Anyway, I got some white 100% wool yarn because I want to practice dying yarn! I'm only using food colouring for now, since I can get it locally, it makes bright colours, and I can still use the dishes I dye in afterwards. I've only dyed yarn I've spun so far, but spinning takes quite a while, and I'd like to be able to practise on yarn I didn't put tons of effort into.
Here's the skein of yarn I spun + dyed most recently:
100% "organic fibre" from Louet (I'm not sure what "organic fibre" means). Hand spun with a drop spindle. Single ply. Hand dyed with food colouring. Approx 200m, 145g, DK weight. There's a bit of slub in this, but not as much as previous yarn I've spun!
Oh my gosh, isn't Len's Mill a dangerous place though?! Yarn snob or not! *lol*
ReplyDeleteRJcanuck from swap-bot, via the I'm a Blogger swap!
Wow... you spun that!! I was recently given an entire fleece from a friends sheep [Flumpy!] and just started hand spinning. Do you have any tips for dying? I didn't realise you could use food colouring.. I have some of that in my cupboard! Any tips to spin slightly more evenly - I'm using a bottom drop whorl [hope that's right lol] and it's mostly even... considering it's my first time but still getting some really thin bits.
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
Owlette from http://delicate-eccentric.blogspot.com/
Ahh I'm so jealous you got a fleece! Dying with food colouring is a great way to start because you can use the pots you already have, and still cook food in the afterwards! I've been baking them in the oven at some arbitrarily hot temperature for however long it takes the dye to set. Ideally you want it as hot as possible without boiling. Check out the book I mentioned in this post, it would be really useful to help you start out!
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, for spinning, just keep practising! I've gotten a lot better even though I'm still a beginner. I'm using a top drop whorl (lol, I have no idea either :P) which is goodtimes.
Oh, and are you carding the fleece before spinning? That helps!
ReplyDeleteIf I had known I could have sent you a whole fleece - I was offered 3 but knew I wouldn't get them used so... they got BURNT!! I still have about half a fleece here if you want me to send some?? I don't have anything to card with and I couldn't afford it and the whorl so I have just been picking the locks REALLY finely and it's not coming out too badly!!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Such a waste! *cries*
ReplyDeleteThat would be absolutely AMAZING, I would love it! Is there anything you're looking for, we should set up a private swap!
And I can't afford carders either, but you can actually use two dog brushes and it works reasonably well!
I love the colors and the single ply goodness that is this yarn.
ReplyDeleteYea I was gonna use 2 dog brushed [I used to work in a pet shop] but I haven't been down to our other store since I got the fleece but I found picking the locks really really well seems to keep it pretty snag free :] I think it'll just take time getting used to spinning it!! Send me your address on swap-bot and I'll send you as much as I can!!! You're better at spinning than I am and I wouldn't want it to go to waste - is it okay unwashed, I only washed a bit so far... can I post it unwashed or will customs throw a fit? I only have one baggy for washing the stuff so I can't wash a lot at a time.
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