Fun with Colour - Rainbow Dyeing

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

Teri's recent post Fun with Colour has reminded me of the method of dyeing that first got me interested in the subject.  It is a method of randomly dyeing raw fleece and washing it as well - I love to do things that save time and energy (mine that is).

Take a large saucepan - half fill it with cold/cool water plus a little washing up liquid (dish soap).  Just a squirt or you'll have foam everywhere.  

Next fit as much of the fleece (in large chunks if possible) as you can into the pan, cut ends down, so that the ends are in the water but so that the surface is wall to wall dry curls.  Pack it in tightly so that it doesn't drop all the way into the water.  

Take various colours of acid dyes in powder form - I used Dylon back in the days when it used to come in little round tins.  Sprinkle the dye powders randomly over the surface of the fleece and turn up the heat.

Bring the water gently to a simmer - too rough and it will dislodge the surface and probably ruin the random effect.  Turn down the heat a bit and the slap on the lid.

I can't remember how long it is supposed to "cook" in the steam, but going on the method that Teri told us about, probably about half an hour, then turn off the heat and allow the water/fleece to cool down without disturbing it.  If you take the fleece out when it is still so hot, you'll probably end up with felt - now there's an idea for another experiment.

What happens in the process is the steam rises from the pot, hits the lid and condenses and drips back onto the dye powders, liquifying them so that they spread across and through the fleece, mixing and producing various colours truly randomly.

When the cold fleece is removed from the pot, rinse it well but gently in cold/cool water and put on a rack to drip dry.
You will probably have a bit of unused dye in the original pot, which can be used again in the usual way, though you will probably end up with some sort of brown colour depending upon the original colours you used.

IMPORTANT     dye powders are carcinogenic if inhaled or ingested
1.    The pan you use must not be used for food preparation, but kept separate for craft work only.
2.    You must wear a mask while handling and sprinkling the dyes, at least until you have put the lid on the pan.
3.    It would also be a good idea to wear gloves during the whole process,  both to keep whatever still lurks in the raw fleece, as well as the dye, off your hands (unless you like vari-coloured hands that is).

Having written this, I'm sort of wanting to have a go again, but having given away all my acid dyes last year, I no longer have the wherewithal. (It just goes to show you should never get rid of anything doesn't it?)
I did keep my fibre reactives though, perhaps I could do something similar on silk (of which I have a load of different sorts in my stash), "cooking" it in my (craft only) microwave.  Hmmm. 

I do have a couple of large bags of undyed mohair curls - at least I think they're all mohair.  As I can no longer dye them myself, is there anyone out there who would like a quantity? No charge, just perhaps a handful of longer ones dyed blue/green in exchange?  (I need some hair for my UFO water sprite which I'm trying to finish.)  
I'm not sure if it is allowed to send them out of the country (UK) though.  We'd have to look that up. 

[MTRuth]

You can use fiber reactive dyes on your fleece. Just use them as if they were acid dyes with vinegar or acetic acid. So with your process above, I would add some white vinegar to the pot, then add the fleece. Then sprinkle the fiber reactive dyes on top. I did a test comparing acid dyes to fiber reactive dyes on fleece and as long as I added vinegar with the dyeing process, it worked nearly the same as acid dyes. Wouldn't hurt to try.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

May 8, 2023 15:24:27 GMT MTRuth said:

You can use fiber reactive dyes on your fleece. Just use them as if they were acid dyes with vinegar or acetic acid. So with your process above, I would add some white vinegar to the pot, then add the fleece. Then sprinkle the fiber reactive dyes on top. I did a test comparing acid dyes to fiber reactive dyes on fleece and as long as I added vinegar with the dyeing process, it worked nearly the same as acid dyes. Wouldn't hurt to try.

WOW, thanks Ruth, I'll have a go.

[caterina]

Thanks, interesting technique to try, seems beginner-level!

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

 Since I wrote the original post, I have come across the instructions I originally had and I thought that I should make some points clear and add some corrections. It's not surprising that I hadn't remembered exactly what I did first time round. The instructions are typed - that is on a manual typewriter, so a good few years old (like me!) There is no indication on the sheet of who wrote it in the first place so I can't give their details, and I won't quote exactly.

Anyway, the instructions start off by giving the amount of water to place in the pan - 3 inches if the pan is large and proportionately less if it's a smaller pan. They also say to add about half a cup of vinegar (heaven knows how much that is but I think it’s all approximate anyway) plus what Jamie Oliver would say was a “glug” of washing up liquid, and, optionally, 2 tablespoons of table salt. The author says that s/he has dyed both with and without the salt and both gave satisfactory results.

Here's where it’s clear that my original instructions were off, s/he goes on to say that the wool needs to be wet so, after it’s been packed tightly into the pan, press the fleece down so that it moistens and warms (I think the pan must be on the stove by this stage though s/he doesn’t say so). More water may be added if necessary to raise the level so it is almost to the top of the fleece but not covering it.

The author also differs from me in saying that after the fleece has been “cooking” for about half an hour, remove the fleece and put it into very hot, clean water to start rinsing. Obviously, unless you want to end up with felted fleece, you need your rinse water to be a similar temperature to the fleece, or vice versa.

The author doesn’t appear to use a lid for the pan, but I suppose that one wouldn’t be needed as the fleece is already wet so it’s not necessary for condensed steam to drip down. I think however that for safety’s sake I would prefer to keep the steam in, just to avoid any dye in the steam percolating around my kitchen.

I hope that if you want to use this method, you can sort out the wheat from the chaff!  

[Shepherdess]

Wow, that sounds like way too much vinegar. It just isn't needed. Some people think adding more and more vinegar makes it stronger/more acidic. You can never make it stronger/more acidic than the vinegar itself and you don't need much to get the water to the same acid level as the vinegar.

I do low-water dying too by putting the wool and dye in a large freezer bag and either popping the bag into the pot of water or in a steamer.

[Ann @ frabjous fabrica]

May 14, 2023 14:10:32 GMT Shepherdess said:

Wow, that sounds like way too much vinegar. It just isn't needed. Some people think adding more and more vinegar makes it stronger/more acidic. You can never make it stronger/more acidic than the vinegar itself and you don't need much to get the water to the same acid level as the vinegar.

I do low-water dying too by putting the wool and dye in a large freezer bag and either popping the bag into the pot of water or in a steamer.

It probably smells like a fish & chip shop too!  Thanks for the tip Anne

[Shepherdess]

May 14, 2023 15:27:33 GMT Ann @ frabjous fabrica said:

May 14, 2023 14:10:32 GMT Shepherdess said:

Wow, that sounds like way too much vinegar. It just isn't needed. Some people think adding more and more vinegar makes it stronger/more acidic. You can never make it stronger/more acidic than the vinegar itself and you don't need much to get the water to the same acid level as the vinegar.

I do low-water dying too by putting the wool and dye in a large freezer bag and either popping the bag into the pot of water or in a steamer.

It probably smells like a fish & chip shop too!  Thanks for the tip Anne

White vinegar is best if you have to use vinegar. I usually use citric acid, it smells better and no one uses it up cleaning the coffee maker.