Another take on stove-top rainbow dyeing. I’ve made a separate project for it as I know people refer to the other one as a reference for rainbow-dyeing unwashed fleece.

This technique has similarities but uses dye solutions, rather than powder, and so far I believe it is not suitable for unwashed fleece - although I shall experiment ;)

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

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

So far I have only dyed animal fibres, so it’s acid dyes. I believe the same techniques can be used for plant fibres but you need to use fibre-reactive dyes, and I’m not sure what you’d use for a fixer.

How to prepare and store your stock dye solutions is written up here.

Choose the colours you wish to use, mixing up any that you wish to use ready-mixed (eg green or gold), diluting them as required. (When starting, you just have to guess. In time you will know how dilute you need them. On the course we added perhaps 1 part water to 2 parts 1% dye solution.)

Fill a pan - a saucepan or large metal dog bowl, anything with a flattish bottom suitable for the stove top you will be using - about 2/3 full of water. You want plenty of water, so that the fibre being dyed is well-covered, so choose a pan or bowl of a suitable size.

Add a good glug of vinegar - any old vinegar, whichever is cheapest. On the course I did we were using about 100ml vinegar to say 1.5L water. (It’s not an exact science - this technique is not about repeatable results!)

Now place your pre-soaked fibre in the water, pressing it down gently so that it is all under water.

Slosh your colours on as required. Put the pan on a moderate heat until the water begins to steam, then turn down to maintain it nowhere-near-boiling for around 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

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.

ETA Someone found this method written up on a blog - and it predates my description :)