Dyepot Weekly

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Learn more about sponsoring an epsiode of Dyepot Weekly: www.etsy.com/listing/618588327/dyepot-weekly-sponsorship-may-august

[@MissGroves]

As someone who has number problems, it is invaluable to actually see the calculation to help it make sense, thank you

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm so happy to go through all of this. I'll try to shore some more calculation type videos in the future.

[@cynthiawick216]

I loved this! Both for the mathematical explanations & for the gradients. Please do more!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much! I will definitely do more. :D

[@kathrynmorgandesigns5083]

This, and part 1 was fantastic. It really made things clear regarding DOS and stock soluntions. Thank you so Much Rebecca. Kath x

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're so welcome!

[@candyladet-latour1084]

Terrific job! You are awesome! You explained it so clearly. Thank for all you are doing for this community!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm so glad that this was helpful! It is my pleasure to create videos and share my passion with all of you.

[@sheleighpeers677]

What a lot of work these videos are! You are incredibly generous for sharing your knowledge, I am very grateful! You are a wonderful teacher!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Wow, thank you! I truly love playing with dyeing yarn and sharing the process with everyone. I find that this has helped me learn so much and grow as a dyer.

[@lgassin]

Just super, Rebecca, thank you! I knew you were just the person to explain this, given your science background!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm so glad that you like this, Lisa! This was a wonderful learning experience for me, too. Seeing the DOS from silver gray next to true black was AWESOME, and it worked better than I had hoped to talk about this topic. I hope to bring the math back in more in the future. Thank you so much for sponsoring this video!

[@lgassin]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials It was my pleasure, and oddly enough, about 2 hours after I watched it, I received my first formal order for 4 skeins of yarn dyed in a specific way... with gray as the main color! Perfect timing :)

[@published1789]

Really enjoyed this one. Loving the structured approach mixed with all the creative ideas!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much! I learned so much through filming this video. I knew and understood the theory and calculations, but it was so exciting to compare the DOS of silver gray to the DOS of true black. :D

[@Clubkidknitter]

This helped me immensely! Question: At what DOS percentage will wool fiber stop accepting dye?

[@elysianfibres1642]

I must say I much prefer your systematic and methodical approach to your dyeing in this video, and the results are fantastic.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you. I'm in love with how the results of this one turned out.

[@Rowanstarr]

Love the math. Thank you for laying it out so clearly. Yeay for cross multiple and divide.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Glad it was helpful!

[@NorthHillSoap]

Thank you so much for making this set of videos- it was very helpful to me. I wonder if you could also address the math of the added acid? Thanks again!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Oooo... YES! I've been meaning to look at the pH on a more quantitative scale for a while. I'm not sure why I keep putting it off.

[@tinablair4277]

Very informative Rebecca. Makes me want to dye yarn for a gradient shawl or socks. Loved it.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! This was a lot of fun to film and I'm so happy that I could fit 5 jars in my pasta insert. I hope to play with this more in the future.

[@HesperidiumStitches]

Very informational and I think you broke it down well. Would so love a few more of these videos but with other colors!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! This was a lot of fun and very informative for me, too. Especially seeing the black at 1%, 2%, and 4%.

[@janinerosenke5463]

Epic video Becca. Thx for sharing your talents. Hugs from Canada.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun with this one.

[@Wool_River_Yarns]

Thank you Rebecca, this was so helpful and Well Done👏🏻👏🏻

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rebeccacho1492]

Hi Rebecca! So just to clarify, to make a reproducible tonal or semi-solid color, the total volume of water that the yarn is submerged in is irrelevant as long as you have the same volume of stock solution? For example if I want 1% DOS, I can have the yarns in the pan in however ml of water to fully sink the yarn, then add the ml required for the DOS I’m going for? Hope this question makes sense!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

This is right. You can kettle dye in 8 cups or 32 cups of water - if you add the same amount of dye you'll get the same depth of shade (assuming all of the dye binds to the yarn.) What might happen is that you get more even coverage of the color with the larger volume, so you might get some differences in the overall effects. But 24 vs 32 vs 40 cups shouldn't make a big difference.

