share the results of my experiment.

List of Materials Needed for Experiment: 
-- 1 skein of non-acrylic yarn
For this experiment I decided to use some unloved Knit Picks Bare Swish DK (100% superwash merino wool) that I had crammed into my closet.  Also, for the love of yarn, please skein and secure your yarn properly before dyeing or it will become a huge mess.
-- 3 bags of Lipton black tea 
I'm fairly sure that fewer tea bags can be used, as my dye bath was pretty strong.  I also do not think that they have to be unused tea bags either.  I think that any black tea can be used, but that the Lipton is going to be a cheaper option.
-- Large stainless steel pot and spoon for stirring
As far as I'm concerned, any kitchenware used with food-based dyes can be used for cooking again, but this is really up to you.

Protocol:
1.  Soak yarn in warm water for 1 hour.

2.  Fill a stainless steel pot with water and bring to a boil.

3.  Add tea bags to the pot and steep at a gentle boil for 1 hour.

4.  Remove tea bags and gently add pre-soaked yarn to dye bath, ensuring that the yarn is completely submerged in the solution.

5.  Keep solution at a gentle boil for 1 hour, stirring very gently (to avoid felting) every 20 minutes.

6.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

7.  Remove yarn from pot, rinse gently to remove excess dye, carefully squeeze to remove excess water, and then hang to dry.


Results:

Beautiful, naturally dyed yarn that you dyed yourself

with a gorgeous color you cannot easily find anywhere else.

Now I get to cross off my first fiber goal for 2012!
- Dye fiber/yarn with tea


Have you ever dyed with tea (or some other plant)?  Please share your own experiences!