Dyepot PS #19 - Dip Dyeing to Break Acid Dyes 2

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

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[@dianasmith8166]

Well, hubby caught the dying bug. I needed to tea dye something to finish a project and he volunteered. Now he's all intrigued about how dyes work and different fibers and natural vs chemical and so forth. So funny, but also cool.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

That is awesome! I'm trying to get my husband to do a video at some point. ;)

[@blumenkraft2275]

Hi. I’m enjoying watching your experiments. I’ve worked with acid dyes for many years and there are some helpful concepts that may save you some time. Dharma acid dyes are either primary or mixed pigment (a combination of 2 or more primary). The primary colors won’t break and the mixed colors will break if the formula combines pigment from different dye classes. So, mixed pigment dyes that contain only leveling &/or milling dye tend to level (dye evenly), but when those pigments are combined with premetallized pigment they tend to break (Dharma has marked each color with an L, M or P in the instructions page on their website). Since you’re trying to do the opposite of leveling, if you mix your own colors by combining “P” pigments with “L” &/or “M” pigments, you can get the colors to break into constituent parts in a more predictable way. I only ever purchase primary pigments (fire engine red, sunflower yellow, peacock blue; caribbean blue & deep magenta). With these I can mix virtually any hue (using a RYB or CMY color model), and use complementary colors to tone. It saves a lot of waste and money.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

These are great suggestions! One of the reasons why I enjoy color breaking is from starting with food coloring. I also enjoy mixing my own breaking combinations from primary colors. I tend to recommend that people get about 6 different acid dye colors - primary red, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. From that you can mix just about anything! I do enjoy premixed colors for playing with powders directly. I'm so glad you like my videos!

[@bobbinsew]

My friend and I have been playing with breaking Wilton’s food dyes and have had a complete fail with a new Wilton’s Black, which not only failed to break, it wouldn’t even dye the fibre. Having done some research, the Wilton Black only had one colour, E153, Carbon Black, made from carbonised vegetable fibres, which are insoluble in water. I don’t know if you are aware of this change, but as it won’t work as a dye we thought you ought to know!

[@DAYBROK3]

oh my

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hi Beverly, Where did you purchase your Wilton's Black? I know that a lot of the blacks in Europe, for example, have the carbon black. I don't believe that E153 is approved in the US yet for food coloring.

[@bobbinsew]

We are in New Zealand, I must admit, it was a head scratcher at first until I did some digging, then it made sense as to why it just washed right out.

[@OfTheMoirai]

Watching old videos and I just love your hair like this! Super cute and bouncy, just like you!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Oh thank you! This may have been the last time I got it cut! *sigh* I miss shorter hair and hope to get it cut in not TOO long.

[@HappyHarvestHomestead]

Oh all those yarns are SOOOO pretty

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I love how they look together.

[@hdouget]

Love ur dip dye yarns when they come out loved the avacado from last time ...

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much!

[@hdouget]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials very welcome...

[@Justcarol66]

Omgoodness that Aztec gold!!! It ended up a lot lighter than I expected but it's so pretty!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

SOO SOO pretty. I think that it would be lovely at double the dye, too.

[@shellykaykreations7461]

Absolutely in love with the purple color!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank yoU!

[@rebeccamccreary8530]

Not sure how long you've had it this way, but your hair is super cute.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I cut it about a month ago and this was the salon blow out. I normally just air dry my hair. :D

[@gykolette9]

I loooove your videos I watch them while I knit

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Awe, thank you! I love being knitting entertainment.

[@lizbrims5928]

Loving the hair cut

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! This was the day (or the day after) i cut it so it was still all blown out. :D

[@theresa2084]

Your hair looks great!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Oh thank you! I really really really want a hair cut right now. I miss having shorter hair like this!

[@shannonmartel7243]

I would love to see Caribbean blue!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm not sure if that one breaks but it would be LOVELY dipdyed!

[@shannonmartel7243]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials I did end up trying a dip-dye and it was really beautiful!

[@janwright6476]

Hi love your hair x

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! It is a LOT LOT longer now and I really want a cut.

[@ameko1ikiru]

Your hair looks so cute!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I had just cut it when I was filming this. :D

[@BurgundySimons]

I love your hair in this!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I had just gotten it cut that day. :D

[@lenabeth02]

Ok not yarn related but I love your hair cut and style in this episode!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I miss having my hair short. 😭 It is now long to the point it isn't bothering me like the in between... But I wanted a hair cut mid March when everything went down.

