Jar Dyeing -- A Half-Assed Tutorial

so if you recall on sunday i was supposed to try out some jar dyeing at a friend's house only to get there in time for lunch, but too late to try dyeing myself.  (thank god i wasn't late for lunch because it was goood).  but i got some basic instruction and decided to give it a try on my own.

so that's what i did.

on tuesday i gathered up some undyed fiber (about 100g) and 100g of malabrigo laceweight, a couple of jars, some acid dye from a kit i purchased ages ago from adrian and set to work.

1.  first i soaked the fiber and yarn in warm water for about 30 minutes.

2.  while the fiber and yarn were soaking, i got my dyes ready.  i put down some wet paper towel on the counter to catch any dye particles, put on a pair of vinyl gloves and opened my tiny jars of yellow, red and blue dyes (the only colors i had).

3.  when i was ready, i squeezed as much water out of my fiber/yarn as i could and then carefully and lightly began coiling my fiber/yarn into a jar while sprinkling tiny amounts of dye powder somewhat randomly.  i coiled a little more, then added a bit more dye.  until i filled the jar. 

4.  then i mixed a solution of about 1/2 cup vinegar to a gallon of water -- give or take -- and filled each jar (one with fiber and one with the yarn) to the top making sure to let the air bubbles dissipate.  (although i had air bubbles  -- i think the dye doesn't take where their are air bubbles).

5.  then i placed the jars in my dye pot filled with water up to 3/4 of the height of the jars.  i turned on the stove and heated the water to a low simmer and let the bath simmer for 45 minutes.  (you don't want the fiber to boil because if it's not superwash, it could felt).

6.  finally, i took the jars out and let them cool overnight.

that's it!

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day 83 -- if you want to see how my dyeing experiment turned out, you'll have to come back tomorrow.  heh heh