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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 22, 2014 0:24:21 GMT
My newly arrived 10 pound shipment of white 56's wool roving has been staring at me for a week now, and so I decided to try some dyeing. The idea of using Procion dyes or something similar is a bit intimidating for me, although I will try it when we have Spring with sunny weather, warm temps and open doors and windows. So I tried using Wilton icing gels, which come in cute little jars, 12 different colors in my set. I decided to try 3 colors-- blue, teal and purple. Using just one ounce of wool for each color, I followed the instructions by soaking the wool in vinegar water, and then did the plastic bag/microwave technique. My only complaint is that the colors are a bit garish, as you can see from the photos--and they dyed slightly unevenly. So the blue wool has some purple, the purple has some blue, and the teal is, well, teal. It took me about 5 minutes in the microwave for each color (one minute increments, then a couple minutes cool down). All in a morning's work! feltingandfiberstudio.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/kli5lzvu9vmvidxcsnyp.jpg
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Post by Pandagirl on Feb 22, 2014 0:40:31 GMT
Just my colorway! It's always a surprise when you dye unless you're an expert. Did you squish the color into the wool before microwaving? It's interesting that the one had different colors. I've dyed purple before and had unusual results but with acid dyes. Did you rinse afterwards? I can't tell from the photos but did the roving stay intact and didn't felt? I haven't used icing gels. I wonder how colorfast it will be after felting. Next... Thanks for sharing.
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Post by MTRuth on Feb 22, 2014 4:08:27 GMT
I think when you use these for felting they will be less garish. At least you have some colors besides white now.
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Post by Teri Berry on Feb 22, 2014 13:39:55 GMT
I think they look great, as Ruth says once you lay them out for felting the colours will blend more and they will be gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing what you do with these...
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 22, 2014 13:42:56 GMT
I like the colours to but I think the Wilton dyes are all intense because they are designed to overcome the white of the icing sugar. The white of wool does not effect the colour the same way.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 22, 2014 14:15:14 GMT
It was a fun experiment. Made me feel like the mad scientist! Yes, Marilyn, I did squish the colors around with my hands through the plastic bag, and I did that again and again when cooling before the next microwave minute. And they did not felt together. In retrospect, I guess it makes sense that the color may not spread evenly and I would expect different results if I put the roving in a large pot with water. Thanks, all!
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Post by Teri Berry on Feb 22, 2014 14:40:55 GMT
I find how wet the wool is dictates how easily I can squish the colour around - if it is dripping wet when you put it in the bag, it's a lot easier to blend and move the colour - maybe something to try next time? And possibly diluting your dyes with water before applying will give lighter shades too, although I personally like the vibrant shades?
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Post by halay on Feb 22, 2014 17:25:52 GMT
I tried food colours for dyeing silk roving and used the oven. To my experience liquid colours perform better than gels. Using a glass vessel I soaked silk in in water with vinegar, then poured off some water so that the silk was still slightly covered with water, and applied colours with medicine dropper. I preheated the oven to 90 degrees C and "baked" for 20 minutes. The water must become clear. If not, you need to return it to the oven. I am waiting now for Easter when they start selling powder dyes for colouirng eggs. I'll see what comes out of that.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 22, 2014 20:01:24 GMT
Teri, that makes sense. The wool was not very wet because I squeezed it out as they recommended…perhaps too much! When I found it difficult to spread the gel among the wool fibers, I did add a bit of water, but by then the gel had done its work. The water never was clear at the end of the process. And you know, I am getting used to the vibrant shades, and I am liking them more!
Halay, were your liquid colors food dyes such as McCormick, which is sold in the USA? Oven method sounds a bit easier.
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 23, 2014 0:59:45 GMT
The other thing you need to remember is not to twist you wool. When its twisted on itself it can self resist the dye and you will end up with white spots, even when you use a pot of water.
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Post by halay on Feb 23, 2014 5:07:52 GMT
luvswool, I found instructions for dyeing with food colours here www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7CXbaHpoBs. The food dyes they sell here are different brands, can't answer your question.
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Post by koffipot on Feb 23, 2014 7:43:58 GMT
Those vibrant colours are lovely and will be much paler when mixed with all your white. You'll also be able to card other colours in to knock the brightness down. Halay is right the fibres should take up all of the dye and the dyebath should be clear at the end, but you may just have used too much dye. I have never used food colouring to dye fibre. but whatever dye medium you use, as a general rule your fibre needs to be thoroughly wetted to achieve a more even colour. The fibres need to soak for a while to absorb the water and for silk fibres it's best to leave them overnight. A drop (just a drop - not enough to wash your dishes) of detergent assists the wetting process. Animal fibres need an acid medium so I add a little white vinegar to the soaking water, whilst for vegetable fibres which need a slightly alkaline medium, I add a little washing soda. Experimenting is the most fun, serendipidy wins!
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Post by halay on Feb 23, 2014 11:36:00 GMT
Koffipot, yes, the water was surprisingly clear in the end, the fibres absorbed all the dye. After 20 minutes I had to return the dish to the oven because the water was not clear. I agree, silk particularly, needs good and long soaking. I didn't add any detergent to accelerate soaking.
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Post by Shepherdess on Feb 23, 2014 15:26:39 GMT
I always put a little dish soap in the soak water and the acid in the dye or dye water depending on the method. Plant fibers do need an alkaline water but you need fiber reactive dyes not acid dyes. Silk is the exception it will dye with acid or fiber reactive dye.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Feb 23, 2014 15:46:54 GMT
Thanks for all the tips! My wool was twisted into roving, so now I know to "untwist" it next time. Also, I must have twisted it more when I squeezed out the vinegar water, thereby causing the uneven spread of color. I was surprised by the purple in the blue, though, thinking it would be lighter blue rather than purple if unevenly spread. Yes, experimenting is fun, and I believe I'll give the other colors a chance…after, all, there are 9 more food colors to try!
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