[@MeredithSargent]

You're my hero. I actually *did* know the math from my chem labs back in the day, but the terminology is super helpful, and actually seeing the different results helps me get a grasp on what things will actually look like. However, I'm way too chicken to get into acid dyes just yet, so I've been using wilton's icing dye and the color right drops. Do you have any standard for mixing up a "stock solution" with those since they're already in solution?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

The 1 g / 100 mL stock solution concentrations is a standard type of figure used in the dyeing community. You could do something similar, start with 1 g of Wilton's gel paste and dissolve it in 100 mL of water. However, since the gel is already dissolved, you can pretty accurately measure 1/2 tsp of the dye. And with liquid drops like colorright, you can measure a certain # of drops for your mixture. So since these aren't intended to be used as dye, there aren't manufacture recommendations for the OWG needed to achieve the color on the label, if that makes sense.

[@MeredithSargent]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials so when you're deciding how many drops/tsp to use, it's basically experience, right? In terms of how much to use for, say, 100g of yarn? (I've watched a bunch of your videos and it seems like you often use about 1/2 tap per 100g of yarn, but I figure that's since you've developed a good feel.) I love your videos, btw! Just subscribed on Patreon!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Exactly. With food coloring my numbers come from experimentation and feel. I might do some playing with Violet gradients at some point. I might mix 1/2 tsp in 1/2 cup of water, and then I could measure that out into jars for minis or something like that.

[@cathykleeman1837]

Yes, I also would like to see an episode that tests the effects of different acid concentrations. How it changes the saturation of the color, how I changes the amount of time, etc.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I definitely want to do this. I need to think of the best way to share the results, though. (It would be nice if I had some uv/vis spectrophotometer so i could measure the amount of dye that remains in a more quantitative way.

[@chrispe82]

Fantastic 2 part video! I love the results as well & can barely wait to try this!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I was really nervous that I would confuse people more, so hopefully this was helpful.

[@Chasity301]

Thank you so much Rebecca i think I may make some black and grey minis this weekend because I love this!!!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

YAY! Thank you so much.

[@jeramietolbert6699]

I can’t even express how BEAUTIFUL these are!!! I’m still so confused by all the math but it never was my strong suit 😂

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Please let me know if there is anything specific I can help clarify. Ultimately, I rarely use the math and I mostly dye by feel. But these #'s are a helpful way to get started with picking out how much dye you want.

[@carabaxter4667]

Love this video! I feel like the answer to this is obvious, but for whatever reason I’m questioning myself... Is the weight of dye at 1g/100mL for 1% stock solution the rule no matter how many different colors of dye one is using? Example: a 50/50 mix of color A and color B for a 1% stock solution would be .5g of color A and .5g of color B for a total weight of 1g? Or would I need to still use 1g of each color, thus 2g total dye? I feel like the answer is 1g total no matter how many different colors, but I feel a double check is in order lol thank you!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Great question! I think for combos, if I'm going to say a 1% Depth of shade or a 1% stock would refer to 1 g of dye TOTAL per (100 g yarn or 100 mL water depending on which we're talking about.) A 1% stock solution of a mixture would have 0.5 g A and 0.5 G B in 100 mL. I hope this helps! And it is always worth double checking. :D

[@carabaxter4667]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials thanks!

[@penguine342]

Serial Dilution? Also, I am curious why you don't weight the water for your volume measurements? And measure the pH? Or have you found from practice that the amount of vinegar you use works? Also, do you ever use a sodium acetate as a pH buffer?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have some other videos where I've used some serial dilutions vs measuring out small volumes. I didn't use it here because I think it is easier for people to visualize what 5 mL vs 20 mL looks like vs 1/2 and 1/4 the dye. I've found from experience what typically works for me pH wise. Sometimes I'll have some confusion, but I think it is helpful to show when I get results that I wasn't expecting. I don't often use leveling agents for dyeing yarn, I've only played with things a little bit.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

If I misunderstood what your question was, serial dilution is when you start with a mixture - say with 20 mL dye in 1 cup of water. Then you take 1/2 cup of this mixture + 1/2 cup of water (now you have 10 mL dye in 1 cup of water.) You take half a cup of this new mixture, add it to 1/2 cup of water (now you have 5 mL dye in 1 cup of water) and continue until you get the concentrations you want. This is often easier than measuring differnet volumes.

[@penguine342]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials Yes! And you have a log function :) And it is a good way to cover a wide range of dilutions.

