| Have you always wanted to dye your wool or alpaca fiber in a rainbow of colors? It’s so frustrating when you have a project in mind and can’t find the right colored wool. Now you can just dye your own! FYI…These directions also work for roving or yarn as long as it’s protein fiber. | |
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Dyeing wool is so much fun and much easier than you think. All you need is some basic know how and you will be able to create just about any combination of fabulous colors you want. I, personally love the combination of anything turquoise, blue and purple and violet. Fortunately, all of those colors go very well together! | |
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Supplies Needed:For this project, you will need Jacquard Acid Dyes -Washed Fiber Locks s.a. Sheep, Alpaca or Mohair | |
Soaking the Fiber:Fill the roasting pan about half way with warm tap water and add about 1 cup of vinegar per 8 ounces of fiber. This is not an exact formula. You can’t really go wrong with too much vinegar. Not enough vinegar, however, can result in the dye not being completely taken up by the fiber. Place the fiber in the mesh fabric and put it in the roasting pan. Gently push the fiber down to saturate. Let this soak for about 45 minutes to an hour. | |
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Adding the Dye:For these locks, I chose Sapphire Blue, Purple, Pink, Lilac, Turquoise and Teal because blues are my favorites 🙂 Carefully, pour small amounts of the liquid dye on your fiber, varying the colors. Use the chopsticks to gently separate the fiber so the dye can penetrate to the bottom. Continue adding dye until all the fiber has color. The hard part is only using just enough dye liquid to get the job done so add color in small amounts. | |
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Setting the Dye:
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| Once the fiber is completely covered with color, turn the stove burner on low for about 15 minutes then turn it to medium. When the water begins to simmer, cover the pot and turn the heat back to medium-low. You want the fiber to stay hot but you don’t want the water to boil which will cause felting. Check the pot every so often to make sure the water is not boiling. Adjust your heat as needed. After about 45 minutes, turn off the heat and let the fiber sit overnight.At this point, the dye water should be clear as the color has been exhausted. Carefully, remove the fiber in its mesh fabric and rinse in luke warm water. Try not to move the actual fiber too much as again, this can cause felting. Once the water runs clear, squeeze out the excess and lay your fiber out to dry. | |
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| That’s all there’s to it! These beautiful dyed lamb locks can be used for spinning, felting, needle felting ….even doll hair! Hope you enjoy it! Annette P.S. If you don’t feel like dyeing your own locks, I have lots available in my Etsy Store :)) | |
which are specifically formulated for protein or animal fiber. Follow the package directions for mixing your dyes. (Always use a dust mask when handling dye powder!)
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See My Other Dyeing Tutorials:
How to Hand Paint Yarn
Snow Dyeing
Natural Dyeing with Black Walnuts
You might also like these books on Dyeing Wool and Fiber
Annette, my computer is showing your photos covering up a good portion of the instructions. I don’t know if the problem is here or there. Great article!
Weird, mine doesn’t do that…hmmm I’ll check it out. Thanks for letting me know June!
I just went directly to fiberartsy.com without linking through your email and it did fine. Computer goblins strike again!
Gremlins! It’s always Gremlins!