A project for capturing my notes on dyeing.

Note that the technique for dyeing raw unwashed fleece using acid dye powders on the stove top is written up separately here.

Initially most of this is as taught by Fiona Moir at Dumfries Guild on Sept 14th 2013.

Except when using a specific technique requiring the use of dye powder, it is useful to keep a set of stock solutions mixed up ready for use. Fiona recommends 1% solutions, I think I may go for 2%. You dilute as you use according to what you are wanting to achieve.

For a 1% solution, dissolve (you may need to heat on the stove-top) 5g dye powder in 500ml water. Store in a screw-top bottle - used vinegar bottles suit the purpose very well. ;) If when you come to use it the solution looks cloudy, simply reheat until it’s clear. Store the solutions out of the light.

Fiona recommends starting with 6 stock solutions:

1. Acid yellow
2. Pillar-box red
3. Royal blue
4. Magenta
5. Turquoise
6. Black

Most other colours can be made by mixing these.

(Note, you always need more yellow than other colours. One option is to make the yellow stock solution twice the concentration of the others. Otherwise just accept you will need to mix up more yellow stock solution more frequently!)

When using these dye solutions, a fixer will be needed. For acid dyes on animal fibres (including silk), vinegar or other acid (eg citric) is the fixer. Don’t add the fixer to the stock solutions, as different dyeing techniques need the fixer added at different stages in different ways.

Rainbow-dyeing on the stove top, using the dye solutions, is written up here.

The technique described below is called space-dyeing.

The fibre to be dyed can be anything - fleece (washed), tops, batts, yarn, even fabric or a FO.

Presoak your fibre in water with a dash of detergent added. (The detergent helps it wet right through.)

Space-dyeing places the dye on the fibre in whatever pattern / combination required, then cooks the painted fibre.

The pre-soaked fibre is placed on clingfilm, painted, then wrapped in clingfilm to make a parcel, and steamed. Steaming can be on the stove-top or in the microwave.

Mix up the colours required, for instance in plastic cups, adding a glug of fixer to each cup. Add extra fixer to turquoise.

Apply the dye solutions direct to the fibre and work it in with your fingers. (Don’t forget to wear rubber gloves!) There will be some mingling in the cooking, but Fiona recommends only leaving white space if you want white space in the finished dyed fibre.

If you want specific discrete effects, you can use a syringe to place the colour precisely. Otherwise, for chunks of colour, just pour it on the fibre.

When happy with your colour placement, wrap the painted fibre up in clingfilm. The fibre will dye fine if the packet isn’t fully sealed, but you may get colour leaching out and, if you are dyeing more than one packet at a time, you may get contamination between packets.

Now steam the packets in a steam-pan (a colander on top of a saucepan of water works fine) for about 20 minutes. Note that if using acid dyes, any cookware used should not be used for food preparation.

Alternatively (and thanks to spinnershill for this bit) you can steam the packets in the microwave. Put in a suitable container and steam on not-quite full power for a few minutes, turn over, another few minutes on not-quite full power, then a final minute on full power. (You will need to experiment with your own microwave.)

These packets are HOT! Leave to cool, then unwrap and rinse in water of a similar temperature to the fibre until no more dye is coming out. Then dry.

The fibre is unlikely to felt provided you don’t handle it too roughly and don’t give it a temperature shock when rinsing.

Bottom pic shows the stove-top rainbow-dyed tops next to / intermingled with the space-dyed ones.