Dyeing to Spin
I took a "Hand Dyed Roving for Spinners" class at my LYS this past Saturday. The instructor taught us how to use acid dyes on protein fibers, and provided Lanaset/Sabraset dyes and some blue-faced leicester roving for use as lab materials.
The first method we learned was the dye bath method. While our rovings slowly simmered in a vinegar solution in pots heated via portable burners, the instructor taught us how to create the dye solutions and mix colors from several primaries. We started with lemon yellow, mustard yellow, royal blue, turquoise blue, magenta, scarlet, and black and spent some time individually mixing those solutions into the colors we each wanted to use.
The class was split into groups of three people per pot, and each person contributed one of their colors to the dye bath. In my group, the two women I was grouped with chose different shades of green -- a very dark forest green, and a much lighter green -- almost chartreuse. We waited 10 minutes before adding each subsequent color. We found that the dark green overtook the light green in the pot, and it looked as though there would not be room to add a third color. But we added a greenish blue that I had mixed up, and then for kicks tried adding in a bluish purple as well.
Our dye bath looked pretty murky indeed after that, and we all expected our roving to be a single, muddy green color at the end of the class. But we were pleasantly surprised with the result -- our roving was indeed mostly dark green, but it was a rich complex color and not the muddy color we had expected. There were lighter green highlights (although nowhere near as bright as the chartreuse dye that was added to the mix), and a few teal accents here and there. The purple was nowhere to be seen, but I suspect it added some variation to the dark greens that resulted. Each member of our group got to take home a third of the roving, which ended up being approximately one ounce per person. Here is what my portion looked like after drying and a little pre-drafting:
And here it is after spinning:
And here it is after navajo plying:
I ended up with about 28 yards at 6wpi:
I think the colors turned out so pretty. I can't do much with 28 yards, but I hope to try to dye a larger quantity with similar colors here at home so that I can spin up a usable quantity in this general color scheme.
The second dye method we learned was hand painting. Using our newly-mixed colors, we each spread rovings that had been soaked in a vinegar solution out on some plastic wrap, arranging the wet fiber in a zig-zag pattern. I had mixed up colors that I would describe as follows: dark brown, rust orange, slate blue, eggplant, and raspberry. I painted each color in small sections down the length of the fiber bundle. I had also purchased a small amount (0.7ounces) of bombyx silk top to play with, and I painted that in shades of red, orange, magenta, and black.
When everyone was done with their rovings, we wrapped them up in the plastic wrap and waited while each bundle spent some time in steamer pots outside the classroom. As each bundle was gingerly removed from the pots, its owner spent some time rinsing the fiber and spinning it out in a salad spinner to remove excess water. When everyone was done, we spread the rovings out and discussed our results. In many cases, folks ended up with much different results than they had expected. I was definitely in that category. Where I had expected muted colors of brown, dark purple, orange, and greyish-blue, I ended up with mostly greens, light puples, and some bronzes. The instructor thought perhaps I had not added enough vinegar to my solution, and that the brown that I had mixed had separated out into its component colors during steaming. So, I didn't get what I expected, but the results are growing on me:
I can't wait to spin it up to see how it turns out. I'm thinking of shooting for a worsted-weight loosely twisted two-ply. I have three ounces of this -- possibly enough for a small project for a baby, or definitely enough for a hat or mittens.
My bombyx top, on the other hand, turned out exactly as I had expected, and I am quite pleased with the result:
Now that I understand the process, I'm looking forward to dyeing my own custom rovings here at home. I love to be surprised with color, and I really want to experiment more in order to learn how to end up with the colors I'm expecting. I used my ten percent class discount to pick up the Sabraset dyes we used in the class. I need to hit some thrift stores to try to find a cheap and suitable dye pot/steamer and some of the other supplies that I need. It may be a while before I get the time, but my mind is already swimming with ideas and possibilities.