My Wollmeise Antidote

So I tried it again...dyeing some sock yarn to closely resemble "Poison No. 5" from the Wollmeise.

I layered the colors in a different order and even used some different colors but as I was hand painting, I was disappointed that it seemed like I'd come up with nearly the same colors. So I decided to add a bit more here and there to make it closer to colors that I'd really enjoy...since I wasn't matching what I was attempting.

I thought that was the end of it. I'd be done trying this colorway...a bit disappointed, but done. The bright side = I'd have some nice colored yarn to make so socks with :)

Well, as I was squeezing out the water, the colors were perking up a bit. It's funny that in fluorescent l lighting, it has a neon glow too. It's drying right now and I'm hopeful that it will actually be closer to what I wanted than I thought...fingers crossed

Will post pics when done.
Dyeing details:
Magenta (on 35g)= 1/2 packet Strawberry KA, 1/4 packet Berry Blue KA, one dye bath of 21 drops neon pink gel color & 7 drops neon purple gel color, second dyebath of 10 drops neon pink & 10 drops neon purple.

Purple (on 35g)= 1/2 packet Strawberry KA, 1 packet Berry Blue KA, one dye bath of 15 drops neon pink gel
color & 15 drops neon purple gel color.

Purple/Black (on 35g)= 3 packets Blackberry KA, 1 packet Switchin' Secret KA, 1.75 packets Berry Blue KA.

I did the magenta & purple sections first (exhausting the dye baths at room temp since it's superwash yarn). However, the purple/black section had to be left to exhaust overnight. The next morning I cooked it all on "high" in the crockpot (with exhausted dye bath/acidic water) for 2 hours. Then rinsed & dried.

Update: 11/28/08
Well, it's all dry. The colors were very similar to the first attempt (here's a link to that blog post)...but I liked the second one better...not enough blue in the first one. So I overdyed the first one in a bath of 2 packets Invisible Kool-Aid, 15 drops blue gel color, & 5 drops neon purple gel color.

Here's the overdyed first attempt...


Here's a pic that best shows all three colors in the second attempt.


Here they are side by side.


I think this colorway is out of my system. I'm very pleased with my results. Now I just need to figure out which I like better for my socks & what to do with the other...decisions, decisions :)

Pick Your Poison No. 5

A few months back I ran across this yarn...Wollmeise Poison No. 5 and I thought it was the most beautiful yarn I'd ever seen! Here's a link to my favorite pic of the dark intensity.

But seeing as how the yarn sells out almost immediately and the second-hand selling price is $40-$45...I didn't think I'd ever be able to own it myself. Don't get me wrong...I did contemplate stalking the websites that sell it or buying it second hand but then I read something from someone who did that. She had stalked and got lucky enough to score a few colors but was now trying to resell them. She had come to the realization that although the colors are stunning, the yarn itself was not her favorite. And especially after reading her comment about the yarn not being super soft...I came to my senses about buying some. Because texture is VERY important to me...so began my quest to try to dye my own.

There are three color intensities of Poison No. 5 (light, medium, & dark). While they are all beautiful, I really wanted something close to the dark intensity. I think I ended up with something close to the medium intensity. And while my end colors my not have the "dark neon" quality of the Wollmeise, I am still extremely happy with what I got :D This is how I got there.

First I had to gather supplies & do some test runs. I've wanted to dye black with Kool-Aid from the very beginning and after acquiring a couple of discontinued flavors & a couple of experiments...I think I have it!

Here's a pic of my "Black" experiment from an earlier post.


Here are my "Poison" test dyes on Paton's Classic Merino.
Test #1


Test #2


Now, I was pretty confident that I had a good plan for getting the colors I wanted. So yesterday, I finally skeined off some BFL Ultra (superwash sock yarn) from Wool2Dye4. I was shooting for a 150g skein but when I got to 109g, I was a little dissappointed to find a knot in my cone of yarn :( But I figured it should be enough for what I needed. I usually don't use superwash yarn, but the great thing about it is that it is incredibly easy to hand paint because you can get all the color into the yarn while it's still cool.

Here are my ingredients, proportions & some pics.

1st Stop: Neon Pastels
Food coloring gel was melted & mixed in ~2 oz of water, then diluted to ~12 oz of cool water before dipping yarn in.

Pink (on 25g):
17 drops of Neon Pink Betty Crocker food color gel
4 drops of Neon Purple Betty Crocker food color gel
1 packet Invisible Kool-Aid

Purple (on 50g):
20 drops of Neon Pink Betty Crocker food color gel
20 drops of Neon Purple Betty Crocker food color gel
1 packet Invisible Kool-Aid
plus leftover blue from dyeing the Black portion

Black (on 25g):
2 packets Blackberry Ghoul Aid
1 packet Switchin' Secret
1 packet Berry Blue
4 drops of Neon Pink Betty Crocker food color gel
4 drops of Neon Purple Betty Crocker food color gel

After soaking in plain warm water for ~1hr, I rolled the skein in a towel & pressed as much water out as I could. The skein was divided in quarters (marked with acrylic yarn) with one section to be pink, 2 sections to be purple, and 1 section black.

