Dyepot PS #29 - Reviewing Greener Shades Acid Dyes: Swatching, Speckles, Semi-solids and Dip Dyeing!

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ITEMS USED IN THIS VIDEO (or frequently used in my videos):
(All Links labeled with a "*" are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission sales made through these links.)
Greener Shades Starter Kit (via KnitPicks) - shrsl.com/2gklc *
Greener Shades 1/2 ounce jars (via KnitPicks) - shrsl.com/2gklf *
KnitPicks Bare Hawthorne Sock Yarn (80% superwash fine highland wool / 25% Polyamide) - shrsl.com/2gklg *
Catering Steam Pan: amzn.to/2tGWYph *
Digital Kitchen Scale - amzn.to/2XJgleB *
Plastic Syringes for Measuring dye - amzn.to/3fCX4nP *
Digital Kitchen Scale - amzn.to/2XJgleB *
Purple Nitrile Gloves - amzn.to/2I6pRpl *
Reusable Zip Ties - amzn.to/3bPdOag * NOTE: the listing that I originally purchased is here: amzn.to/2Oz3xqj * but the brand seems to have updated it to include non-reusable zip ties. This has updated back to the original item in the past, but just in case I'm leaving a new link for a brand that I haven't tried.
Deluxe Rubber Respirator - www.dharmatrading.com/tools/d...
Dharma Acid Dyes - www.dharmatrading.com/dyes/dh...
Dharma Squeeze Bottles - www.dharmatrading.com/tools/s...
My favorite tools and equipment for dyeing yarn - www.chemknits.com/2019/07/the...
Face Masks for Dyeing Yarn - www.chemknits.com/2020/07/resp...
FILMING EQUIPMENT
DSLR Canon EOS80D - amzn.to/2PXWbMa *
Webcam - Logitech C930e 1080P HD Video Webcam amzn.to/315Mge0 * (there is likely an upgraded version of this)
Tripod (60") - amzn.to/3iUfBy5 *
VIDEO CONTENTS:
[0:00] Introduction
[1:24] Unboxing the Starter Kit
[5:26] Swatching the colors
Low immersion with dry powder
4 cups of water + 1 T white vinegar
presoaked hawthorne in plain tap water
(a second "yarn mop" for the rest of the video was presoaked with some vinegar and will be used off camera)
[14:36] The plan for the rest of the video
[18:18] Making dyestocks
.75 g coral reef aqua and midnight black
[19:30] Kettle Dyeing
8 cups water + 2T tap water + 0.75 g of coral reef aqua dissolved in water
[22:00] Speckling low immersion
Midnight Black, Ruby Red, Amethyst Purple
[33:25] Dip Dyeing
8 cups water + 2 T white vinegar + 0.75 g black dye
[37:55] The yarn mop
Add to the immersion pan from the speckles
[39:21] washing the yarn
[41:46] The finished dry yarn
[47:56] Pros and Cons of Greener Shades
[51:18] Conclusions
Dyepot Weekly Playlist: • Dyepot Weekly
Leave No Dye Behind Playlist: • Leave No Dye Behind - ...
Frequently Asked Questions Playlist: • What You Can't Dye wit...
Sponsor an episode of Dyepot Weekly: www.etsy.com/listing/61858832...
ChemKnitsCreations Etsy Store: www.etsy.com/shop/chemknitscr...
ChemKnits Patreon: / chemknits
ChemKnits Lab Facebook Group: / chemknitslab
ChemKnits Blog: www.chemknits.com
Zazzle Merchandise: www.zazzle.com/chemknitsmerch...
The above links are affiliate links, which means I earn a commission on sale of items purchased through these links. All items used in this video were purchased and selected by me unless otherwise stated. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[@carolynogrady9139]

I love how the black skein turned out.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you!

[@user-gn7sk2nz1k]

Rebecca, you are amazing! I've been debating ordering this exact kit and now I will. Thank you so much!

[@eugenieknits8352]

About to start my own dye journey...SO SO appreciate your videos! Some priceless advice!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Good luck! I'm so glad I can help!