[@manuelbracho3502]

Forest green and brown are my favourites, on their own or combined.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm loving greens and browns at the moment, too! (*cough* coming up in a video soon!)

[@manuelbracho3502]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials Ooooohhhh, can't wait :)

[@SparkyJoon]

Rebecca- have you considered dip dyeing with the 6 yard skeins to amplify any breaking in any of the questionable dye colors? My theory being that if yo have the extra length you could add it at the same rate you’re currently adding the “normal” circumference skeins, but since they’re longer it would take more time and give the dyes a greater opportunity to break.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm definitely planning to dip dye one of my 6 M skeins. But I haven't decided if I'm going to go for breaking or not. Since the skeins I have are superwash things will strike super fast which will minimize some o the breaking. BUT I could try.... :D

[@SparkyJoon]

ChemKnits Tutorials - I think you’re up to the challenge! 🤣

[@ooohlaa13]

hmmm have to wait for more experiments but for me this is pretty but looks predictable like the kinds of commercial yarns you buy at the store ... somewhat missing the serendipity and magic surprise of food dyes ... but its always a delight to work with color to see what happens ... I have a hard time keeping track of all the variables to be able to reproduce things very often.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Yes - none of these are as dramatic as what we see with food coloring. Commercial dyes are developed to dye fiber so the rates are more consistent with a few (purple pop) exceptions. BUT knowing which colors break a bit gives me some ideas for what colors I cancombine to create more dramatic breaking results with acid dyes. But I don't think that anything will quite beat food coloring.

[@ooohlaa13]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials 🌈🍏🍊🍎🍇🍆🍋🥕🌈

[@saraa3418]

We've got from the top left: kryptonite, birch leaves, garbage water, l'heure bleu, cheddar, spruce, violet vale, and wine time.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

EEEEE these names are fantastic! I struggle with naming colors so I just name them after the videos mostly. ;)

[@saraa3418]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials Ha ha! Part of the appeal of starting up my own dyeing business is naming the yarns all the joke names I come up with.

[@madaomadao2291]

Hi Rebecca! My Jaquard brown is more “olive” than brown. I tried to make a 1% stock solution and it comes out olive green. I’m wondering if they mixed the tags…in this video, it is very brown on your first dip…do you think I need to make a 2% dos for brown ? Thanks!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

It is possible that some colors change with batches. I think that my jacquard brown is very yellowish. I don't think I've tried it at a 2% dos though.

[@carolcorcoran9643]

Are your ties black? Another color i think might break is dharma berrycrush. I saw pink halos on the yarn around the color when i added drops of the liquid dye. I personally like the longer versions...only my opinion. Thanks for the great dyeing.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

My ties started out as white, but since they are nylon they turn dark as they absorb color from different experiments. :D I do appreciate the feedback RE the timelapse versus sharing the full thing! The video would have been over an hour long if I hadn't sped things up - so I wouldn't have been able to test as many colors. :D

[@davidhensley76]

How is the fluorescence of Radioactive affected by dip-dyeing? Under a black light does it "glow" more strongly at one end of the hank?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

This is a great question. I find that fluorescent colors tend to "glow" more where the dye strikes the most and is the most concentrated. If I speckle and see a lot of all over color, you can usually see where the dye first hit the yarn with the black light. BUT I'm not 100% sure with radioactive and purple pop. I've noticed this with pink, orange, and yellow though.

[@donnahurley423]

What size zip ties do you use. I noticed there were several sizes. Love this video.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I purchased the white ones from the link in the video description. I believe they're 12" long (according to the listing)

[@martinadavis17]

I know you’re probably super busy but do you happen so know if brown Rit dye breaks? I was hoping to attempt to dip dye my home made wool dreads to get an ombré effect but I’m worried about it breaking and making some weird color effect 🙁

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I haven't played with rit dyes enough to see if they break. I know some of the powders break with speckling - but this isn't always an indication of if the colors would break with handpainting or dip dyeing. My hunch is that if they break it would be fairly subtle, but again I'm not 100% sure.

[@martinadavis17]

ChemKnits Tutorials thank you so so much!! I’m super nervous but this makes me feel a lot better. I’m using the brown liquid so hopefully it’ll work well! Your videos have me the courage to try it at all! 🥰 thank you for taking the time to respond to me! I’m sure you’re really busy and I appreciate it SO much!