A walk in my socks
Welcome to my fiber adventure.
I decided to make my first attempt at dying, spinning and knitting a pair of socks. Next time out I'll start with raw fleece and maybe by then I'll have my own fiber animals so I can do the whole process beginning to end.
This time, however, I started with Brown Sheep superwash Merino top. It's a modest investment at just $1/oz and a 4oz bag.
I wasn't crazy about the gold color (just not my style) so I decided to over-dye it during a Hot Topic "Play Day." The nicest thing about Play Days for the would-be dyer is the opportunity to traipse through Bex's personal collection of Country Classic Dyes. Instead of buying nine individual dyes for the nine colors I used on that Play Day, I just paid for the Play Day (the usual $15) and used nine colors for about what two hole jars would have cost me. A jar of Country Classics dye is $6.15 and can dye approximately two pounds of animal fiber depending on the desired intensity of color. It is not appropriate for vegetable fibers, but Bex has dyes for them too.
Yes, I know that Hillcreek is known for its natural fiber dyes. However, there is a certain appeal for the artisan who wants to jump right in without knowing much about dyes and still get beautiful results without a lot of chemicals, mess, or equipment. Bex taught me how to dye hand painted dye in the microwave with just some plastic wrap and a disposable cup and spoon, using these Country Classics dyes.
WARNING: Handpainting yarn is highly addictive!!! Don't say I didn't warn you!
I decided to try dying the roving before spinning it. It might be fun to see the effect. It IS different than dying the finished yarn. It's also fun to watch how the individual colored fibers are pulled into the twist.
As you can see, I'm almost done spinning up my roving. I'm planing to Navajo three-ply this strand in order to preserve the color variations for more of a stripy effect than a heathery effect.
I'll let y'all see my socks in progress again as I start the knitting. Remember I have that magic loop toe-up sock class coming up on May 5. I'll be using the socks for the demo in that class.
I decided to make my first attempt at dying, spinning and knitting a pair of socks. Next time out I'll start with raw fleece and maybe by then I'll have my own fiber animals so I can do the whole process beginning to end.
This time, however, I started with Brown Sheep superwash Merino top. It's a modest investment at just $1/oz and a 4oz bag.
I wasn't crazy about the gold color (just not my style) so I decided to over-dye it during a Hot Topic "Play Day." The nicest thing about Play Days for the would-be dyer is the opportunity to traipse through Bex's personal collection of Country Classic Dyes. Instead of buying nine individual dyes for the nine colors I used on that Play Day, I just paid for the Play Day (the usual $15) and used nine colors for about what two hole jars would have cost me. A jar of Country Classics dye is $6.15 and can dye approximately two pounds of animal fiber depending on the desired intensity of color. It is not appropriate for vegetable fibers, but Bex has dyes for them too.
Yes, I know that Hillcreek is known for its natural fiber dyes. However, there is a certain appeal for the artisan who wants to jump right in without knowing much about dyes and still get beautiful results without a lot of chemicals, mess, or equipment. Bex taught me how to dye hand painted dye in the microwave with just some plastic wrap and a disposable cup and spoon, using these Country Classics dyes.
WARNING: Handpainting yarn is highly addictive!!! Don't say I didn't warn you!
I decided to try dying the roving before spinning it. It might be fun to see the effect. It IS different than dying the finished yarn. It's also fun to watch how the individual colored fibers are pulled into the twist.
As you can see, I'm almost done spinning up my roving. I'm planing to Navajo three-ply this strand in order to preserve the color variations for more of a stripy effect than a heathery effect.
I'll let y'all see my socks in progress again as I start the knitting. Remember I have that magic loop toe-up sock class coming up on May 5. I'll be using the socks for the demo in that class.
posted by Kirsten at 4:45 PM
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