how to kettle-dye fiber

I was preparing the following tutorial to share with someone on Etsy, but decided to share this on my blog for all of my fiber buddies. If you have something to share or correct, please let me know! (for example, I often skip the first rinse and just rinse/wash extra-carefully after dyeing) Enjoy!

Hand dying your own wool may sound frightening and messy. Well, it might be a little messy, but it's not scary at all. Once you get the hang of dying, it's simple to experiment by creating your own unique colors and colorways. You'll be able to control the hue and saturation in order to prepare spinning fiber that will suit any spinning or felting whim.

Here's what you need to get started:

Jacquard Acid Dyes
Vinegar OR Lemon juice (generic is fine)
Big pots*
Face mask
Colander*
Large bowl*
Washer or spin-dryer (optional)
Measuring spoons*
Sink for rinsing
Flexible turner or spoon*
Clothesline or drying rack

aaand FIBER! For this dyeing tutorial, you could use silk, nylon (including icicle and faux cashmere), mohair, angora, alpaca, any type of wool, and any other animal fiber.

*You'll want to make sure that the dishes and utensils you use for dyeing are never again used for food preparation. I found most of my dyeing equipment at yard sales and auctions. You could also check with your local Freecycle.org group or Craigslist.

Dyeing prep:..

Put on your face mask.

I wrote the tutorial with vinegar in mind as my acid-of-choice. Vinegar is cheaper than lemon juice and it doesn't go rancid if not rinsed perfectly. You may also use citric acid, though I don't know how much you'd need to use.

I strongly recommend weighing and dividing your fiber into 4-6 oz. lots before beginning. Stay consistent with measurements of fiber and dye, and colors will be easier to repeat

Before you begin dyeing, you'll want to rinse the fiber you're preparing to dye. Often, there's dust in the roving, and that will come out easily. Fill a large pot with warm water and submerge the fiber that you intend to dye. Allow it to sit for approximately 20 minutes, and then rinse the fiber very gently in your colander in the sink, using the same temperature (approximately) water. Spin the water out of your fiber using the spin cycle of your top loading washing machine or spin dryer.

Fill your pot 2/3 full of water. Add approximately 1/3 cup vinegar. Heat your pot of water on medium heat. You don't want the pot to boil- but a very light simmer is fine. Preferably, the pot should never get hot enough to bubble. Using a half-teaspoon, scoop the color of dye you wish to use and place the dye powder in the pot. Using your large turner or spoon, stir the water until the dye is dissolved. This might take a minute or two, especially for some colors.

Place one 4-6 oz. chunk of wool into the dye pot. Poke the wool down using your spoon so that parts of your roving don't absorb dye faster than other parts. If the water is already heated and steaming, the wool should soak up the dye within 15 minutes, approximately. You'll know that has happened when you lift a spoonful of water out of your dye pot and can see that the water is colorless. Sometimes, a wee trace of color will remain in the water, so don't worry if your water isn't perfectly clear. Use a flexible but sturdy turner OR a spoon to scoop under the roving and lift it out of the dye pot into a medium/large bowl. Then, plop the wet fiber into the colander, and rinse well. After rinsing, you can wash your fiber further by submerging it in slightly soapy water (use a gentle moisturizing soap or a wool wash)- and then rinse again. Once more, use your spin-dryer or washing machine's spin-cycle to get out excess water before hanging it up to dry. This is optional, because you could simply hang the dripping fiber as is.

Throughout the entire process, handle your fiber as little as possible. Don't stir the fiber while its in the pot, don't squeeze or ring the fiber with your hands when rinsing. Use gentle presses and no rubbing. If you wrestle with your fiber too much, you'll end up with a rope of felt. Rapidly boiling water will also felt your fiber.

TIPS:

-After your first few dye attempts, you should be able to notice whether more dye is needed. If the color is lighter than you wanted, add more dye. If you're trying for a pastel, use less. If you want to warm a color up, add yellow or a pinch of red. To cool something down, use blue.

-Black is a very tricky color to dye- it often turns out a muddy dark gray. To counter that, add blue or navy to your dye pot. That will help your black turn out extra dark and solid.

-For fluff, snap your spun-dried wool or roving between two hands without pulling too hard and breaking the length. I start at one end of the roving and give little snaps to the roving, half a foot at a time. This helps to the roving dye faster and fluffier.

-Some colors separate into multiple colors in the dye pot. If that annoys you, make sure you give the dye plenty of time to dissolve in the water and vinegar before adding fiber. Separating colors include (but are not limited to): olive green, brown, purple, emerald green...

-If you've waited and waited and waited and your roving is quite dark but the water is still saturated with color, add more fiber to the pot to soak up the excess dye.