What started out as a small project for my newly adopted Poodle Sophia turned into a two-year marathon for my youngest daughter?
I vaguely
remember how all of this started. In the
beginning, I dyed some of my machine spun Shetland yarn to make a sweater for
Sophia. The people who spun it (some one
in Colorado) really did a botched job and I didn’t think the yarn was fit for
human use. I dyed the yarn Barbie pink*. In my hurry to dye, I forgot to loosen
the factory ties, so ended up with pink yarn with white stripes. Needless to
say, Sophia got a sweater out of some different yarn.
The pink on the left was the original base color. Using violet over-painting I created light, medium, and dark yarns to work with. |
So there it sat, for a few months, my ugly pink yarn with
the white stripes. I must have been
bored one day because I got out my foam brush, spray bottle and purple dye**
and started painting. Rachelle saw the
yarn and loved it. When dyed multi
hues, the yarn really didn’t look too bad.
The flaws just didn’t glare out at you anymore. I came up with three
shades, light, mid-tone, and dark. This
was a good initial decision because over the next several months, I would have
to come back and re-dye, re-dye, and re-dye.
In retrospect, this probably was not the best-planed project. Coming up next, the gloves. Stay tuned.
* I have been using the same pink dye
forever. It is 608 Pink (Primary)
from Jacquard. These are the dyes that
I first started using. It is an acid
dye, good for protein fibers. Jacquard
is a good dye for beginners. Vinegar is it’s only requirement. Although, I have changed over to a different brand,
I keep this one around. I just like the
color. Use intensely, it is a great deep
red-violet. Used sparingly, it creates perfect ranges of pink. I love it as an under-base for violet.
** My violet is Sabraset
Violet 880. I pretty much use Sabraset
exclusively. My opinion is that they are the best when it come to light
fastness. They do take a little more work.
Auxiliaries such as citric acid (vinegar can be used, but it takes a lot
more the c.a.), salt, sodium acetate, and Albegal
SET need to be used with them. For me, it is worth it.
Sophia modeling the sweater that she finally got. I ended up using Debbie Bliss yarn in peach, mint and natural. |
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