Tie-dyed reclaimed yarn!

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Tie-dyed reclaimed yarn tutorial.

Starting out with some offwhite mohair wool yarn reclaimed from a sweater because:
-It was too small for me
-It had a hole in the front that wasn't fixable
-I'm allergic to wool and mohair
-But, I hate to waste such good wool

It was a pain in the arse to unravel and left me covered in mohair, but still, yarn is yarn, and I've been meaning to try some dyeing techniques on yarn. What better thing to experiment on than reclaimed wool?

One of the unraveled yarn hanks, washed already once to get the kinks out.


Which after it was dried then got wrapped around two chair backs to make even longer thinner skeins for dying.



I tied the loops with some green acrylic yarn and twisted and twisted and twisted some more (always use another color than your yarn for tying skeins or you'll never find your ties....at least I never do) then tied together again to hold them twisted shut.

~The end twisted yarns and the dyes I planned to use~


Before I engaged on this endeavor I tried looking up tie dying yarn.
I found nothing more helpful than tutes involving kool-aide and crockpots.
So, I winged it with the knowledge I already had from previous dying experiments.

~My busted enamel dye pot filled with yellow dye. This is used for dying only!
Also, when dying with multiple colors, always use your lightest color first!~


Started the dye as normal with some vinegar and salt, brought to a boil.
Pulled off the burner, and then dipped half of my yarn hanks (do not wet the yarn! Make sure they are dry dry dry!) in using my dye spoons to hold them there for a couple minutes (or until I felt they were dark enough)


Then I pulled them out and set them into a bucket to hang out while I got the red dye bath going.

~I also used the leftover yellow dye to tie dye some spare cotton I had lying around, there was still enough color in the pot to get a nice vibrant yellow on the cotton....~

Then when my red dye pot (prepared the same as with the yellow) was ready, I repeated the process, except dying the other end with the red, having the yellow at the top of the spoons.
Leaving it in the dye bath until it became a nice dark crimson.

Then I removed it from the pot, transferred it to the sink, and rinsed it with cold water, going from the yellow down, until the water no longer ran red.



Then I washed the skeins with some mild soap (I normally use baby shampoo for my woolens).
Rinsed, and squeezed them thoroughly after to get as much water out as possible.

Then I clipped the ties keeping them together (but not the ones at the bottom loops, keep those or you'll have a huge knot of yarn)
Squeezing any excess water out periodically, and hung them, with again the lighter part on the top, on some hangers to dry in the tub.

~When dying I normally put a ratty towel down on the floor to catch drips as there is always some dye throw afterwards.~

They all dried pretty much overnight.

Then I looped the yarn around the chairs again, wrapped em into balls, and voila!



I was a bit worried after I untwisted the skeins, but it looks great when it's knitted.

I'm just sad I don't have any more yarn to experiment with!

K.

Bye now!