To Dye By Hand, Pt. 2

"Round about the cauldron go, in the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone days and nights has thirty-one/ swelter'd venom sleeping got, boil thou first in the charm'd pot. Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble." - Macbeth, Shakespeare

I finally have the chance to dye some yarn. Having ordered some "Bare" yarn in fingering weight, and a jar of Emerald Green dye powder, from Knit Picks, I pulled out a big enamel pot and a large bottle of white vinegar, and went to work.

Dye Powder

"Bare" yarn

Dye Mixture

While the pot of water is boiling, I mixed the dye powder with water to make a "Dye Stock"...

Yarn and Dye in the pot

Then, when the water is almost boiling, I mixed in the dye stock and white vinegar, and put the yarn into the water.

Dyed Yarn - "Eire"

After the water runs clear and the yarn has taken the dye, I allowed the pot to cool, then rinsed the yarn in warm water, hanging it to dry afterwards.

As happens in many cases, the yarn can dye unevenly. This is because, when the yarn is washed after being harvested from the sheep, the animal fat was not evenly washed out. I like the fact that the finished product varies from a Deep Seaweed to a Lime Green.

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, I'll christen it "Eire," the Gaelic name for Ireland.

This will show up in some future knitting project...