Last week our knitting group had a great time kettle dyeing our own yarn at Michelle's house.
I brought along some sock yarn and decided to make it a dark green (I was shooting for forest green). Mmmm - looks good!
There were two gorgeous skeins of blue. I think this was the peacock blue.
Beautiful blue!
We cooked our yarn outside on camp stoves in pots that were picked up for a pittance at the local Goodwill. These pots cannot be used for food again, once they're used for dyeing! That's my green yarn in the orange pot.
Betsy's yarn (the pot on the left above) turned out a lovely orange-chestnut color.
I'm very pleased with the deep rich hue of green I obtained under Michelle's guidance. I already have a person in mind to receive handknit socks with my very own hand-dyed yarn. I don't know if this person will appreciate the extra step that goes into this gift, but I know and it feels like it's being given with even more love! How fun.
How about you? Do you ever dye your own yarn?
I've dyed yarn with KoolAid before and it turned out pretty good! Nuked it in the microwave and it turned out a very vibrant pink. Knitted them up and sent them to a charity (the yarn was too itchy for me).
I've always wanted to try kettle dyeing, but I really want to try things from nature. A friend of mine used some beets on coffee filters that turned out beautiful!
I love your green. It turned out so nice!! You need to dye some more but this time keep them for yourself!
Posted by: Lynn | Monday, May 28, 2012 at 13:03
That's a gorgeous green! I've only done dyeing with natural stuff..weeds and plants. I joined the dye plant csa again this year so it's about time to start. I try to do the really stinky stuff outside so it needs to be a bit warmer here...
Posted by: Lorette | Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 13:51
I haven't tried dying yarn (yet?), but I imagine it's likely to come up sometime in my knitting life. ;-) (sjn821)
Posted by: Stephanie | Friday, May 25, 2012 at 13:19
So bummed I missed this! What glorious colors! Last day of school is 6/22 and then I hope I can start catching up with you all.
Posted by: Estella | Friday, May 25, 2012 at 05:39
NO! BUt someday. Such a fun post to see the dye pots....I LOVE The blue the bestest...I'm such a blue nut.. Your green is amazing and I'd never give it away if it was mine!
Posted by: kathy b | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 16:09
Love that blue! A couple of questions - were the yarns undyed when you started or were you over-dyeing? Also what dye did you use?
Posted by: Jocelyn | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 13:23
Those colors are so rich and vibrant - it looks like you had such a good time I know you'll be doing it more often. What did you use for dye?
Posted by: Julie | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:55
My DD and I have dyed yarn with Kool-Aid. (which is sorta funny because she's never actually drank Kool-Aid) Anyway, it's easy and you don't have to have dedicated pots. We made fun yellow/orange/red combos and a 'so bright it hurts your eyes' blue.
Posted by: karen | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:24