[@penguine342]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials That makes sense, it does work better visually than numbers on a scale. I weigh most things because I lucked out and got an old lab scale. An accurate 0.01 g scale is out of my price range, and stock solutions work for those small measurements. You could try using buffers and leveling agents, and compare the results to cold batching, that could be interesting! (and fun if you like the chemistry part too :) I found I only got interested in chemistry when I started dying and wanted to know WHY certain things worked the way they did.

[@thoughtsofawindowgirl2112]

Awesome info Rebecca

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Glad it was helpful!

[@maryellenmeggs3027]

On the black batch, I noticed the liquid level was in the jars on the darker black was significantly higher. Does that make an appreciable difference?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Not since we let all of the dye absorb in the end. The absolute value of dye makes a difference. I suppose it could allow for slightly more even coverage, but the overall actual difference is rather small.

[@mirandavikanderson6958]

So , if I have 200 gr of fiber I need to dye black at a 4 % dye I would use 8 grams of dye, in my dye pot.?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Yes!

[@amymikelson3060]

Very fascinating! Thanks for doing this video.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

My absolute pleasure. I hope to do some more like this in the future.

[@dianatheriault2913]

This is great! I have a question. If I want to dye a sweater quantify of yarn, is it better to dye them all together in the same dye pot or individually????

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

It depends on the size of your pot and the kind of yarn you want for your sweater. The more crowded the pot, the more tonal varieation you will have. It might be worth 2-3 batches If you keep careful track of conditions. (depending on how much yarn you need.)

[@dianatheriault2913]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials As a soon to be novice dyer I figure I can do 2 pots. I do want tonals but if I use the same batch of dye stock and stay as consistent as I can, hopefully they'll be good to knit as a sweater. Thanks so much Rebecca!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I would start with a fresh dyebath each time so that you can keep the conditions (pH volume etc) as consistent as possible. I'd mix the dye once and then split it in half before you start so the mixtures are as similar as possible. Good luck!

[@dianatheriault2913]

@@ChemKnitsTutorials Perfect! Yes, I was thinking that too!

[@AllkindMindToMind]

@ 07:40 she introduces the comprehensive DOS chart that shows how much stock solution to use for a 5 shade group of 100 gram skeins. TY Rebecca : - )

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm so glad that this was helpful!

[@AllkindMindToMind]

Hi, Rebecca, I'm not sure where to leave this more general question: I wondered if you are interested in any chemical aids to dyeing ? I have in mind wetting agents. The traditional watercolor one is ox gall, but I wondered about dishwasher rinse agents. I use 7th Generation brand in my dishwasher and I'm curious how it would work with dyes. I don't know if it would just help with pre-wetting, or if, like some mordants, it would change the outcome, either the hue, the even liquid saturation of the dye into the fiber, the permanence (or fugitiveness) of the dye, etc. I'd love to see what you do with this possibility, or if you already have, where I could look. Thank you for considering this. Best wishes, Denise

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hmmm... I don't know about wetting agents at all. Would they be like soap? That could interrupt the dyeing process, I'm not sure.

[@AllkindMindToMind]

I don't know a lot but here goes: they reduce the surface tension of water, therefore ¤ you might not have to pre-soak the yarn as long ¤ the dye would reach the fiber faster (possibly changing some things about the speed or style of crashing) ¤ it could help or hinder the dye binding to the fiber, the color being true or altered, etc ¤ and it might change the rinsing process. Isn't the dish detergent also a type of wetting agent, reducing the surface tension of the water, in addition to being a surfactant and emulsifier? But the best thing is that when I searched on wetting agent + textiles, the textile dyeing industry buys enormous amounts of wetting agents ! I started with ox gall in Wikipedia and followed the trail of bread crumbs ; - ) Seems worth looking into. So those ideas would involve adding it to pre-soak, to dye bath, and to rinse water.

[@tinamccartney3778]

Ugh...I want to do this so badly!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Playing with minis is so much fun. When I started out back in the early days I used minis to make one 100 g stretch for as many videos as possible. :D

[@TarotLadyLissa]

You have to do this breaking Wilton violet at different concentrations!!!!

[@TarotLadyLissa]

Also, how am I the first comment? lol I’m Melissa Hussell (Lissy) on the Facebook group by the way, and CurlyFryBoutique on instagram.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I often recognize names a lot on different platforms but sometimes can't put together who is who across them! I have some Violet plans. ;)

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Dye s in. Jar are looking. Good. Have. Nice. Day I made. Yellow and red you done. Blue. Red

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you!