Over Dyeing

What do you do with that color way you don't like anymore? Maybe over time your tastes have changed, or every time you try to knit it up it looks like clowns barfed all over your project. Well never fear, over dyeing is to the rescue!

There are some basic color theory practices to keep in mind when over dyeing, such as putting green (yellow and blue) on top of pink will make brown, but over dyeing that same pink with just blue will make a lovely shade of purple.

Original yarn color.

In the photo's of this example, I took some bright pink and blue yarn, and over dyed it with grey to mute the colors down, and skew them towards the blue end of the spectrum (because my black is blue heavy).

I made sure I knew the weight of each skein, and measured out a small amount of dye for each one. I prefer to do my over dyeing in light "washes". You can always add more color, but you can never take it out, so I err on the side of too little rather than too much.

Presoak.

I presoaked my yarn in a water and vinegar solution for about 3 hours, but squeezed it out before I put it into the main dye bath, which also contained vinegar.

Yarn in vat with dye.

I mixed my small amount of dye in a large pot, added the yarn and let it exhaust.

Finished color.

I really liked the color I came out with, and my friend Jen is going to be using the yarn for a pattern of her own design she is working on sizing, so when she is done I will have a lovely shrug to wear.









Hope you enjoyed todays post!

Brittany