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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 23, 2016 15:43:34 GMT
How are you making your dyestock, Marion? I normally make a 2% dye solution (so 2g of dye powder per 100ml of water - a 1% would be 1g per 100ml) and that makes for strong colours, but if you're looking for subtle, maybe going for a 0.1% would be what you need! To get a 0.1% solution, all you have to do is dilute the 1% dye stock in more water - if you want to be scientific, dilute 10ml in 100ml of water and that should do it (or is it 1ml of dye stock?! My brain isn't working at full speed today) Hope it helps!
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Post by blythwhimsies on Mar 24, 2016 10:04:14 GMT
er, no Marilyn, I don't document and I'm not very scientific! I made my dye stocks in jam jars and just filled them with warm water and the dye powder (small pots of Eurolana from WoW). So yes I guess they are very strong and I can dilute them hugely when requiring pale colours. If I have to do weighing or maths I tend to get stuck, so I just throw things together just to get over my blockage and to get started. It may be wasteful but I'm discovering dyes are not expensive for the amount they give.
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Post by Leonor (of Eleanor Shadow) on Mar 24, 2016 12:40:43 GMT
If you use the Metric system, it's really not hard at all Just remember it's 1 gram of dye powder to 100 millilitres of water, and you're set! This also allows you to get repeatable results. To be honest, the main problem here wouldn't be wasting dye, which can be ordered again, but disposal - before flushing the water down the drain, if there's a lot of dye left in the liquid you should add some bicarbonate of soda to neutralise the acid and make sure it doesn't damage aquatic life
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 24, 2016 15:54:07 GMT
Marion I don't use the metric system which probably would be easier to calculate, but I do use a tablespoon to 8 oz of water for my dye stocks. And as you say it can be further diluted and that's usually where my documentation goes awry. :-). How much did I put in that pot? Haha! My projects dont usually require large amounts so I don't worry about it. As you say, got to get started.
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Post by Shepherdess on Mar 24, 2016 22:39:47 GMT
I know how to do it properly by weight of fiber and dye but I never do it. I like to just add dye to the pot. If it's not what I want I try another combo. I can use it all.
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Post by zed on Apr 7, 2016 11:28:50 GMT
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Apr 7, 2016 17:37:39 GMT
Early on in my dyeing experiences, I had read that it was easier to dye the wool roving before felting, in terms of getting EVEN results. After dyeing with all sorts of dyes--natural and chemicals--I would agree. However, I understand how tempting it is to felt white wool and then do your dyeing. Sometimes uneven results can be fun!
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Post by Shepherdess on Apr 13, 2016 23:49:30 GMT
Some of the best colours I have ever had come from exhaust baths. I usually recard after I dye. I think it might be best to dye it as loose fiber and then card. But that can be very time consuming.
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Post by chookie2 on Apr 15, 2016 3:17:59 GMT
The only time I dyed fleece it almost felted so I leave that to the experts now.I don't have a carder as I buy my fleece coloured but wanted to try it as I do eco dyeing on silk a bit, so it seemed like the next step- but I missed the step and it fell over ! :LOL
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