Dyepot Weekly #29 - Handpainting Yarn with Jacquard Acid Dyes

[@singingwolfdyeworks2391]

Nice bright & sunny colorway. I see summer coming!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Oh goodness... I want summer so badly. We got almost 2 ft of snow yesterday!

[@singingwolfdyeworks2391]

Two feet?! Holymolies...spring is supposedly about a week away but it still feels like the dead of winter even here in MD.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think another snow storm is coming east next week. :/

[@singingwolfdyeworks2391]

Oh nooooooooo!

[@juliamartin4141]

I really like that yarn colorway! I’m not really a green or yellow enthusiast BUT the blue helps I think. I am getting the Wilton’s color right system today and some circular foam daubers. At some point I may get more Jacquard acid dyes but right now I only have black so I can get a true black result for some dyeing. I’ll post on the Facebook group when Ive played around with some things.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Woohoo! Color Right is still on Sale on Amazon with a $2 off coupon: amzn.to/2D4ogIZ (You might be able to better at a local store witha larger coupon, but $15.41 isn't bad for the kit.)

[@MarieH528]

The Yarns are very pretty and I was really surprised at the end result dried, that they look so similar in color depth, I was not expecting that to happen. I thought the Untreated Wool would be a lot less vibrant! I was totally wrong! I Love these experiments! Thanks!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think that if I dip dyed these at the same time, the superwash would absorb more dye and therefore end up with a brighter color. However, when you apply similar amounts of dye to both, the color saturation will be the same. The non superwash just takes a bit longer to absorb all of the color.

[@MarieH528]

ChemKnits Tutorials Oh okay, that does make sense! Thanks!

[@carlleethebestofchemknits9822]

Really like the colors.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much!

[@conniehunt6738]

Oh my mind is spinning. Is there a video that would address eliminating the stripiness from using the syringe on the super wash? Love me some superwash gradient but don’t care for the stripes within each color.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think one big thing that would have helped would be to use less acid to start with. (or even no acid!) and then add acid after you've applied the dye. I tend to use foam brushes a lot more now for handpainting vs the syringe, and that can help push the colors more through the areas for handpainting. I think this video was one of my early explorations into superwash vs non-superwash, so I've learned a lot since then. I don't handpaint on the countertop now as much as I did back then. I am much more likely to do some low immersion dyeing. Here is one example of handpainting for self striping yarn. (I used KoolAid which has the acid in it already so I couldn't reduce the acid like I suggested above. But I did go over the yarn multiple times and there is a swatch at the end so you can see the color variation.)

[@xela1471]

Hi! Thank you for the amazing video, this answered a bunch of my questions. One thing though. How do you avoid the yarn felting when you put it in the steamer?? I am so terrified to accidentally felt my wool yarn

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Steaming won't felt the yarn. To felt you need heat + agitation. If you steam the yarn and then let it cool completely before touching it, the fibers should relax, open up a bit, and then cool back into position. The reason why I avoid going from hot yarn to a cool bath is that if you cool the fibers too quickly and "shock" them, then the fibers can get a little mixed up when shrinking/closing back up and that disorder is what we call felting. Washing is also a "risky" step. Usually if I see felting in a project it is from washing too vigorously. But this is a reason why i show the step in the videos to see what turns out okay.

[@sharonkantura2422]

Hi there oh, I really love your show and I'm addicted to seeing all the beautiful Yarns that you create. In fact I just bought some undyed yarn and pulled out the candy sprinkles from my cupboard for my own experiment. Question for you, are you able to overdye Yarns that are sold commercially in the stores like say a cream-colored wool blend from Cascade? Would you be able to dye those types of Yarns with food coloring or Kool-Aid?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You can absolutely overdye many yarns that you can find in big box stores. It helps to start out with paler colors with high wool and nylon % for overdyeing with food coloring. Arylic fibers won't take up any color when you're dyeing with food coloring, so the overall colors from acyrlic blends are more muted, but I did start out dyeing 20% wool/80% acyrlic blends. Here are some examples of the colors I got: www.chemknits.com/2010/01/dyeing-wool-ease-yarn-with-kool-aid-3.html

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I plan to have some more videos coming up that feature yarns from big box stores.

[@sharonkantura2422]

oh my gosh the examples ARE BEAUTIFUL! thank you

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're very welcome. :)

[@jenniball1746]

Hi was wondering how do you make the stock solution 😊

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Hi Jenni - Here is how I made the stock solutions kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmmwd5mKnMp-n8U and an update 8 months later kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZXXpYtpo819qq8

[@ThePhantazmya]

I've heard the most complaints about the red dyes but I've personally had more trouble with the yellow dyes across different brands. I've recently switched to Eurolana because Jacquard is really expensive here and I'd have to import Dharma at great expense. They don't have as many colors but so far I haven't had any problems. Also it seems that with acid dyes every batch can be a bit different not only in color but solubility. I haven't tried it myself but I've been told that adding some uria can help with solubility issues. If I understand correctly it somehow makes the water wetter (?) so that the particles can dissolve easier and stay dissolved. I'm not sure how much you have to add though. I believe dharma sells it as well.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have some urea. I figured it was worth buying to have on hand. Thankfully, I'm not too concerned about my color recipes yet, so if things are slightly off I'm okay with that. My red has a little sedement, but NOTHING like the yellow. I've also heard that it can be batch dependant. I'll probably try more Dharma dyes next because I think you get about 4 x the dye for cheaper thatn the Jacquard.

[@ThePhantazmya]

Jacquard is almost double the price for a 10g jar here and I can't find it in larger quantities. I've actually been thinking about buying some very large containers of the Dharma dyes and having them shipped over but the shipping ends up being about 40% of the order cost which is really discouraging. I'll have to do a cost analysis and see if it would be cheaper in the long run to import Dharma dyes if I order in bulk. Although I know I can mix my own colors, it would be really nice to have access to their color pallet.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I agree. I enjoy mixing colors but if the perfect shade is available.... I have to play around with them all more. :)

[@dominiquesanchez5881]

Won’t the plastic melt to the wool?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Nope! Some plastic items could melt, I suppose, but this is the same time of plastic wrap you can use to cover items to microwave them, which will also get pretty hot.

[@tamaratownsend4206]

I had the sane trouble with my greener shades yellow acid dye. Thought maybe it was the minerals in my tap water so i remade with distilled water and had no further trouble.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Oh interesting. Some times urea can help things stay soluble. I actually have some urea but sort of wanted to explore how using a dye "suspension" would work so I havne't opened that yet.

[@Randi19196]

Thank you for the great dye lesson!-Randi

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're very welcome!

[@lauraviniconis3006]

I've always had problems with my Jacquard yellow settling on the bottom no matter the temp of the water added. I don't think it crashes out, I think it just doesn't make good liquid dye.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Well it did crash out of solution, since it was all in solution while the water was warm. ;) It is definitely a solubility issue. It also turned to jelly before I added too much water. Whatever those issues, it still created a stunning deep yellow.