Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Dye Me A Rainbow

The inevitable finally happened.

I could no longer procrastinate.

It did not matter if outside temperatures were near 100', nor how many other items I had on my "to do" list.

It was time to unearth my dye pots and to DYE WOOL!

For now, I mostly use dye recipes that I've created using Pro Chem Dyes. I do like the colors I get with Cushing dyes too. Pro Chem containers, for me, are far easier to open and work with than the other brand's envelopes. I'm just lazy, and tend to be messy.

When I dye a batch of wool, I often dye over many diffferent textures. This gives you a variety of colors that all work together, and it makes your hooked work more interesting.

Whether you are a pro at dyeing wool or a newcomer there are a few things to remember! First, do have fun! What doesn't come out like you wanted now, just might be what you need later!

Secondly, but equally important, is to be safe! You are handing chemicals and boiling water. I suggest wearing a mask while the dyes are in powder form. Once you have the dyes dissolved in the cup of boiling water the mask can come off. When stirring, and moving your simmering wool or pouring out the hot water, be sure to be present and focused so that accidents don't occur! Some folks leave the hot water on the stove to cool down before they handle it. That is a smart idea, but I am often dyeing many batches, so that method doesn't work for me. Remember to have counters covered, and to wipe everything down once you have finished dyeing, you don't want to contaminate your food surfaces! I even use separate sponges for washing my dye pots

This week, despite the heat, I just might be able to "dye me a rainbow" of beautiful wool!

What does one do with all this lovely wool you might ask!? Well, I hope to hook with it, vend at Hook-Ins, and list it on my ETSY, all before the summer ends!

HAPPY HOOKING and DYEING!

 

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