[@kathleenmcquade31]

Oooh Rebecca! The first few moments my heart was racing! I thought it was going to be 'green's as in colour!!! Be still my heart, this will be good too!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I've got more greens in the works! But I can see how you'd think that. :D

[@breezyKF]

Thank you for doing this review! I've always been curious about Greener Shades as a potentially more environmentally friendly alternative but was nervous to commit considering the price point. As far as reviewing other lines goes, I know you have a video of a Country Classics dye from a Paradise Fibers FotM Club using one color, but I'd love to see something like this video too using that line: reviewing more of them and how they react to different dyeing methods. Their expansive line of colors is really intriguing to me but I'm wondering why they don't seem as popular as Dharma or Jacquard.

[@nicoleharding9717]

Holy Expensive Batman! Thanks for test driving these for the rest of us to see. :)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

My pleasure!

[@darktastee]

I’d love to see that yellow and the deep blue together

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I hope it'd create more of a true green!

[@susanwhalen1034]

Liked the searching hank and the black hank.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you!

[@AndiNewtonian]

Thank you for doing such a thorough examination of Greener Shades. Tons of good info! One thing that I found really interesting in looking at your swatch skein is that if you take out the green, purple, and black, you have the same basic primary set as in watercolor: a warm and cool in yellow, blue, and red. Purple is really hard to get right in watercolors, so I can see why they included that. But these could be really interesting to use for color mixing. (Sorry, I'm a bit of a color mixing geek. :) ) If you want to see what I mean, do a web search for Daniel Smith Watercolor Essentials Set.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Color mixing is definitely not a strength of mine, but this is super interesting!

[@marianneknapp4846]

This is Awesome color

[@clareszmekura4587]

Thanks Rebecca for experimenting on our behalf :)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

My absolute pleasure.

[@Chantel_T]

Thank you soooo Much!!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're welcome!

[@saraa3418]

This was my first acid dye kit. IME, the black is kind of a toner black and is very warm toned. I love mixing it with purple for a gothy iridescent quality. Black and Purple take forever to clear. I always think of Flame Red as "autumnal" and Ruby Red as "bloody." I'm not thrilled with the pink that either produces at lower DOS. I feel the lack of cyan and magenta acutely when I go back to this kit. However, it was a great intro for me and I have dyed some beautiful things with it.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! The black does remind me of toner black a lot. Mixed with purple I think it would be awesome. I was really disappointed that the Coral Reef Aqua wasn't more of a cyan. I thought that if they were going to include a dye with heavy metals then it should be more.... bright blue! Bummer about the pinks, I didn't check much at a low DOS. I think that the colors are fine... but it is sad that there are things missing from the line. Likely because it is hard to get pigments without metals in them? I'm not too sure.

[@marianneknapp4846]

Valentines Day colors

[@suzannefenton1589]

Is there a mix list or color chart for this dye. I love all you do. Thank you.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm not sure, I didn't see a mix list. They had recommended DOS for colors on their website but I didn't look closely for a mix list. I could try the triangle exercise on this one at some point

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

(Although I need to edit the food coloring triangles I did and then I want to redo jacquard with a CMY colors

[@theartofzencrochet]

I found one on Etsy and another website. Gives you all the percentage breakdown to mix many colours. It's call Greener shades dye book.

[@knittinninja]

I would love to see a natural acid dye set like this, but with natural dye extracts like cochineal and walnuts, all bundled into a sampler set kind of like this.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have done a few natural dyes and have some more than just need to be edited! kzbin.info/aero/PLFvm3Bz7dhaXDnUbMSLsWtMwftb37pk6T

[@marianneknapp4846]

Violet & Teal Vibrant

[@trishylala]

Because I only dye for personal use I don’t use a lot of dye so Everytime I think to myself... ok I have all the dye colors I need.... I always find myself with a few new colors from dharma lol. If I just needed colors for dye stock I could mix the colors I have to get any shade... but I love me some speckles and for that I need all the dye colors lol

[@kathleenmcquade31]

Are any of the colours similar to the 9 we get with the Dye into dying'

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Not really, this kit has a red, yellow and blue but is missing a cyan and magenta. The black is similar, but it doesn't have the three deeper colors (a deep mustard yellow, more navy, and chestnut red) that we put into Dive into Dyeing. The 9 colors here in this kit are nice, but there are absolutely some things I feel are missing for sure.

[@marianneknapp4846]

Do you like the results?Can the colors blend well together?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I did like the results of the dyes. I haven't done a TON of mixing with these colors (I don't use them often because they were pricy and I'm not sure if I'll need them for something else.)

