| Variegated yarn knits up beautifully. So, be brave and | | | | Dye Liquor |
| make your own. You don't really need any fancy | | | | For a medium shade, mix 1/4 teaspoon dye in 1/2 cup |
| equipment or dyes and it's not as difficult as you might | | | | water. Use more dye for darker shades, less for |
| think. | | | | lighter. Mix as many colors as you want. |
| What You Need. | | | | Dyeing |
| Cushings dyewhite vinegarglass or other nonreactive | | | | Remove the yarn from the vinegar soak and gently |
| casserole dishplastic cupsapronwet sponge for | | | | squeeze out excess water. Lay it in a nonreactive |
| cleaning up spillsrubber glovesdust maskpH | | | | baking pan - do not use anything with a non-stick |
| stripsoptional: water softener | | | | coating. You can use enamelware, glass and stainless |
| Making Variegated Yarn | | | | steel but do not use aluminum, copper or steel. |
| Rainbow-dyeing, sprinkle-dyeing, tie-dyeing, and | | | | Arrange the yarn anyway you like: fold, tie, twist, spiral |
| casserole-dyeing are all names for the same process | | | | and/or zigzag. You can apply the dye in various ways; |
| of creating yarn that has many different colors. | | | | a squeeze bottle, a syringe or a sponge paintbrush. |
| Cushing dyes is used in the recipe below and will work | | | | You can just simply pour it on the area you choose if |
| on un-spun fiber, yarn or cloth. What matters is that | | | | you like. Remove any excess from the pan with a |
| the fiber content be animal-based: silk, wool, alpaca, | | | | syringe. |
| camel or angora. | | | | Heating |
| Soaking In Vinegar | | | | Rinse out excess dye from the yarn - the water |
| You first need to soak the fiber to be dyed in a | | | | should run clear - and wash with a mild soap. It's |
| vinegar water bath with a pH of 4.5 to 5.0. You need | | | | important to use soap as it's best to find out if the |
| about a tablespoon of vinegar for every quart of | | | | garment is non-fast now rather than later after you've |
| water. Note: the acidity of water varies so check with | | | | made it into something. Rinse again well and hang to |
| pH paper and adjust if necessary. Strips to measure | | | | dry. You are ready to knit with your own hand-dyed |
| pH are readily available at many drugstores and retail | | | | yarn. |
| outlets. | | | | |