Sunday, August 26, 2012

Experiments with dye

 I finished the background on the rug. Now only the trees to go. I have some greens, and dyed a couple more. But, they weren't in the same dye family, so I decided to marry the wools together.

I put them all in the same pot and simmered. I'll now be able to use them together. Don't know if I'll like all of the wools, but I'll see how it looks as I'm hooking.

 This past week I've been experimenting with more dye. I tried a lighter value of the pumpkin color. I let this one simmer longer before adding the vinegar. It came out a lot less mottled.

 I did the same value of the gold, but added the vinegar when most of the dye had been absorbed. The result is a lot less mottling.

 I tried it with the green, too. The first time I added the vinegar a lot sooner. The top has a lot of spots of blue, yellow, and green. The bottom strip is a lighter value, but vinegar added after most of the dye has been absorbed.



I also did another experiment with no dye. I thought the gold was too bright, and the purple too bold. So, since they are opposites on the color wheel, I put them in the pot to simmer for a while. The gold was toned down, but has a slight purple cast to it. The purple took the yellow, and canceled it, leaving a grey. This new purple strip now looks so vintage and worn! It would be nice for an aged flower in a rug.


I started school this past Wednesday. A few long days for kindergartners to sit, and be in school all day. This week will be a full week, instead of just 3 days. We'll see who is more tired, them or me! High school doesn't start until tomorrow. But, the first football game was Friday. I'll have to keep post season open, in case the band is still needed for half time. Wonder if we can make it to the state championships this year?

I'm off to hook some trees. Have a great week!

~*~ Laura ~*~
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2 comments:

Ann said...

Your dye experiments worked out quite well! One of these days I'll get brave. We started school today - I am the more tired one. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less hectic. ~Ann

August 27, 2012 at 3:29 PM
newburyarts said...

*****ok...some dye hints:
1)prewashed wool does not have to be pre soaked before adding to the dye bath.
2)when filling your pot with water just put in the wool and cook along until the dye is added.
3)take the material out of the dye pot...add the dye, shish around with spoon and holding the wool
in pieces gathered together in your hand like you are going to dip it, submerge the entire lot into the dye bath. useing good gloves, mix with your hand the entire amount of wool for a few minutes to fully incorporate the
dye into your material. this will produce a less mottled effect. stir the material and cook for at least thirty to forty minutes before adding your vinegar. various colors set at different cooking times, so the longer the better. once you put in the vinegar
let it cook for at least another half hour and let cool in the pot.
i put everything back into the machine with a tablespoon of washing liquid. this way you know the true color when done. don't be afraid to ask questions...that is the only way to learn. good luck and the rug looks really nice. congratulations! tom

August 28, 2012 at 5:33 AM

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