Today, among other things, I dyed two skeins of yarn using Wilton food dye. It's overcast here, no surprise there, so I had trouble getting the colors just right in the photo. They are just spectacular in person.
I love using food coloring, because I can use all of my kitchen tools/utensils. However, it only works on protein/animal fiber. It's lucky that I just so happened to have two skeins of natural superwash wool yarn laying around.
There are many tutorials out there if you plan on trying this, but because it makes a great blog post, I'll show you what I did!
Here is what you will need:
Yarn
Wilton Food Dye - I used Teal
Crock Pot
White Vinegar
Gloves (not pictured)
Measuring Cup (not pictured)
Tongs (not pictured)
I dyed one skein of yarn at a time in a standard household crock pot.
Step #1:
Fill the crock pot 2/3 full with almost boiling water. You could use room temp water and let the crock pot heat it up, but I just didn't want to wait that long. Add 3/4 cup white vinegar. Set the Crock pot to HIGH.
Step #2:
Creating your dye bath.
This is where you add your food coloring. You could mix it separately in a small measuring cup with water and then add to the crock pot, but I threw caution to the wind and just mixed it straight into the crock pot.
It was sort of hard to see how saturated the color was because I have a dark green insert. So to check the color, I dipped a white coffee filter in the mix. Sorry no picture, I was way too involved to snap one.
Once you get to the saturation you want move on to step #3. A word to the wise, err on the side of less dye, you can always make it darker if its too light.
Step #3:
Adding your yarn to the dye bath. You have many options here depending on the effect you want.
For my skein #1, I wanted a tonal effect. Therefore, I twisted my skein first,
and then added it to the dye bath dry. Why dry? I did this so the outside would absorb more of the dye than the inside. My pictures didn't turn out because it was all very dark.
Note: make sure your yarn is fully covered. Add more hot water if necessary.
I covered the crock pot, left it on HIGH, and let the yarn sit for about 45 min. Then I went back, and using tongs, I slowly untwisted the yarn and gently swirled it around a bit. I covered it again and left it for about another 45 minutes or so.
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For skein #2, I wanted a more solid color. Therefore, the yarn was soaked the in warm water for 15 minutes, then the excess water was squeezed out. I slowly added the yarn to the dye bath and gently swirled it a bit , It should look a little like this:
Again I covered the crock pot, set it on HIGH, and let it sit for about 1 1/2 hours.
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At this point the water should be clear, and all of your dye exhausted. If it isn't, cover and let sit for another 1/2 hour. If you are happy with your yarn (I was) move on to Step #4. If not, mix more food coloring with a 1/2 cup water and carefully add to the crock pot.
Step #4:
Rinsing the yarn
Using the tongs, carefully remove the yarn and let cool. I just set mine in the sink. Gently run under warm water until no more dye bleeds out. Squeeze out excess water.
Step #5:
Heat setting the color.
Now, because the yarn was sitting in a nice hot dye bath for 1 1/2 hours, this step is probably not necessary, but I threw it in for good measure. I set mine using steam.
I covered and steamed the yarn for 15 minutes, then allowed it to cool.
All that's left now is to hang the yarn to dry, step back, and admire your beautiful hand-dyed yarn! Oh and of course take lots of pictures and show off!
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