Yarns to dye for, or skein dyeing two ways

     Teaching a dye workshop is one of my favorite creative outlets, so having a group of enthusiastic participants willing to get their hands dirty last Saturday was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  We tried two different ways of dyeing skeins of yarn -- both of them easily accomplished at home in the  kitchen.  Everybody went home with two beautiful hand-dyed wool yarns.  Everybody's hands looked a bit like they had been "making money", but the dye stains will wash off in a couple of days and the yarns will become beautiful knits.

     We used Lanacet dyes, which are commercial acid dyes.  This stuff is very concentrated, and only a little is needed.  We used foam brushes of various sizes to apply the dye to different areas of the yarn, creating patterns and long or short runs of color. Once completed, the colored skein is wrapped, placed in a ziplock bag, and the bag is processed in a microwave oven.

     The second technique we discussed, while more time consuming, is easy and by far the best way to produce solid-colored yarns.  This method uses a crockpot -- one that won't be used for food preparation anymore -- to gently immersion-dye the yarn..  With  very little work you can get really good results.
     A few things to remember:  Use only pots, utensils and tools that will not be used for food preparation, since dye is toxic if ingested.  I splurged and bought myself a new crockpot to use for preparing food, and marked the old one "Dye Only. Concentrated dye solution must NOT be poured into a drain or sewer since it will end up contaminating everything it touches.  Acid dye solution is stable and can be saved for another project.  As always, fibers such as wool, alpaca and other delicates should always be handled gently and never "shocked" by moving them from hot to cold (or vice versa) water.
     Rose Tree Fibers sells Lanacet (and other types of dyes and dye ingredients) in bulk by the ounce.  This is much more economical than purchasing whole containers of dye powder and eliminates the problem of disposing of toxic material if you find yourself with a color you don't like.  One ounce of Lanacet dye is about three tablespoons, which will color a LOT of yarn or roving.