Colorful Cotton: Dye Your Own Yarn
I love the look of hand-dyed yarns—with their speckles, swirls and innovative color play, but I’ve always been too intimidated by the process to try it myself. Not anymore! I changed my mind about hand-dyeing recently when I had the opportunity to experiment with Cushing’s Direct Dyes. These dyes are formulated specifically for dyeing cotton and other plant-fiber yarns. They’re heatset in a pot on the stove, which turned out to be much easier than I expected.
After a bit of trial and error, I got the hang of combining colors and using different application methods, and my results really improved. In fact, I now have a new craft obsession. If you’d like to try dyeing your own cotton yarn, here’s what you’ll need: • Cotton or other plant-fiber yarn (I used
Patons Grace lightweight mercerized cotton) • Cushing’s Direct Dyes*
• Salt
• White vinegar
• Stainless steel, glass or ceramic vessel suitable for stovetop use
• Plastic basins or buckets
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Squirt bottles or jars
• Wooden spoon, skewers, eyedropper, syringe, plastic spoons and forks
• Old bath towels and paper towels *Cushing’s dyes are available at www.wcushing.com.
Note: All vessels and utensils should be used only for dyeing. Refer to manufacturer’s directions for guidance on amounts of dye, water, salt and vinegar to use for each step. Cover all work surfaces with a vinyl tablecloth or plastic sheeting.
1. Wind yarn into a hank. A yarn swift is ideal for this step, but you can also use the back of a chair or enlist the helping hands of a family member. Tie a strand of yarn in a figure eight at four evenly spaced points around the hank. Don’t tie the figure eights too tightly or the dye may not reach the yarn beneath them. ( Tip: Use a contrasting color yarn for the figure eights so you can find them easily after the dyeing process is complete.)
2. Presoak the yarn in warm water. Make sure the yarn is saturated thoroughly so it’s receptive to the dye.
3. While the yarn is soaking, prepare your dyes. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, mix the desired amount of powdered dye into boiling water. The higher the dye concentration, the deeper the shade will be. When the dye cools, transfer it to plastic squirt bottles or jars. ( Tip: Label each bottle with the amount of water and dyed used.) 4. Begin the dye bath by heating water and salt in your selected vessel on top of the stove. When the water reaches a simmer, remove