A Conundrum About Dyeing

EcoPrinting samples from Marta Mouka, a fantastic dye class!

Recently the OHCG posted a link to an article on dyeing called "Old Wives Tales About Dyeing", and asked their members to weigh in on whether they agree.

The article, by April DeConnick (more on her in another post!), laid out several key points shown in blue below.  The comments from OHCG members (and me) are in red.  I use mostly ProChem dyes which require some care, but there are other (less toxic) dyes out there.  If you want completely food safe dyes, there's always Koolaid and food colouring to play with, and they produce wonderful colours.  Highly recommended, especially if you're dyeing small quantities.

1.  It's best to dye in an area separate from the kitchen, as many dyes are not food safe.  She advocates using a garage, etc, and using separate pots, spoons, etc.

Agree, however not everyone has a separate area to dye in.  Sometimes you have to use your kitchen. We all agree that separate pots and utensils for dyeing are a must.  Mine are all labelled "DYE" but hubby did put a dye spoon into the dishwasher once.  I wouldn't recommend doing this on a regular basis, but we haven't suffered any ill effects from it (yet).  On my dye days i avoid having food preparation going on anywhere nearby....take-out food is your best friend on big dye days.

One of the recommendations is that if you must mix powders in the kitchen, do so on damp newspaper, as this prevents stray powders getting into anything.

2.  Don't skip using gloves, masks, etc.

For sure, tho once your powders are mixed you can probably take off your mask.  Don't, however, stand over a cooking dye bath and inhale deeply!

3.  No need to pre-wash or soak your items before dyeing.  Use a squirt of synthrapol as a wetting agent.

This was interesting to me, as I was always taught to pre-soak.  If you don't pre-soak you will get a slightly mottled appearance, which isn't always a bad thing.  Synthrapol is most definitely a great wetting agent.  I find that JetDry (dishwasher rinse agent) does much the same thing.  When I'm going to dye, i will stick my wool into a bucket with a squirt of jet dry as a very first step.  It sits there while i prepare the dye bath, etc.

4.  Don't boil your wool in the dye bath - this just felts everything.

Agree.  I find that once the dye bath gets to steaming (approx 180' F), turn the heat down to maintain that temperature and let it sit until the water is clear(ish).

5.  Use citric acid instead of vinegar.

Citric acid is great to use, and is the mainstay of most professional dyers.  That said, tho, vinegar is easy to get anywhere.  I use it at the cottage to counteract hard water, so i always have gallons of it on hand.

6.  Don't rinse your dyed wool until it has cooled down.

Agree.  In fact, if you can't get your dye to exhaust completely, take it off the heat and let it sit overnight.  You'd be amazed at how much more colour is absorbed.  Also, rinsing before the wool cools will cause more felting, which you may (or may not) want.

Here's the OHCG's Facebook post:

As with most things in rug hooking there are as many opinions out there as there are rug hookers.  What are your thoughts/experiences on dyeing???

an indigo dye class i took at Lang Pioneer Village several years ago - it was a LOT of fun