How a college student dyes yarn.

29 Responses to “How a college student dyes yarn.”

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1 Lufah September 11, 2006 at 7:44 pm

This post was awesome. I wish I had been into knitting and dyeing when I was in college – I look back now and think, crap, I wasted all those years! And I’m only 30! 🙂
2 elizabeth September 12, 2006 at 12:00 am

I love this tutorial. Even though I have a lot of space and a full kitchen, I share it with four other girls (and our boyfriends and friends and pets…) soI’m glad to know I don’t have to take over the kitchen. Thanks for being so detailed!
3 Monika September 12, 2006 at 8:54 am

Nice tutorial, makes me want to run to my kitchen and dye yarn. But wait, my microwave is gone! Need a new one. Lovely color by the way!
4 Karen September 12, 2006 at 11:38 am

Pretty! I played with dye for the first time this weekend. It was a lot of fun!
5 KathyMarie September 12, 2006 at 3:58 pm

Great tutorial! This is helpful for those of us whose kitchens resemble linen closets, as well. Well written & illustrated.
6 Alison September 12, 2006 at 11:26 pm

That is an amazing tutorial, whether or not you’re dyeing in a dorm or at home. I am totally inspired to place a huge order with KnitPicks right now. Too bad my semester is a week underway!
7 Emilee September 14, 2006 at 1:12 pm

Thank you so much for the tutorial! As someone who doesn’t have a basement or a garage either, I appreciate the tips!
8 pickleshane September 15, 2006 at 11:03 am

Wow. This is nothing but impressive! 🙂
9 A. September 15, 2006 at 11:08 am

thanks for such a great tutorial!
10 NORA September 15, 2006 at 4:38 pm

Thanks for the vinegar tip!
11 Susan September 22, 2006 at 8:15 pm

This was a great tutorial and I have to say thank you. I’m inspired to get all my “dye your own” out of the closet and start dyeing.
12 Robin September 24, 2006 at 6:36 pm

GREAT tutorial…I have been wanting to dye, but was afraid to try it out. You have inspired me to give it a whirl…Thanks
13 natasha September 27, 2006 at 12:00 am

hey, great tutorial! i use saran wrap because it is really thick compared to any of the other ones and doesn’t accidentally stick to itself as much. also, with superwash yarn, you can get away with no vinegar, for some reason (i am sure you noticed this,) it DRINKS dye up like crazy. not using the vinegar helps you to move the dye around a bit more. also, if it is superwash yarn, you can rinse it out as soon as the liquid is clear, no felting! the only issue i have is being rough with the skein and it is a nightmare to wind.

also, nylon dyes really well with acid dyes, so if you see cheapo novelty yarns on sale in a light (and ugly) color, you can dye it in a ziploc bag the same way you did this, leave the zip a teeny bit open to let the steam out.

again, great tutorial, and it shows that you don’t need tons of stuff or a big kitchen to dye your own yarn. oh, also, there is a guy that makes a fantastic skeinwinder/swift that comes apart and fits in a little bag that would be great for a small room. and it is about 40 bucks. the website is oreganwoodworker.com i think. the skeiner is called the mamabear.
14 Beverly October 8, 2006 at 8:56 pm

How many skeins of the KnitPicks Bare sock yarn did you use in this tutorial? And what about the “1 cup” of water you mentioned in Step 4 — where does that fit in later? Thanks so much for this tutorial!
15 Joan November 11, 2006 at 9:00 pm

This is great! I’ve been so intimidated by acid dyes that I never even considered them. Now I’ll HAVE to try them! Thanks so much for this post.
16 Patty December 2, 2006 at 5:54 pm

You are too flippin funny and incredibly tenacious. You were going to dye your yan in the dorms no matter what. Haa!

I had a great KoolAid experience. It’s on my blog if you ever want to be bored. I don’t write nearly as well as you but I’m thinking I’ll be taking lessons from you. My colors didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to but I tried. I’ll have to try the acid way, those colors were intense.

A+ Nicole!
17 bevtheknitter June 15, 2007 at 2:07 pm

I used this method last night to dye the same brand of yarn, well, mine is calle Knit Picks Bare 75% superwash wool 25% nylon…

I used 3 colors and a plastic spoon to just ‘drop’ spoonfuls all over the yarn. It is on the clothesline drying now and looks really pretty.

Thanks for this great tutorial
Bev
18 Robforhq December 1, 2007 at 5:39 am

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19 Shaina May 7, 2008 at 5:56 pm

This is such an amazing tutorial!
20 Maija May 16, 2008 at 10:44 am

This was such an awsome tutorial. So informative!! One question..does this method work with cotton yarn?
21 Laura June 25, 2008 at 12:27 pm

What a great tutorial!! Congrats!!
22 Laura June 25, 2008 at 3:33 pm

Sorry for the double posting but I have a question: At which temperature do you put the microwave on?

(Sorry if my english sounds queer… I’m spanish)
23 Carey September 7, 2008 at 8:51 pm

Thanks for this!
i have a wee apartment and not much room, and this made things seem a little easier!
i hope it all turns out well, since it is sitting in its wrap right now!
24 Jess January 31, 2009 at 4:47 pm

Hi! Thanks for the great tutorial! A lot of things I’ve read have me all paranoid about dyes being used indoors, etc. Did you have a lot of fume issues with the dyes in your little dorm room? I’m also assuming you don’t have a microwave reserved solely for dyeing, right? I REALLY want to dye yarn, but I’ve been paranoid about doing it in my kitchen. Maybe it’s not so bad after all!!! 🙂

Thanks,
Jess