Sunday, August 22, 2010

Dye Verse



I took my title from one of my favorite blogs. It just seemed to fit.



My plan was to take some advice from an expert to fine tune my over exuberant and totally undesciplined dyeing skills.



I tied up my new Knit Picks Peruvian wool into quarters. I never do that.



I used some inspiration for picking my colors. I was thinking about a bowl of freshly picked figs.



I put the roving on a thick layer of newspaper to soak up the extra dye and used a paint brush to apply it to both sides. The string allowed me to move the wool around without disturbing the dye pattern.



Using the four quadrants I was able to end up with a fairly uniform pattern. I can't wait to see how this dries. I can already see that not over saturating the wool has allowed more subtle areas of color mingling to emerge. I like that.

2 comments:

  1. Tres interessant et tres jolie! I'm actually trying my hand at making dyes from natural plants - so far I made a batch from Joe Pye Weed and Chamomille. I tried sunflowers, left it too long and it went grizzly moldy (ick). so I tossed it. Next step is to mordant fabric or wool and give it a whirl.I'll let you know if I ever get there before it all goes to mold.
    Pinney

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  2. I have a former co-worker that dyes with plants. She has made some very nice colors using bark and berries. I may have to give it a try someday too.
    I'll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

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