Thursday, October 9, 2008

Waiting to Dye

Ok, I have this idea. Need is the mother of invention, and I need Daughter-sock yarn. It would be wool. Maybe with a little elastic, but probably not. Darling Daughter likes oranges, pinks, purples, and green. So, I'm envisioning self-striping yarn in tropical colors - Mango, and strawberry and a little sip of Margarita. I think one skein should be enough for DD's little feet.

I was thinking, oh, this'll be easy, right? You get some RIT and some squirt bottles and some kind of realllly long pan... like a loaf pan, on steroids... Unwind the skein, rewind it in about a 2-foot-long loop, and go to town, right? So I went to Ravelry and searched for notes on dyeing. There were a TON. Most about Kool-Aid dyeing.

Oooh! Even better! Kool-aid already comes in tropical colors and RIT might be hard to find in "Mango"! And it's non-toxic... just in case she decides to lick her socks... But what if it runs? Or bleeds? What if it just isn't dark enough? And then there were posts mentioning vinegar. Vinegar? And posts mentioning microwaving versus cooking. Cooking?!? And about a gajillion posts discussing the virtues and draw-backs of using squirt bottles. And there was the occasional mention of why you should (or shouldn't) use pre-sweetened Kool-aid (It comes pre-sweetened?).

So, I'm thinking:
  • This can be put off until Spring, when I have a clearer idea of how to proceed... leaving fall and winter conveniently open to heavier-duty knitting projects. Like winter scarves and maybe - gulp! - a sweater. And the baby blanket I owe Cousin-In-Law. And the baby sweater/blanket/SOMETHING I have owed Cousin for AGES.
  • A loaf pan on steroids will be hard to build, but harder to find. Maybe I should use a big bowl - ooh! or a pot! - and dye in sections.
  • Kool-aid (even with the vinegar/sweetener/cooking problems) sounds like a better idea than RIT.

Conclusion:

About mid-to-late April, when I've finally finished "Christmas" knitting, I'll go get unbleached sock yarn. I'll wind it into a 2-ft-loop. I'll set three pots of Kool-aid-and-vinegar-and-sugar-and-NutraSweet-and-water to Simmer and dye it in sections. And then lay it out and bake it to get it to set. Or whatever the dispute about setting the dye entailed.

4 comments:

  1. I'm about to go to work - but remind me to talk to you about dyes. Not that I'm an expert or anything. I wish you were here, I have a TON of dyes we could play with!

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  2. Okay, on second thought, why don't you just fly over here? ;)

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  3. Ooooh! Don't I wish. I'm planning to move there some day.

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  4. I was thinking of you and your sock yarn and had a *brilliant* idea. You should buy a couple of sock blanks from Knit Picks (they're a little bit overpriced, but not too bad considering the other stuff that's out there) and dye your stripes that way. Dammit, I need to message you...

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