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The Adventures of Knitterman -- Independent Art Yarn Dyer

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Category Archives: Dyes

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I’m So Excited!

Knitivity Posted on 29 March 2023 by Knitterman29 March 2023

I’ve had to interrupt the day’s work (reskeining yarns) to share this here. A couple days ago I showed the most recent collection of Blog Reader Specials, and I talked about a mistake that turned into a surprise. In particular … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blog Reader Specials, Dyes, Working

Perfecting the Technique

Knitivity Posted on 15 September 2022 by Knitterman15 September 2022

One of my biggest hurdles to cross in this game called dyeing is trying to dye a solid color, and I think I may have done it.

Usually, the attempt to dye solids has created rather splotchy results so I have generally avoided trying to do them.  Well, this plus the fact that if people really wanted a solid color they could find it among the plethora of commercial mills.  Even so, sometimes a client will want a variegated yarn with a matching or coordinated solid, so it’s good to know how to do it.

My early attempts were to simply prepare the dye and then apply it to the yarn, in a single solution and single application. I have rarely been satisfied with the results when I did it like that.  What I’ve done this time was to create my dye solution same as always, but apply it in layers, only a light saturation each time.  Each of the yarns below was given 5 or 6 layered applications.

And each application using this technique requires that I lift the hanks up above the workspace to prepare for the next application, usually raising the yarn above shoulder-height.  So it is very wet and fairly labor intensive, compared to some of my other techniques.  If this is all I did for all my dyeing, I would soon have shoulders and upper arms like a linebacker!  As it is, I’m usually fairly wiped out the day after a dye session because of the labor involved, and it takes a day or more to recover.

But that’s not a complaint.   In fact, applying color to yarn is the best part of what I do.  It’s my favorite part.  Unfortunately, actually putting color to yarn is barely 5-10% of what I do.  The rest of the time I am pulling hanks from cones, and preparing the yarns for dye, and washing/rinsing the yarns after dyeing, then reskeining, labeling, and packing the yarns.  They say, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”   That’s just hogwash!  In order to do the parts you love, you have to spend a lot of other time doing the actual work behind it.

So, anyway, here are four 3-skein sets of Mardi Gras colors, done as a custom job for someone.  Normally Phydlbitz Sock is $27.50, but a 3-skein set of Mardi Gras colors can be had for just $75.00.   All you need to do is ask — send me an email (ray@knitivity.com) and let me know how many 3-skein sets you’d like.

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Posted in Dyes

Melted Crayons – A Fuller Look

Knitivity Posted on 21 December 2020 by Knitterman21 December 2020

Early last month, shortly before my last surgery, I dyed up a collection of Superwash Merino worsted wt. yarns.   One Twinset in particular, tickled me all along the way, as it reminded me of melted crayons as I sealed up the pouch, and the person who ended up buying that Twinset was kind enough to send me a couple pictures of these skeins being knitted up.  It is rare that I get to see the finished results of my work, so I am happy to share it with you. Thank you, Annie!  🙂

Here is what tickled me at the start, the Twinsets as it was sealed in its pouch before it went into the steamer:

And here it is after coming out of the steamer, the pouch burst, and the Twinset initially rinsed before going to the wash-rinse-spin cycle:

After the wash-rinse-spin, it was put up on the rack to dry, along with the rest of that week’s collection; here I have isolated the Melted Crayon Twinset for better viewing:

And then, of course, it had to be reskeined and labeled:

And now, I can show two pictures of how it is knitting up (pictures used with permission) by Annie.

I LOVE how there are just small blips of color, not a lot of pooling or striping.  Can you imagine a pair of socks, sweaters, scarves, or even a whole baby blanket done up like this?  No need for intricate stitching, you can let the yarn do the work to come up with a unique project!

This is a technique I will definitely be using in the coming year.   My first task, of course, is to try this on Phydlbitz Sock, and hope it works as well as it did on the worsted weight here.

 

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Way-Back Wednesday

Knitivity Posted on 29 May 2019 by Knitterman29 May 2019

Feeling a little nostalgic this morning, looking back at where I started dyeing, back in New Orleans in the spring of 2006, still reeling from Katrina and wondering if I had what it takes to be a full-time yarn dyer.  Heck, I’m still not sure I can pull it off, but I jumped in feet first and I’m still here.  The industry has changed, and I have tried to change with it.

I won’t comment much on these images, but they are taken from my personal website, so they were before knitivity.com was started.   I can tell from most of the pictures they were taken at the house I lived in on Constantinople St. in New Orleans.   I was still experimenting with Kool-Aid dyeing, along with other types of dyes.

These first images were yarns I dyed with onion skins and black walnut husks, in a stitch pattern I called “Peppercorns” because of how the little dark blips stood out.

And here are some random examples of the early dyes….

 

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End Result of the Video Dyes!

Knitivity Posted on 5 November 2018 by Knitterman5 November 2018

Hey, y’member the dyeing video I made a few days ago?   You can scroll down a few posts and watch it here OR you can click through and watch it on YouTube (be sure to click Like and Subscribe while … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blog Reader Specials, Dyes

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