[@janeanderson3905]

Have you tried Landscape dyes?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I haven't, but I'm open to it for sure!

[@jenniferknowles2023]

Rebecca, have you ever mixed dyes, like food coloring and acid dyes, in the same dye bath? Just wondering if that is possible.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm not sure if I've done it in the same dyebath (beyond potentially a leave no dye behind- I'm sure I've combined things there) but I have used both on the same skeins before. You absolutely could combine them!

[@jenniferknowles2023]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials great! Thanks for letting me know ☺️

[@Pnwmommaof3]

I checked out the greener shades after you unblocked them on the live stream. I was shocked by how much they cost. I haven’t been able to find good info regarding the claim they make about the metals? Do you know why metals would be added to the dye? Is it to help the colors bind? Sorta in the same way alum or other mordants can be added to natural dyeing?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Dharma talks about the chemistry of different acid dyes here: www.dharmatrading.com/home/did-you-know-how-acid-dye-works.html Premetalized dyes are supposed to be VERY wash fast. I think that they are likely used for a few reasons. The metal ion could shift the color absorption of the dye (and therefore change the hue itself) or it could also help with the binding process potentially. These would be my hypotheses anyway. And yes, I imagine that mordants work similarly with natural colored molecules. I tried to be super neutral about their claims about "safety" because honestly I'm not sure. I did find this www.pburch.net/dyeing/blog/category/types-of-dye/acid-dyes/ talking about Greener Shades and how there is a lot of information they don't provide about the dyes etc that they use.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

But yes, they're SUPER SUPER expensive. I'm pleased with how the dyes performed, but I wouldn't buy them again personally due to the cost. As for the claims... I think that people should always do their own research before choosing what products to purchase. :D

[@Pnwmommaof3]

Thank you so much! Such good info! I appreciate it.

[@alyssa6876]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials thank you for such wonderful information. I love learning from you!

[@marianneknapp4846]

Vegan fruit juices and plants?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have some more plant dyeing I want to do. :D

[@jenthulhu]

I have this kit and I have found it to be disappointing at best. No magenta or cyan? Dealbreaker for me. I supplement with Prochem and Dharma dyes.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Yeah, the color range wasn't what I would have hoped for.

[@pattigolden1]

Other than the price being so off-putting, it needs a better green, I liked where it combined with yellow. Would take a lot of trial and error to get others shades.... The ruby red is a true ruby, since ruby's really ARE pink. ☺️

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

True, lol! I think I was thinking of Dorothy's ruby slippers which are quite red.

[@rushiaj1222]

I always wonder why it’s more expensive to be green. They use less ingredients but it cost you more. This seems to be the case in most environment friendly items. Has anyone else noticed this

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Likely the chemistry for the pigments and fillers is more expensive to manufacture without using heavy metals.

[@mythlover20]

I have to be honest, everything on that pamphlet sounded like PR speak to me. Companies all say they're "greener" or "organic" or "environmentally friendly" or "natural" but they're just buzzwords these days and mean nothing. I'm looking through the website and I'm finding nothing on their actual manufacturing processes re their environmental impact, the chemicals they're using, and the health and safety of their workers. Manufacturing processes are very rarely environmentally friendly, especially organic ones. "Green," "organic," and "natural" don't necessarily mean good. I guarantee this company's manufacturing processes have a larger impact and footprint than they want to admit, which would be why there's nothing on their website about them. If a product wants to be beneficial, it's not just the end product that you have to be concerned about, it's how they're made. And I am very disappointed in their lack of information in that regard. These dyes are available in Australia and I got excited until I looked at their website and now I'm just bitter and wondering exactly what they're trying to hide.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I tend to feel the same way a lot of the time. I wanted to be very careful about the claims so I decided to just read what the company says about them. I'm surprised that they make the greener claims but then I couldn't find MSDS sheets for the different colors. I was trying to go into this unbiased, but I was pleasantly surprised that I liked how the dyes themselves performed. However, the cost basis is enough for me to not re-order without even needing to consider their claims. I don't know much about dye manufacturing, and then contamination of heavy metals from making the dyes vs dyeing fiber. I think that acid dyes are fairly low impact because they exhaust so you're not dumping a lot down the drain typically...