I set to work starting an indigo hydrosulphine vat ready to dip some pre-dyed hanks.
My friend, Lorraine, got the dyeing started by half filling a stainless steel meat tin with one of my Pure Tinctoria dyes and put in 5 100g pre-mordanted and wetted "centre-pull" balls. This gives a nice effect because it only dyes the part of the ball in the dye and that is shaded as the dye penetrates towards the centre of the ball. She simmered the balls in the dye for 40 to 45 minutes, then washed and rinsed them.
Lorraine dyed 2 kilo's of Blue Face Leicester Chunky yarn in this way. As each batch was wash, rinsed and re-hanked, I folded them in half and dipped the ends in the indigo vat.
Here are the Red Lac and indigo dipped hanks hanging from my Sumach tree.
This batch of yarn is dyed with Myrobalan and then dipped in the indigo vat.
A bit of a dark picture, but this is 1 kilo of Purple Lac which had its hank ends dipped in the indio vat!We had a great day and managed to dye 2 Kilo's of yarn, dip 3 kilo's of yarn and mordant 400g of yarn, have lunch and a good natter!
2 comments:
lovely colours, Alison! esp. the purple (I am mad for purples:)) I tried the two-tone balls after Amanda showed them in the dye workshop of the olg and had nice effects with them! I still have to do the indigo dyeing - I have dyed so much, but only used indigo solution so far. the time is never right - even though the temperatures would be perfect just now! what are you planning to do with the yarns?
Thanks Bettina.
I hope to sell the yarn on my web site and at Woolfest. Well that's the plan, anyway!
i have earmarked three hanks for a waistcoat, if there is any left, which no doubt there will be!
Alison
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