Dying Merino wool

[daunting]

I was wondering if anyone has had success in dying Merino wool with acid dyes, and is it extremely tricky to prevent it from felting?.  Thanks for any advise. 

[wolgelukkig]

Not a problem, lots of ways to do it and lots of tutorials on the internet. Just prevent moving the wool around. Easiest way is after soaking the wool put it on plastic, pour or tab the dye on the wool, wrap it in and put it in a bowl in the microwave for 2 x 3 minutes.

[MTRuth]

Yes, I dye wool regularly. I usually do mine in a pot on the stove. I add dye and vinegar to the water. Then gently add the wool. Let it simmer for 30 minutes without agitating the wool.

If you let it cool down and take care rinsing, use same temperature water as the wool, it works great. I then put it in a spin cycle in the washer.

[Shepherdess]

It is easy and there are many ways to do it: painted, crockpot microwave, immersion and more. You need to be gental and not boil the wool. You also need to be careful when rinsing but you can do it without to much difficulty. If you want to just give it a try use koolaid or food colouring and see if you like it.

[zed]

I usually just dye small amounts, so do direct dyeing, wrap in clingfilm and use a steamer. Here's a tutorial if you want to give it a go (I use throwster's waste in the tute, but wool/any protein fibre can be dyed the same way:

feltingandfiberstudio.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/direct-dyeing1.pdf

[daunting]

Thanks to all for the wonderful tips!. I am definitively going to give this a shot. I will post my results.

[Pandagirl]

Just remember any tools including the microwave must be dedicated to dyeing and not used with food. I like Ruth use a dye pot wiith vinegar. Or plastic wrap then steaming.

[lindsay]

Jan 24, 2019 17:14:33 GMT zed said:

I usually just dye small amounts, so do direct dyeing, wrap in clingfilm and use a steamer. Here's a tutorial if you want to give it a go (I use throwster's waste in the tute, but wool/any protein fibre can be dyed the same way:

feltingandfiberstudio.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/direct-dyeing1.pdf

Brilliant tutorial Zed, very clear instructions and lots of nice pictures, many thanks. I do have some dyes but haven’t got round to using them much. I think I might now have a go ....

[zed]

Thanks, Lindsay