Tutorial – How I Hand Paint Yarn: Part 1

I thought I would take you through the process of how I hand paint my yarn. There are lots of different ways to dye yarn, this just happens to be what I do. I’m still new to this so I’m constantly experimenting and trying out new things. I use a method of direct application of the dye on to the yarn and then set the colours by steaming in a couple of old steamers that I have.

Let’s start with the tools and basic supplies that you might need. I use all in one acid dyes from Omega Dyes. These are dyes with citric acid already added (hence acid dyes). Acid dyes need an acidic environment for the dyes to adhere to the yarn. Some people use white vinegar (if they are using dyes which do not have citric acid already added) but it’s very strong smelling and in a small flat like ours it’s easier just to use something that has no odour and therefore is unlikely to stink up the whole place!

All the equipment that I use to dye including the steamers, cups, measuring jugs, storage bottles etc are used exclusively for dyeing and nothing else. This is an important safety precaution as its really not advisable to use your dyeing equipment for food preparation (acid dyes are not considered highly toxic but its still not advised to ingest them – they can cause damage to lungs when in powdered form so its best to work in a well ventilated space).

In the above photo you can see the various measuring cups, spoons and containers / bottles that I use. I tend to save drinking bottles with the flip top lids as these make applying dye to the yarn easy. I also have plastic screw top jars purchased from a shop on my local high street which I use to store dye if I have any left over after a dyeing session. I measure out dyes in my bath (its an old enamel one). If I have a spillage I can quickly and safely clean it up using the shower head. It also minimises getting dye powder all over the place as the bath is a fairly enclosed space and finally it keeps things out of the way of the children. I make up dye stock when the youngest is asleep and so out of the way: 1 teaspoon of dye powder (approx 5g) + 1 cup of warm water. The water should have preferably been boiled and allowed to cool a little. The hot water helps the dye powder to dissolve. Some dyes seem to need hotter water than others. I find the violet powder needs more heat. I would add 1 tablespoon of citric acid if none is already present.

First I soak the yarns. I fill a large bucket with water and then add in the yarns. I’m careful to handle the yarns very gently as yarn + warm water + friction = felt! I have about 10 skeins in the bucket in the picture below (its a very flexible rubber material, purchased for about £4.00 from a well known supermarket just down the road from where I live). I add a couple of capfuls of synthrapol, a wetting agent, to the water before I add the yarn. Synthrapol is a mild detergent and helps remove any grease that might be on the yarn (left over from processing) and also helps the yarn to take up water.  Some people add it, some don’t and some add a mild detergent such as washing up liquid. It’s entirely up to you.

I gently push the yarns under the water and wait for most of the bubbles to stop rising to the surface. This helps to push the air out of the yarn. I then leave the yarn to soak for at least 1 hour. I have in the past left the yarn overnight -   soaking does not seem to harm the yarn as long as you don’t agitate things too much.

I am currently experimenting whether to add more citric acid at this point.The last batch of yarn I dyed, I did not add extra citric acid. The dyes did not exhaust completely and I had to rinse for quite some time to clean the yarns (I explain in more detail further along). I’m currently in the process of dyeing another batch and I have added a tablespoon of citric acid for each skein to the soak water. I’ll report on any differences once the dyeing is done.

And now I think this post is long enough, in the next post I will talk about the actual dyeing process and how I steam the yarn to set the dyes.