So I broke the 1lb of fiber down into 4 - 4 oz sections in order to make it easier to work with.
From there I used my usual dying technique of spreading out the fiber,
and painting with a turkey baister.
This has worked with yarn many times before so it should work with fiber now, right? My goal was bright, olive greens against rich deep chocolate browns. Because I wanted a lot of depth of shade I mixed the colors using primaries and secondaries. Even the brown – I have a dye called chestnut but instead I opted to mix green and red. This has worked out very well on yarn so I figured with fiber it would be the same theory.
I also wanted some white to show through so I left bits of white and dotted the other colors on top.
Then I put the whole mess in my ghetto steamer (foil over a pot), steamed it, and hung it outside to dye overnight. So far so good.
But this morning when I checked out the nearly dry fiber the result was… unexpected:
Instead of olive and brown I have acid green and burgundy.
I think what happened is that for some reason my colors split. So instead of staying the nice mixed brown the bright green and deep red each pulled out in their own direction. So part of the fiber was dyed with one color and part the other. This doesn’t happen so much with yarn. But in fiber?
Yeah. Not the look I was going for.
I’m a bit down about the whole thing. I’m not really happy with these colors but I don’t have any more fiber to dye. And to even have a prayer of a chance of finishing this in time I need to get my spin on tonight. What do you guys think? Should I just give up? Are these colors terrible?
I dunno. Perhaps not but again not what I was going for. My plan right now is to spin up some of it and see what it looks like and then decide from there. Ugh.
Ok it was not what you planned but I think it still looks cool. I'd suggest to go ahead and spin it up. I'm amazed at what roving turns into after spinning.
ReplyDeleteI looked through the projects for this shrug and I really liked the handspun/cascade 220 combo you linked.
Happy Spinning. Looking forward to seeing the yarn.
What about dyeing it again, with a solid color? A solid color could pull the disparate greens and browns closer together, yet they would still be distinct. If you used a dark green or olive, you might get a rich, foresty green with sections of brown. Another option is a chestnut brown, a third option would be something a little brighter, such as a yellow ochre.
ReplyDeleteWhether to overdye before or after spinning, I don't know. Maybe spin it, see how you like it, then decide.
Good luck!
I say start spinning it and see what it looks like. Maybe it will turn out to be something you love! And Bonnie had a great suggestion too - if you don't love it spun up, you can then over-dye it. Who knows, sometimes a "mistake" turns out to be the best thing!
ReplyDeletehappy accidents. how many of your projects really turn out the way you expect them to in your head. Most of mine don't. I agree, spin it, and then if you don't like it add some more dye.
ReplyDeleteI agree could be a happy accident. Spin and see.
ReplyDeleteyea, spin it and see what happens. if after that you don't it would make a good shrug, then reconsider your plan of action. you dye, you spin, you learn.
ReplyDeleteI kinda like those colors. Maybe they'll grow on you.
ReplyDeleteOverdye with blue or teal. It will get rid of the acid green color. Or you could also try some random kettle dyeing with 4 oz at a time. The colors don't split as much (for me) with a hot pour dyeing method.
ReplyDeleteWhile it may not be what you were going for I think it looks pretty good. Try spinning it up and see what happens, it always looks so different to me when it is spun. Or the suggestion the overdye the whole thing is a good one too. I took a dye class by Judith McCuin and she talked about overdying as a way to pull "the whole thing together."
ReplyDeleteI actually really like it! Can't wait to see what you decided...
ReplyDeleteSorry it didn't come out the way you wanted! But I agree with the others, it still looks funky cool! Spin it up and see how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteSpin it up ... I think it might look a lot cooler than you think it does right now. : )
ReplyDelete