Search Results for: dyeing

New tools (or toys?)

Delving deeper into dyeing yarn has been a painful experience! On my back, that is – winding skeins and balls by hand is not only time consuming but doesn’t agree with my easily aggravated back.

I made an agreement with myself that if my last 2 skeins of dyed yarn sold, I would buy some tools. They did sell 🙂 So I now have a yarn swift.

And a ball winder. Watching the swift and winder working together for the first time is like magic!

I bought them from Petlins and their service was perfect.

I’m really pleased to see my yarn re-skeined, it shows off the colours better and gives a more even wind, hence a tidier appearance.

Oh, did I mention these 2 hanks are available for sale? You can head to my Madeit shop if you’re interested.

I’m hoping to have time to dye some new skeins over the next few days and I may just be drawing inspiration from the Limestone Coast and redback spiders! Sound interesting?

Yes, even my beloved embroidery has fallen to the wayside for a little while as my love of yarn and knitting continues. Dyeing my own yarn is also really rewarding, as whatever craft I’m doing I always like to have as much involvement in the process from start to finish as possible. OK, so I don’t have my own sheep and spinning wheel yet, but who knows what could happen? 🙂

I’ve just finished this cute Olearia (pattern by Tikki). I intended to have long sleeves but became scared that I was running out of yarn, so short sleeves it is.

I dyed this 8ply merino with really strong colours in fuschia and raspberry, using a variation of the hand painting technique to get the variegated colours. The glass buttons which are impossible to photograph accurately were gifted to me some time ago are beautiful and I’ve kept them for a special project.

I’ve already cast on my next cardigan using more of my hand painted yarn (I love the way this turned out!) I’m hoping to start selling more of my hand dyed yarn to fund further exploration, there are just so many beautiful fibres and I need to get my hands on them!

If you’re interested in any of my hand dyed yarn please do contact me 🙂

Hand dyed yarn

by Kelly Leave a Comment

My first attempt at hand dyeing yarn went well in some respects and not so well in others.

I used Luxury 8 ply from Bendigo Woollen Mills and Landscape Dyes in fuschia and raspberry.

I skeined the wool and dyed bands of colour, wrapped it up then steamed it. If you’re interested in the process I’m more than happy to share a tute next time I’m dyeing.

I was interested to note how different dyeing wool is to dyeing fabric. The fabric is thirsty for the dye, whereas the wool resists it. Quite different.

Notes for next time:

Water down the dye more, it was too concentrated.

Try soaking the wool in water for longer before dyeing.

Try a longer steaming time – the dye was not exhausted and I had trouble at the wash out stage.

Cover the kitchen counter properly or you will drip dye on it that does not come off!

Tyeing the hank with figure eight ties worked really well, I didn’t get any tangles.

Steamed wool in the kitchen is not an appetising scent and it does tend to fill the house!

I’ve already cast on a cardigan with this yarn and it’s looking great so far. I was concerned the strong colours would be a bit much but it has grown on me.

Working on….

by Kelly 2 Comments

Another Ottobre 301 finished as the cooler weather continues to approach. Aren’t Crafty Mamas fabrics just so gorgeous?! (And for those of you who tell me you can’t sew with knits I say “Oh yes you can!!“

I’m loving the embroidery that I’ve been working on at night. It’s a printed vintage piece that my Mum in Law gave me years ago. The reason I didn’t start it earlier is because it was partially worked already (with very beautiful but old threads). I couldn’t decide what to do.

Initially I tried matching the existing threads, but being of vintage era there was no hope of an accurate match. So I regretfully made the decision to remove the old threads, which came out easily.

I have no regrets now, as the vibrant colours I’m now using are looking so gorgeous and the piece is a joy to stitch.

Today I’ve been working in the laundry (it’s not what you think!!) dyeing some fabrics which I’ll share when they’re ready.

I’m really excited to have ordered some rolls (yes, rolls!) of silk ribbon from the U.S. as well as some new silk paints, so I eagerly await that parcel, I have lots and lots of plans.

I hope you have had a wonderfully blessed week!

Happy Easter!

by Kelly 5 Comments

Last year we dyed our eggs with regular kitchen food dye, but this year husband got his hands on some Greek easter egg dye (basically food dye but much stronger colour). Aren’t the colours amazing?!
The trick to the shine is to rub olive oil all over the eggs after dyeing and drying.

Wishing you all a very happy and holy Easter!

Still loving mandalas!

by Kelly 6 Comments

The weather is perfect here for dyeing at the moment so I couldn’t let the opportunity pass.

8 point mandala on 44×44 inch habotai scarf.

Very challenging for my photographer (my son) to take good shots today – too bright outside, too dark in!

16 point mandala on 44x44inch habotai scarf.

Both are in my Etsy shop now.

I hope it’s sunny wherever you are today and if not I’ll try to send you some!

Handmade gifts

by Kelly 5 Comments

I haven’t done too well with the handmade gifts this year, but I almost always make something for the girls. Usually it’s a doll or soft toy but I think they have plenty of those now!

So I made up some silk pillowcases and dyed them. This one is for my 5 year old who loves pink.

