A Giveaway

I have decided to host another giveaway. No special occasion. Just 'cause...well partly inspired by my forays into hand dyeing yarn.
I am giving away a kit I put together, supplies you need to hand dye one skein of yarn. You get yellow dye, citric acid, a skein of undyed 100% peruvian highland wool (bulky, 137 yards), and a printout of my dying instructions.
Plus, as in all my giveaways, you get some chocolate! A bag of Nantucket chocolate covered cranberries to be exact!
This kit is perfect if you want to try dyeing yarn, but aren't sure about making the investment.

(Not the best quality picture, but a photographer I am not!)
(You will need a teaspoon, a big enamel or cast iron pot, and a thermometer.)
As always, you can enter up to three times. One, just leave a comment. Two, become a follower and leave a comment saying you've done so. And three, share this post (your Blog, Twitter, Facebook, a forum, etc) and leave another comment telling me!
I'll leave this contest open until Saturday the 19th, around noonish.
Good luck!

Hand Dying Yarn 101

A great and creative activity!

You can e-mail me for a pdf at natalie@nantucketknitter.com
You will need:
- a teaspoon
- a big enamel or cast iron pot
- a thermometer
- white, cream or light coloured wool yarn
- dye
- citric acid

STEP ONE: Wash yarn. Follow washing instructions on yarn.
STEP TWO: Fill large enamel or stainless steel pot with warm water, you want it about 100 degrees. Tap water should be sufficient. Add yarn and soak for fifteen minutes.

STEP THREE: Dissolve between 1/4 - 1/2 tsp (depending on how intense you want the color) dye in a small paper cup with warm water, and add dissolved dye to yarn bath. Stir to incorporate, and soak for ten minutes.

STEP FOUR: Slowly raise temperature to 175 degrees F, and soak at consistent 175 for ten minutes.
STEP FIVE: Add one teaspoon of citric acid and stir to dissolve. Slowly raise temperature and stir until water is cleared. If water is not cleared in a few minutes add another teaspoon of citric acid. If the water is almost clear, by the time the water is cool, it should be clear.

STEP FIVE: Once water is clear, remove pot from heat immediately. Let cool, then rinse with cold water and let the yarn dry.
CONGRATS! You have now dyed yarn!

A great yarn dying kit to start with

(This last picture was dyed one solid color following these instructions, and then it was repeated again on half of the yarn sing a darker color. It produces a long striping pattern.)
Photos © Natalie Gonzalez

Something New - Dying Yarn

I accidently linked to this post for this week's favorite thing Friday. This one was last week's! click here for this week's post!
Today, I took my first foray into hand dying yarn. It's something I have been thinking a lot about lately, and after much research and some investment, I took the leap. If you care to, follow along as I dye my first yarn!

My 462 yards of bare yarn, out of the washing machine. This particular yarn is machine washable and dryable, so that step was super easy and quick.

The yarn before it went into the machine. Tying it like that was hugely unneccassary, as it just unwound itself. I was planning on doing two, but I was worn out after one, so left it at that.

The two dyes I used (purple and blue) and some citric acid.

Soaking in the pot at 100 degress F for ten minutes.

The blue dye dissolved in some warm water.

After soaking at 100 degrees, the dissolved dye was added. The temp was raised to 175 for another ten minutes. I used a chopstick to stir everything.

Once it has soaked at consistant 175 for ten, citric acid is added. The temp is then slowly raised, until the bath is cleared, or mostly cleared.

After the citric acid was added.

I really wanted a yarn with more than one color, but I'm not quite ready for handpainting. So I decided to cross my fingers and repeat the process again with just one half of the yarn.

The purple side being dyed.

Once the dye bath is clear, let it cool. Once cool, rinse, and then let dry! Yay! Yarn!

I made one little mistake. I decided since the yarn was machine dryable, that instead of letting it air dry, I would just pop it in the machine with my clothes that were being washed anyways. Well, I don't think this would have even been a problem at all, but I forgot to turn the temp to low. So it felted a wee little bit.

But once it was peeled apart and wound in a ball, it's not even noticable! And I know not to do it again.
All in all, I am so proud of myself. These pictures honestly don't do the color justice. The dye was awesome, and organic too!
So all of this inspired a giveaway! Enter here!

Dying instructions The dye kit I bought