Dyepot Weekly #78 - Dyeing Speckled Yarn with Acid Dyes; Happy Birthday Dyepot Weekly!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Love the yarn dyed in this video? You can find the sock yarn www.etsy.com/listing/651811923/speckled-fingering-weight-sock-yarn-7525 and the worsted weight yarn www.etsy.com/listing/637976974/speckled-worsted-weight-yarn-100 in the ChemKnits Creations Etsy Store!

[@dawnamorrell8084]

Happy Anniversary or Birthday to Dyepot Weekly and you, Rebecca! Enjoy all of your videos!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much, Dawna! :D

[@melissapalmer9714]

Happy birthday! So very proud of you and all you've accomplished this past year. You inspire me EVERY DAY!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much, Melissa! This is a huge compliment and I hope that Year 2 will be as inspiring as Year 1. ;)

[@stephanieczeshinski8004]

Happy birthday 🎈🎉 I would sincerely like to thank you! Because of you, I’ve been able to widen my mind and creativity. I’ve always been a “yarnivore” but being able to dye my own yarn for projects has been awesome. I can’t wait to see what this year brings....

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Stephanie, thank you so much! I'm so glad that I have been able to inspire people. :D And all of you have inspired me to keep trying new things and techniques to expand my own horizons. I've grown so much in the last year, and that is even with dozens of dyeing videos before that!

[@karleenpage5979]

Happy Birthday!! Looking forward to another year of fab dye videos!!!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you, Karleen!

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Happy easter to you and family

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Happy Easter!

[@naryaknits]

I like the zipties. You can also use plastic curtain rings. They are reusable as well. Fun video. Happy Anniversary!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

A lot of people love shower curtain rings! I had trouble finding some that weren't sharp when I looked, and then I discovered the zip tie magic. I'm happy that I can reuse them, too. Hopefully none of the color will bleed out....

[@bridge10dr]

I like your ties. I have also seen a podcast video and she used plastic shower rings. I liked that idea. Happy birthday. I love your videos.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you! I had trouble finding shower curtain rings that didn't have something that could snag the yarn on them for some reason. (I was looking in person and didn't want to order online without a feel test.)

[@dawnoverholt6877]

Happy Birthday On the future shows I would love to see you dye fiber for spinning such as wool, bamboo, silk etc.using different methods such as you do for skeined yarn. Also different wool natural colors and how they take dye.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I've done a handful of natural colors (including in DPW 77), but I definitely would love to do more. I have a new roving dyeing video coming up in a few weeks. I hope to do some more unspun fibers, too. I'm actually hoping to do some live spinning sessions soon, too!

[@lindamitchell-fox1926]

Get the plastic shower curtain hooks for 95 cents at Walmart. You can use different colors for different types of yarn to make it easy to identify if you’re dyeing lots

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I got some nylon zip ties recently that I use now and I LOVE LOVE them. They make flipping the yarn so easy. (For some reason I had trouble finding shower curtain hooks that wouldn't snag the yarn when I was looking.)

[@janedaniel7288]

Love these yarns. Can't wait to see what you have for this years anniversary! xxJane

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I need to plan that one out! :D

[@blak95_92]

I'm so glad I'm a part of the chemkints squad. I cant waiting to get the beautiful yarn I ordered from you and start kinting

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you for being party of the ChemKnits Squad.

[@nataliestanchevski4628]

Thank you so much for sharing all of your experiments! I'm about to dip dye (americolor food gel) a two colour, long gradient on a hand-knit blank (two skeins wool sock yarn, knit two strands held together) for a shawl project. Thank you for inspiring my own experiments!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Woohoo! The timing is good since I'm doing a bunch of dip dyeing in a livestream tomorrow morning. ;)

[@elysafrancisco7240]

Happy Birthday, Dyepot Weekly! New subbie, looking forward to seeing many more amazing videos!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you for subscribing! :D

[@lchellebooker2717]

love both yarns.. beautiful!

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Thank you so much!

[@marieking-stevason1775]

Happy Birthday Dyepot Weekly!! Gorgeous colors Rebecca!! Maybe if you used a finely perforated loose leaf tea strainer you’d get finer speckles??? Awesome experiment, Rebecca!!!!! Happy Dying from Canada 🇨🇦 ❤️Marie

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have a few tools that I've tried to use for speckling in the past. I have a tea strainer, a powdered sugar dusting wand, and some pepper shakers. I think some people will mix the dyes with powdered citric acid to help get some more spread out speckles. (It is effectively a dilution!) So far I've found I like the finger control best, but it is a different learning curve with different types of powders. These acid dyes are a bit finer than tie dye or KoolAid.

[@happyjab]

You can use a small hand held strainer to get finer speckles...just put some on a fine strainer, and then tap a spoon against it.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Absolutely! I have a wilton dusting wand that works nicely, too. I think I like the tactile nature of using my hands, but I need to practice a bit more. ;)

[@sarbearcrafty]

I love throwbacks! These are awesome, definitely makes me want to start with acid dyes sooner rather than later

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

There are so many more color options. I mean, I love the Color Right system because they share so many recipes for mixing, but it is nice to just start with multiple shades of so many colors.

[@jodiekingsley5181]

Have you tryed dyeing yarn with lemon peels and organe peels

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I have not. I'm not sure if there is a lot of pigment in them. Citrus juice would work as an acid source in a pinch, but I'm not sure how much color it would bring.

[@cmaur811]

Great comparison .. the chemically treated yarn always takes dye better and faster.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I wouldn't necessarily say better, but faster for sure. You can get WOTA that is just as saturated as the stroll (well, not speckles, but overall color) if you wait long enough and use enough heat and acid.

[@LuvMyCardiKids]

Instead of using your fingers, use a small sieve. It’s easier to control the distribution of the speckles and reduces accidental blotches.

[@cmaur811]

Always curious why you don’t use citric acid .

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

Mostly due to habit. I started with vinegar and so I've kept using it. I don't have any other reason, I even have a lot of citric acid in the house! I've been meaning to do a vinegar vs CA video forever...

[@dianathefiberfan]

Have you tried using unsweetened chocolate baking powder? Another idea, flowers?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I'm not sure about chocolate, because I'm not sure how it would rinse back out, but maybe I'd try it on a miniskein. Flowers are something that I'd like to play with, but one trouble is getting enough of them for the dyeing. I might have to go with flowers that I purchase versus ones that I grow.

[@melissapalmer9714]

Where did u get the zip ties?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I got the reusable zip ties on Amazon. amzn.to/2Oz3xqj (Affiliate Link) I love how they pick up some color.

[@vickytucci]

Happy Birthday Dyepot Weekly! Just curious to know if there is a reason you usually use vinegar instead of citric acid?

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I think the main reason that I use it is that it is really cheap and easy to find. I sometimes make fizzy bath balls and when I started I had the hardest time finding citric acid. I know know better, but it is still hard to break habits. I have a good feel for how much vinegar I should use with different conditions, less of a good feel for CA.

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

I do have plans to try doing more with CA in the future, though. :D

[@vickytucci]

Good to know. Thank you for your great videos :)

[@ChemKnitsTutorials]

You're so welcome!