Cake Dyeing Yarn: Loose vs Tight Wound Cakes

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

The yarn featured in this dyeing video is 100% wool KnitPicks bare palette fingering weight yarn shrsl.com/lhwx (Affiliate Link)

[@jquartz6106]

I took an intro to dying last week, and now with these tutorials I am ready to go. You are so creative. I just hope I have the kind of success you have.

[@kia19832012]

I never would've thought it would work to put all that dye together! Fantastic!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

This is something that I'm very interested in exploring in the future. I am not an expert on how to avoid colors breaking. I have managed to have dye break when I start with dry yarn that is wound in a ball (as in this video) or have space dyed placing the dye in discrete portions of the pot with the yarn already hot (with purple dye). In my experience, any situation which encourages the dyes to diffuse and travel through the pot slowly promotes breaking. Good Luck!

[@linuxgirl_]

Wow, those both turned out beautifully! Thanks for a great video. I discovered your channel yesterday and have been watching compulsively ever since. I thank you very much for managing to blend two of my greatest interests: yarn and scientific method. :) I just wanted to say that I would LOVE to see what some of these yarns and wools knit up as in the finished product. I am often amazed by the transformations of both wool to yarn and yarn to knit. It can be so beautiful and surprising. Gets me every time!

[@yvettescheiman4991]

Me too! I just discovered her channel 2 days ago and it is addictive, even though I'm not sure if I'll EVER dye yarn. I just saw another person ask the same question I had in mind, though...we both wish she would show a knitted product using the dyed yarn. I'd love to see how it works out.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Also, this is why I started filming my dyeing experiments so it would make it easier to replicate cool effects. (Previously I would write down the conditions I used as I would in a lab notebook.)

[@kia19832012]

And I was as excited to see the result of this as I would be if it were a mystery show I was watching hahaha

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

YES!! That's what I love to hear. ;) I LOVE trying out different techniques when I don't know exactly what is going to happen. (Thankfully I haven't yet failed by felting my fiber!!)

[@deannamcfarland3598]

They are both gorgeous!! Very fun to watch

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You can absolutely put it on a niddy noddy to dry faster. The yarn is usually still damp when I put it on the niddy noddy. I tend to leave it in the cake to dry a bit to try to avoid stretching the fibers out too much (I don't want to "block" them before I've knit my project!) I think it all comes down to personal preference.

[@Tatt2Rhiannon]

Would love to see what happens with a tightly wound skein alone in the bath- I bet the breaking of colors would be more apparent and create a beautiful variation!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I had a tighter ball when I was making the symmetric colorways: Cake Dyeing for Symmetrical or Identical Colorways The color isn't great on the video, but there is a small amount of dark purple and hten a lot of pale pink that is mottled with other colors. Most of the color remains on the outside because it absorbs to the yarn before it can penetrate the interior fibers. The color penetration is better when the cake is looser, which happens to be my preference (Dyeing a Cake of Yarn to Create Unique Variations of Color)

[@o0Karmaslaugh0o]

I like both, and thanks for showing the differences. Question, have you made a video on when the dye breaks? Because I was trying to dye mawata's and broke the dye, I got the most beautiful colors ever, and I don't know if I could ever replicate it quite so well, but I was wondering if you could do a video on how it happens and how to avoid it. Thanks! Cute pup by the way!

[@Saeyph]

It's so cool that the strainer left a pattern on the tops of the balls.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

My puppy knows how to pose for the camera. He is usually very interested in whatever I'm cooking in the kitchen. Dyeing cakes of yarn is possibly my favorite technique. I plan to continue exploring it further in the future.

[@blfspinner]

Both skeins are beautiful

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I use 100% peruvian Highland wool (from KnitPicks). It is NOT superwash. I try to keep the heat at just below a boil, or at a light simmer to avoid agitation. I have never ended up with a felted mess.

[@ooohlaa13]

fun to see your blue nails!!! I was wondering if you ever tried turning the cake over half way through and if so, how does that change things? The other thing is how do you get such a loose cake? Can you show us your technique on a quicky tutorial? I have a hard time with yarns twisting underneath the mechanism sometimes, it might be my winder kinda cheapo.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

To get a loose cake, I wind the yarn in to a cake and then wind that into a cake a second time. This helps keep it loose.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Dye Breaking refers to when you start with a single color of dye but the final yarn has many colors on it. This occurs frequently when using black or purple food colorings because they are composed of different colored dyes that absorb to yarn at different rates. Isn't it pretty?

