Wools to Dye For!

If you are a Spinner and have never dyed any fiber, believe me when I say YOU ARE MISSIN’ OUT! In this post I’m going to show you just how easy this process is…and how safe it can be too!
I recently purchased some fleece from one of the yarn shops here in town, called ‘Yarnhouse’. This fleece was actually a special 2 for 1 deal where all the proceeds went to benefit Ovarian Cancer Research! So I purchased 3 different types as you can see below: Tunis Mule, Cheviot, Scotch Mule (4 ounce bags).

Now I have dyed fibers before, but had never washed or carded it…first time for everything, right?! So I consulted my dear friend Linda who works at the yarn shop closest to my house, ‘The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations’. So now I am going to walk you through the steps I took.

First I chose to use the Tunis which as a beautiful texture and a gorgeous crimp in it.

Using my kitchen sink, I began to run the hot water. It must be hot, as in at least 120 degrees, so to dissolve the lanolin (natural oils commonly found in sheep’s wool). In the water, drop a few drops of Dawn or Palmolive dish washing liquid in the water to help cut the lanolin….NOT TOO MUCH because you don’t want the fibers to be soapy. Next, I put the fibers in a mesh bag and submerged them in the hot water after the water has been turned off. You will be tempted, but AVOID agitating, poking or prodding it too much or the wool will felt. Let it sit for at least 1 hour before removing and repeating once more. Once that is done, you are ready to dye it.

Dyeing fiber can be done a number of different ways, in the microwave, on the stove, or in a crock-pot. I prefer using my crock-pot which is reserved only for dyeing. There are many different types of dyes out there also, so please make sure you follow the instructions carefully when executing. I wanted to try something I had read about but hadn’t tried yet, which was dyeing fibers with KOOL-AID! I filled my removable pot from the crock pot and filled it with water as much as could fit without overflowing when the fiber was added. I poured in 4 packets of Kool-Aid, 3 Kiwi-Watermelon packs and 1 pack of Cherry (I was going for more pink color, but I think the Cherry messed me up :-) I stirred the water to get the Kool-Aid to dissolve and then added about 2 ounces of fiber from the mesh bag. (I could dye up to about 4 ounces comfortably in my 4 quart crock pot, but since I was experimenting, only used 2 ounces.)

Then I turned the crock-pot up as high as it could go and let it ‘cook’. I checked it after about an hour to see if all the dye had taken into the wool. You can see to the left and below I used a white measuring cup to see how much dye was still in the water.

Once the water was pretty clear, I turned off the crock-pot and let it cool. Next, I took the removable pot and went to the sink to pour out the excess water. And I was left with some beautiful bright red wool! The final step is to put the dyed fibers in separate mesh bag and let them dry. Since I have a garage, I put it in there since it stays pretty warm in there due to the hot weather we’ve been having. You can let it dry anywhere but in the sun, because you don’t want to burn it.


That’s it…you’re done! Now you try, and tell me about how it goes!