And this one for my 3 year old who loves yellow and pink. These are so nice to lie on, I think I’ll be getting requests from other family members when they see these!

What is that?!! you may be thinking. My first thought when I rinsed this out was “oh crap!” The story behind it: I wanted to buy some cotton lawn to make more circle skirts – the “major Australian craft retailer” I went to had run out so the sales assistant suggested using voile (assuring me it was 100% cotton), which I hadn’t used before. I cut out 3 skirts and spent.. ahem!.. quite a bit of time tyeing and dyeing them. Nearly all the colour washed out. The pillowcases were in the same dye batch, so I know it’s the fabric that’s the problem.

When I was having a whinge to my husband about it lastnight his response was “they told you it was 100% cotton and you believed it?” I have history with this retailer. Note to self – don’t trust a sales assistant who likely knows a lot less than I do!

You win some, you lose some.

Mandala dress

by Kelly 3 Comments

I finished this dress/ long top for my 3 year old today, it was quite a process, but well worth it! First came the dyeing then the sewing, as I wanted separately coloured pieces. I used habotai silk and made up the design as I went along.

The back view is a beautiful turquoise. I love turquoise. The dress sits gorgeously on her and is light and flowing.

I’ll be making these in various sizes for my Etsy shop once I do a little more tweaking. I think they would do well at a market too, which I hope to do eventually. If anyone is interested in pre ordering for Christmas you are most welcome to contact me.

Which direction to take? Advice please?!

by Kelly 3 Comments

I had thoughts of stocking my Etsy shop for Christmas but I feel (and have felt for some time) that I’m at a crossroads with my craft. I desperately want to make my passion for craft into a career but can’t decide what to do, it’s so frustrating!

I have sold a few dolls this year which is nice, however this is just pocket money, not an income. With dolls you put in a lot of work for a little money. I’d like to take the next step with hand dyeing and sell some fabrics but I’m not sure if there is any demand. Likewise with my embroidery patterns. It’s not that I mind putting in the work but I think it all comes back to my fear of failure that plagues me constantly.
I’ve failed before. In fact, any “business” or money making venture I’ve undertaken has ultimately failed. I see others succeeding at things I have failed at and I don’t know why.

My husband suggested that I try doing a market with my hand dyed fabrics just to see how it goes, which seems a good idea but would take a lot of work and organisation. It would also mean I would have to stop being such a hermit(ess).
Any advice would be very well received, in any case, thanks for “listening” 🙂

Dye a fat quarter economically

by Kelly 2 Comments

If you don’t mix your soda ash solution with dye it can be used over and over. This can save a lot of money on soda ash and the water you would need to mix it up each time.
Dye starts to lose it’s effectiveness as soon as it’s mixed with soda ash.
I cringe when I think I used to mix my soda ash with dye, then discard the leftover dye down the sink. What a terrible waste!!

Here is one way to dye a fat quarter economically: (these are simple rather than full instructions, as I tend to “wing it” a little and not write down everything I do!) This method will usually give mottled results, which is my personal preference. If you are not aware of safety precautions for dyeing please make yourself very familiar before attempting this!

Cotton homespun (quilter’s muslin)

1. Soak your prewashed FQ (fat quarter) in your prepared soda ash solution. (A rough guide is 3/4 cup of soda ash to 3.8 – 4 litres (a gallon) of water. Soak for at least 15 minutes, it can be left for days if you don’t get to it.

2. Mix up your dye as weak or strong as you like. I tend to mix it on the lighter side (say 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon of dye powder to 1/4 cup water). If it comes out too light you can always overdye but it may be just the right colour and you won’t have used the extra dye. Place the mixed dye in a bucket or other container that will fit the FQ and dye.

3. Ring the soda ash out of the fabric tightly. Your fabric will be damp. Place it in the bucket with the dye and move it around to soak the dye in. Now squeeze the fabric and move it around until the colour looks good and most of the dye is soaked up. You can leave it to sit in there for 10 minutes if you wish.

4. Ring the fabric out so it’s wet but not dripping. Chuck it into a plastic bag (you can fold it if you want, I just scrunch and shove!) then place that bag into another plastic bag. A ziplock bag is an excellent option to prevent seepage. I’m a tightwad so I just reuse plastic shopping bags. Then I wash them out and reuse them over and over til they’re dead.

5. Leave your fabric for as long as you can stand to wait (the longer the better – 24 hours is good, 10 is OK, 4 hours – have you any patience at all?!)

6. When your fabric is cured pop it into a bucket with some cold water to cover it and squelch it around to get the excess dye out. Then wash it in a small amount of warm soapy water (be conservative with the water, you really don’t need to use too much!) Now place it in cold water to cover again. You can leave it like this for a while and let the excess dye seep out. Just keep squeezing it in small changes of water until the water stays clear.

Pop it on the line to air dry (use a dryer if you want but I’m a tightwad remember?)
Give it a press and voila!

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert, this is just what works for me. The water in your area may differ to mine, therefore you may get different results. The weather may be different, etc, etc.
Don’t forget safety, it is absolutely essential when dyeing to follow safety protocol!!