I dyed the black section first using only the Kool Aid portions. The color took a lot longer to soak up with this yarn than with the superwash Knit Picks Bare that I've used before & I took it out of the water when it was still a bit blue...saving the blue.

The pink & purple dyebaths were not mixed with any acid. Instead I mixed a minimal amount of water (3 oz per 25g) & 2 packets of Invisible Kool Aid together & applied it only to the 75g of yarn that was designated as non-black. Next I dipped the pink section in the dyebath. Then did the same with the 2 purple sections (both at the same time). Next I dipped all except the pink into the leftover blue from the black dyebath. Finally, I overdyed the black section in the light neon mix I'd saved for just a hint of purple.

Here's the result...

Pretty...but just not what I was going for.

2nd Stop: Berry Tones
Ovedyed the above yarn with the following proportions. Packets were mixed in 8oz of water & added in 1 oz increments.

Pink (on 25g):
1/4 packet Black Cherry
3/8 packet Blackberry Ghoul Aid

Purple (on 50g):
5/8 packet Blackberry Ghoul Aid

Black: No change

Here's a pic...

Not there yet....

Final Stop: "Venom"
Next I overdyed with the following proportions.

Pink (on 25g): 1/4 packet Black Cherry

Purple (on 50g): 1 packet Blackberry Ghoul Aid

Black: No change

Here's a pic...


All these pictures were taken when the yarn was wet so I expect things to lighten up a bit when it is all dry. I will add a dry pic sometime tomorrow.

11/17/08:
Pics of the skein dry...

Solar Yarn Dyeing with Kool Aid

Well, I did it!
I've been wanting to use my sun room to dye yarn for a while now, but wasn't sure it was going to get hot enough to set the colors. After a few info-seeking posts on a couple web forums I finally jumped in and did it.

We started at noon when the sun room was about 83F.
Started with this...
100g undyed, aran wt BFL, pre-soaked in warm water.

The colors: Cherry, Mandarinas, & Lemonade
All Kool-Aid flavors.

The ratios:
1 packet per 1/6 of skein for Cherry & Mandarinas.
2 packets per 1/6 skein for Lemonade with...

just a DASH of Mandarinas.

Add water.


Add yarn

Watch thermometer (it's on some diapers that were "sunning" too)...I have since learned that wool needs to get to 180F in order for the color to set (170F for silk).
It only got up to 60F outside.

Exhausted yellow & red dye baths (after 7hrs)

Let it sit in some vinegar water for a bit then gave it one 2-minute zap in the microwave for good measure (I was nervous about the orange even tho it was BARELY bleeding in the rinse).

Done :) Destined to become a pair of shorties for Owen.


Things I'd do different next time:
1) Stir the dye baths sooner than 5hrs into the process (temp was already going down).
2) Cover table with black cloth & move into direct, unshaded sun (top of sun room is tinted).
3) Try to be more patient...boy that's really hard!
4) Add vinegar to the orange (see below) & red (just in case)

I also threw in some test strands of Paton's Classic Merino already dyed in the "Camel" colorway. I've got 6 skeins & big plans :)
I DID pre-mordant this with vinegar (did not with the bare yarn).


UPDATE:
As I rinsed, the orange was faintly bleeding into the water. I thought I just needed to rinse more...but it didn't stop. I zapped it in the microwave & let it sit overnight in vinegar water...no change. Accidently rinsed with warmer water & MORE orange came out (follicle opening?).
After getting some advice/reminder about acid + heat = set color, I piled it into a pyrex dish with orange on the bottom. Covered only the orange with vinegar water (wet the other sections just a tad) & zapped it a few more times. I think/hope/pray that it's FINALLY set.
Pic after all that with no orange in the water..YAY!!


Ok...now I'm mad...at myself!
I blame my inexperience.
While I was rinsing after the above pic was taken, I saw that some red & orange had contaminated my yellow!! SO UPSET!!!
So now I'm overdyeing the yellow with two more packets in the microwave.

Pic of orange-infiltration of yellow. It is not complete. About 1/2 of each segment is still plain yellow. I guess I'll have to be ok with it.

EERRRAHHHHRRRGG!!
I'm sure the sun-dyeing had nothing to do with all my troubles. I'll just have to try it again to prove it.

"Firestorm" dried & reskeined

I've been on a "Wool Bender"

Otherwise known as a "wool shopping spree."
I need help...but I don't really want it :)

This is what I bought at Hobby Lobby on Friday.

2 skeins of Bernat Felting in happy Bouquet.

This is what I bought at Michael's Saturday afternoon.

6 skeins of Patons Classic Merino & 1 skein of Lion Wool for felting.

And take a look at what I found in the mail on Sunday (delivered Saturday).

200g of Blue faced Leicester Aran wt in Natural/undyed & Country Patchwork...YAY!

Yipee!!

I just won some Blue Faced Leicester yarn on ebay!!!
I got 200g for ~$27 shipping included. That's the best price I've seen!

It's coming from the UK...I can't wait :) :) :) :) :) :) :)