Category: Dyepot

oh for the love of Red…

Everybody has ’em. Most probably deny ’em. But I’ve noticed, walking with people in the city, almost no one steps on a crack.

Almost no one walks under a ladder (at least without thinking twice).

Mine are of another type, peculiar to living Urban Style. You probably share some of them.

Yes, I always wink at the big black cat that is perpetually lounging in my front yard. I do not know Senor Gato, but I smile at him – with a grin on the outside that almost matches the huge grin on the inside as I chuckle and think I’ve made some kind of cosmic bank deposit I’ll be withdrawing later when I need it.

Yes, whether walking or riding anywhere in the Windy City, if I happen to pass under the El tracks, I make a wish. If the train is particularly LOUD, I make two. Always. And if you are with me, you must wish along (or at least pretend to – and if crunched-up closed eyes are any indication, most do…)

Yes, when one of the top 3 superstitions in my urban list appeared in front of my Jeep, I lunged. I’d scored a Parking Place Right In Front of The Building I Wanted to Visit! In a Loading Zone – where the tariff for 15 minutes of doing business in the art supply store was mere flashing hazard lights.

But wait – this Parking Superstition is two-pronged; not only do I get to enjoy a pass from the parking pirates (up to $33.00 to park anywhere near downtown) BUT the Easy Empty Space is a clear indicator that I’m Supposed to be where I am! SHOPPING!

And this is no regular shopping – I am on the Hunt for Dye Stuff. Tomato Red Dye. This is the catalyst that will transform some peculiarly tepid lavender yarn I have that is calling out to be something else. I am, but of course, in thrall.

I must grab the dye, quickly return to the hut, and stir. When I jump in the car, and hear a click-click-click, I cannot believe my ears – and my hand goes into the pocket of my coat. Finding no cell phone, I know I’m hosed – I’d run down to the store, no purse, no cards, and am now left holding just a bagful of dye.

So, taking strength from the Brown Line Tracks almost overhead, I do what any sane person would do – I beg for a jump start. 3 tries later, no one with cables can be found (although all were willing). I move on to an Illinois Highway Dept. Truck driver (they almost always have cables). He snorts and tells me to call 311. Indeed!

An icy rain propels me into my pocket where I finger a Twenty Dollar Bill and start waving down cabs. 3 tries later, I am jumpless (although all were Very Willing).

Desperate now, looking like a drowned rat, I pull all my luck to me and promise Never Again will I leave the house to run to the store wearing only what looks like pajamas topped off with my infamous Midnight Cowboy cordouroy jacket, and I start on my last helper class of fellow drivers – the Delivery Man.

One try and a double sawbuck later, with his cousin’s cables thrown in for good measure, my car is revived and I am enjoying the most wonderful Superstition of All: the Good Neighbor in the Big City! KAching…

yeah baby…

The little purple skein begat 14 more purple skeins.

Taking it to the Dye Pot this Sunday, Rachel and I jumped in feet first and just held our breath. Two hours later, we had:

Glorious Purple Yarn!

The bright sunshine of high noon illuminates the skeins – they are rinsed and ready for washing here. The color looks a little different because of the high contrast light source and the fact they are WET! It was a very close replication of the sample skein –

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– total weight: 25.3 oz

– 5 gallons water

– 3.5 C salt

– 1T each, Rasberry & Marine Blue & 2T Lilac – Procion MX dye by Jacquard

– 1/2 C Soda Ash

– lots of heart (thanks Rachel for all your patience!)

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What I learned:
– skein management is really important – limit length to ~26″

– be sure to secure initial end when making skein

– tie in Figure 8’s in at least 4 places (see Fig. 12.)

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Overall, the process went smoothly and quickly. The only downside was the tendency of the wet cotton to want to knot itself on other strands. Think wet shoelaces – we spent a little extra time untangling some scary looking snags at the very end. I had to take a deep breath and listen to some Jimi Hendrix (Voodo Child) before continuing…

A little judicsious teasing, shaking and rinsing, made everything smooth out and become quite lovely…

: the Dye Pot

Awhile back, my friend Rachel picked up some luscious yarn. Problem was, the color was not so wonderful – or at least what Rachel needed. Emboldened by my garment over dyeing, we decided to transform the color of that yummy yarn. Enter the Dye Pot…

Here’s the original yarn in all its glory – Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in a rather glorious fuchsia. However, lurking beneath the surface of that color was the Soul of a Jazz Purple.

Rachel sent me these two samples of Purple to peruse…

But wait – this yarn is 85% Cotton & 15% Cashmere – and here’s where the dyer stumbles. What to do with a combination yarn?

Get out ye olde calculator and pencil, that’s what. Following the directions given by the dye manufacturer for immersion dyeing using Procion MX dyes, I first figured out a factor to convert the quantities of materials used. They give all directions relative to 1lb. of dry fiber. I would only be using a *sacrifice* 50g skein of yarn. So I went through the list and converted all the quantities as needed – but still there was a question tickling my brain. This yarn is a mixed protein and cellulose. How was the dye going to react since each fiber needed different handling? The Cellulose (Cotton) needed Alkaline (Soda Ash). The Protein (Cashmere) needed Acid (White Vinegar) AND Heat. So I decided to Start the process with heat and a little acidity to welcome the Protein, then finish the session with alkaline and a cooled down temperature. There was no guarantee this would work – but what I’ve noticed and learned in my other dyeing attempts is that if I follow the basics, I have gotten great results. So I decided to just go for it. I added the needed water to the pot and brought the temp of the liquid up over a flame. Usually with cotton, you would just use warm tap water. I watched the liquid closely so it was just giving off a little steam on the surface, not simmering, not boiling. After I added the salt and mixed dye (1 part Raspberry; 2 parts Lilac; and 1 part Midnight Blue), I added a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, and mixed well. Then I added the yarn, reduced the gas flame as low as it would go and stirred constantly for 10 minutes. Then I turned the flame off and followed the manufacturer’s instructions for the rest of the process (20 more minutes of constant stirring; remove fiber; add soda ash; repot fiber; stir every 5 minutes for another half hour) with one exception. Big Difference: I added 1.5 times the amount of soda ash that was recommended to neutralize the acid of the vinegar. If I was dyeing a larger amount of fiber, I would make the percentage of the alkaline even higher.

Voila! The color Purple! I am a Lucky Dog – I must say, I am so totally amazed that this worked – the color is clear and deep. The surface and texture of the yarn seems unaffected by the process and is still soft and *new*. Now let’s see if we can pull it off on a whole batch of yarn… :)