Skip to main content

Bookmark Colors

Last night I dyed some 20/2 tencel with what I thought was going to be cobalt blue. I did not get cobalt blue. I'm not sure if it's just me but, I can't seem to get bold vibrant colors with fiber reactive dyes. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.....if anyone knows of some tips, I would really love to hear them. I soaked the yarn, mixed the salt and dye in a solution, added it to the yarn, let it sit for about 30 minutes or so stirring occasionally, then added the dissolved soda ash. Usually I would have called it a day after about an hour but, I let it set like that overnight. The water wasn't clear in the morning although I could see that some of it had been drawn into the fiber. I'm not sure if it's like the heat set dyes I'm so used to with wool......I think I would just really really really like to dye all of my own yarn......all in due time, I guess. Well, either way....the color works for me and I'm planning on running a filament along with it in the weft. I bought four different 'sparkles' to play with.
To answer bspinner's question about my sett for 20/2 - I'm going to go with 30 epi.....I hope hope hope this works out and is 'just right'. This is my first time using the 20/2 and based on the information I could find, it looks like 30 epi is going to be what I'm looking for:) Well, I'm off to counting those ends:)
Labels:

Comments

Lynnette said…
Hi Shannon,
I've just been doing some Procion MX dyeing and I do it a bit differently. I wet my yarn, squeeze it dry then put it in a soda ash/water solution for about 30 minutes to open up the fiber to take the dye. Wring it out, then add it to the dye/salt/urea/water for about 10 minutes or longer depending on how deep I want the colour to be. Hope this helps.
March 6, 2009 at 9:23 PM
Kimberly said…
When you soak the yarn, soak it in a soda ash/water solution instead of adding soda ash later.
March 6, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Sherri Woodard Coffey said…
I'll admit that I don't use fiber reactive dyes much, but with acid dyes I sometimes use a 3 or 4 percent solution to get really intense colors.
March 7, 2009 at 2:56 PM
Peg in South Carolina said…
Fiber reactive dyes never exhaust. One reason, in fact, that I dislike them so much is the insane amount of rinsing that has to be done to get out all the unfixed dye! I have dyed cotton but never tencel so tencel could be a different beast. My only suggestion might be to soak the yarn overnight. If it is anything like silk, it does not absorb water readily and needs a long long soak before dyeing it. I do have a question: what was the depth of shade you used? It could be (but I don't know), that you have to use more dye that you would have to with cotton. I would try dying it again and see if you get the intensity you want.
March 7, 2009 at 7:26 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Damask....Ah Ha Moment....Now Taquete?

Ok . So since the weather has been changing, I now have some more obvious time to 'play' with some designs that I have stored in my head:) Damask, in particular, has been a favorite of mine to look at and I really feel the urge to use my loom to create tapestry like scarves and shawls. I don't want anything too heavy as I really like the feel of tencel , bamboo, and I would eventually like to switch to silk for my finer works. I am still in the learning stage though and I hope to always remain in the learning stage. The damask pattern that I have been toying with, I like but, I lose a lot of detail the more I stretched it out. I was a little frustrated but, certain that there was something that I could do. The picture above is a little small but, the piece all the way to the right is a 4 point twill threading, the middle is a 5 point twill threading, and the one on the far left is a 6 point twill threading. To get a true satin/sateen I would have to use the one on the far
2 comments
Read more

A New Loom!

       I’ve been weaving on a Glimakra 8 harness countermarche loom for almost 10 years now.  I love it!  It weaves like a dream, it’s super heavy, I get an excellent shed when all is going well, and I have a bit of an emotional attachment to it.  The only thing that I don’t love about this loom is that I have to climb on the floor to tie up the treadles.  Depending on the pattern, I could be under there for quite some time.  I’m pretty limber and in pretty good shape but climbing under the loom is back breaking work.  So much so that I’m sometimes out of commission for the remainder of the day after.  Look how pretty this loom is though!       I cleaned out the area that this loom has been designating as it’s home and prepped for the replacement.  I got an amazing deal on a Louet Spring and couldn’t pass it up!        I’ve been doing a lot of research on looms (well, really when am I not looking at looms!) and know that I love Louet.  My Megado has served me well for many years and th
Post a Comment
Read more
        You know when you make something and the entire process just seems seamless?  Well, that’s how this project played out.  I have some 10/2 tencel that is natural and I dyed a bunch of it over the summer.  I wound off bouts of around 1700 yards each and now know that I would like to make larger skeins so that I can get a couple of scarves using this pattern again...just a bit longer.       This picture was taken in natural sunlight of the braid after counting the ends on the warping board.  Let’s get this thing on the loom!                  I learned a new trick for spreading the warp in the raddle.  Since this is an A B color pattern, it’s important to not separate the colors in the raddle.  To never “separate the twins” makes beaming the warp a piece of cake!   Another cool trick I learned was to put the warp under tension while beaming.  With a stack of my son’s graphic novels, I had the full six yards beamed in seven minutes!  SEVEN!!! My absolute favorite part, threading
Post a Comment
Read more