[@txnightowl73]

I found this video very interesting. I'm curious if you've ever done a side-by-side of a presoaked skein vs a dry skein.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I haven't done side by side of presoaked vs dry with the caked yarns, but have explored these separately.

[@brslaby]

This is so fascinating! What types of yarns will this work on? Must it be an all natural animal yarn, like wool? Or will this work on acrylics and cottons as well? I've never dyed my own yarn before, this would be such a fun hobby!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Brenna Slaby It works on natural animal fibers (wool, silk etc) and nylon blends. Food coloring and vinegar don't work to dye acrylics and cottons, but it is possible that the technique for the asymmetric colorway could work if you have the right kind of dyes.

[@garyhogg2651]

how would I know what kind of dyes works with certain yarns?

[@corrabellemayberry296]

Is it totally essential to let the cake dry, or could you gently put it back onto a niddy noddy, while wet, so that it could dry a little faster?

[@3003suzieq]

Thanks for your reply and good luck with baby.... There is life after baby.... Be strong... And you too will knit and spin again, FYI kids (toddlers) love to play with spinning wheels. Mine thought it was a good pirate shit wheel.... And she loved to turn the tension knob and stretch out the spring.....but they are so worth it

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

So cute!

[@spittinthetruth9198]

Is that just a vegetable steamer? Or are you using something else? Recently came across your videos and Im LOVING them!!

[@moonbitaylor9500]

Hi Rebecca, I am wondering what difference it would make to the speed and degree of dye penetration if you started with a cake which was presoaked rather than dry?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I don't think I've done this side by side specifically, but I think the colors would penetrate deeper into the cake if presoaked.

[@Youngmanleaf]

Where do you get your yarn and what kind is it? Absolutely gorgeous!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Gabi Yom Thanks! The base yarn in this video is KnitPicks Bare Fingering weight 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. Each ball was 100g.

[@KalypsofromOgygie]

Hum... what that technique would do with Wilton purple? Thoughtful...

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

It would be wonderful! ;)

[@Korina42]

I just found this video, and I have to wonder; do you think that compressing the cakes made a difference in how they took up the dye? Thanks for all of your hard work.

[@bjarbj944]

Your videos are great! I want to do this but I don't have a ball winder so it seems like an overall expensive undertaing to get started. :-( Are you using food color? I just found your hand painted video OMG want to do that!

[@littlemissmakeup075]

+Bjarb J ball winders are quite cheap I not long brought one off ebay for just over £12

[@bjarbj944]

Yes, I found a ball winder for $20 but have not bought it yet. I was looking at acid dyes today on Webs yarn.com and they were 3.50 each. I am spinning my own yarn and would like to buy undyed wool because it is 1/2 the price, but I would also be bummed if it didn't turn out nice after all that work. I tried food color dye last night and it came right off but I forgot vinegar. Will try again maybe that will work.

[@littlemissmakeup075]

yes u do need vinger as a acid to bond it to the wool u could also use citric acid that u can buy in powder form and mix with water your self but not 100% on the water to powder ratio :)

[@bjarbj944]

Thanks very much! I will try again. I love your videos they have been so helpful!

[@ellieisbusy]

Hello! I was wondering if I can ask as question? I think both your skeins turned out lovely, but I am unsure how they would knit up - meaning, would I get the darker colour on one end and then the lighter one on the other? This means I'd have a gradient project, correct?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You sure would! A finished project of a similar technique is shown at the end of the following video: Dyeing Experiment: Partially Submerging Balls of Yarn in a Dyebath

[@ellieisbusy]

Thanks! It's good to know my deductive powers aren't that bad :) I'll take a look at the video!

[@57Soledad]

What type of wool did you use? I was wondering how it is possible to use boiling water and not have a mess of felted yarn out of it! :o)

[@debbief7276]

What would happen if I used an acid dye that probably would not break into its components? light and dark variations of the same color?

[@Ritercrazy]

Super experiment.

[@MrJennielocke]

Ritercrazy that tittbtit ttjittitbtitvtt totntjt titbtjtnitbtritnit tjbtotbtitbtturremove peopletortjtit thjtnttntitttjy ticrazy come over not tit ttjtbittntjbttit rut when you tit tjrhtt thrbtitbtircan you ty yykyntyjt ttjtbnnthank youfind a come overhave atmtjjtitnttjtjithrurgrjrrit titjt titbtihcif trntjrr

[@Ritercrazy]

Jen L Thanks! I think.

[@tisaki007]

is it special yarn? like pure wool? or will a polyester yarn dye the same too?

[@3003suzieq]

Have you done an experiment with one dry one pre soaked?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Not with cakes. I do intend to pre-soak a cake before dyeing it soon. (But with a baby "soon" could be a year!)

[@chaotickaren]

I've tried both lightly dampened and totally dry on some mini balls - and the totally dry yarn absorbed the dye more deeply/thoroughly... I'm going to have to look and see if you ever did get around to it... (My 'babies' are in their 20's and I have lots of time to experiment... blah blah blah... it all seems to fly by so soon, even though it seems like an eternity :D ) I also find that hand wound with a finger under the yarn (like my gramma taught me) gives a more random distribution of color than with the more attractive 'yarn cakes' that come off my winder. (I'm ChaoticK on Ravelry if you want to look at some of my dye experiments).

[@gaberowan2011]

I like the loose skein best

[@traceyhannwongchong]

how do you wind a loose cake. Do you have a tensioner on your winder?

[@chyndb]

what's the best brand for a yarn ball winder(and I really don't understand why they're so expensive)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

i like the knitpicks brand one. It was 19.99 when I bought it.

[@kristy1429]

I used a Loops & Threads one, I think it was 39.99 however with a 50% off one item and a20% off whole purchase coupon on michaels turned out super cheap!

[@maggiehensley1110]

can I use jars, cups, pot for food again after dying wool this way?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

yes! that is one of the plusses of using food coloring. :)

[@maggiehensley1110]

+ChemKnits Tutorials you've inspired me to experiment with the angora wool I spun. I loved the way the colors broke and the patterns created.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

+Maggie Hensley yay! it is so much fun to play with dyeing. :)

[@sandry3080]

Sorry about that, I interchange hank and skein a TON in all of my videos. (No problem being Knit picky :))

[@marissajohnson5695]

Stupid questions, How did you wind the yarn into a cake? And second how did you twist the yarn into the skein? In new to dying yarns and I thought I would ask! :)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I use a tool called a ball winder to wind the yarn into a cake. You can find these for $20-30 at many online retailers. If you purchase yarn in skein from from a local yarn store they might wind the yarn into a cake for you. Here is a video of me twisting yarn into a skein Twisting a Skein of Yarn into a Hank

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Marissa Johnson My ball winder is from KnitPicks www.knitpicks.com/accessories/Knitting_Yarn_Ball_Winder__D82009.html?gclid=COjRmLzv7cECFcLtMgodHm4AKg

[@mommyandmissy]

Thanks

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Have a. Nice day turn out super

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! This project is so near and dear to my heart. :D

[@Auntylooi]

Can white vinegar be substitute with Cider Vinegar ?.

[@dtrez09]

+Auntylooi did anyone help you with this question? if not then yes the important thing is the acidity so any vinegar or lemon juice would do the same thing, you just have to put up with the smell when its hot.

[@BabyGirl838708]

Would this work for polyester? If not how could you dye it ?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

This works on protein based fibers: wool, silk etc. Food coloring based dyes don't work on cotton or acrylic, and probably not polyester. I've never dyed polyester so I don't have a good recommendation for you, sorry.

[@Lizicles1]

Caren Booth you can use a similar technique using Rit's synthetic dyes. I've had a lot of success with them.

[@katzrule34]

What is dye breaking?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

The yarn in this video is 100% wool yarn. Animal fibers work best for food coloring based dyeing techniques, so the higher % of wool (or silk, alpaca etc) you have the better results you will get. I have successfully dyed 80% acrylic, 20% wool with food coloring, but you get a much paler overall color. Nylon blends (i've used up to 25% nylon, 75% wool) work GREAT with this method. You CANNOT dye acrylic and some other synthetics or plant fibers (cotton, bamboo) with this method.

[@caitlynphillips9954]

You say skein but it's actually a hank... I don't mean to be knit picky, but... it's more common for people to call those hanks

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Have nice day

[@3003suzieq]

Sorry I meant ship

[@caitlynphillips9954]

haha yea it was a pun

[@angelcardona2768]

They look like jeans