Dyers club July 2024
SEPTEMBER – FOREVER AUTUMN!
THE FIBRE
September’s fibre is 100g of British Falkland – a lovely soft wool with a medium staple. It takes dye well and gives a clear result and 100g of British Grey Masham which has a longer staple and a bit of lustre. Dyeing on a grey base can really help to deepen your colour palette.
THE DYES
September’s dyes are 5g each of Yellow, Plum, Red, Green, Orange and Blue Acid Milling dyes. These require the addition of Citric Acid to bond the dye to the fibre. Either add the Citric Acid to the pot (about a teaspoon) or add it to the dye solution before you apply the dye to the fibre.
You’ll need approximately 100ml of a 1% stock solution for every 100g of dry weight fibre. You can make a 1% dye stock by mixing the whole sachet with 500mls of water or, alternatively, use just1g of dye powder in100ml of water. If you have a small jewellers scale you can mix very small amounts. Unused dye stock will keep for about a month or more in an air tight container. Unused dye powder will keep indefinitely if kept dry in a sealed container.
THE CHALLENGE
By mixing colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel (Red/Green, Yellow/Purple and Blue/Orange) in various proportions you can create deep earthy tones that are perfect for an autumnal palette. Equal amounts of each, however, may result in a muddy brown so be careful about the ratio’s – add just a touch of red to green for a more olive tone; add a little green to red for a more burgundy hue and so on.
To determine how much of each colour you need for your intended shade you can make up a small amount of a 1% solution of each colour (1g of dye for 100ml for example) and then use a pipette or a teaspoon or measuring cup to calculate the ratio. Try adding just a small amount of the opposite colour to start with. Use a pippette to experiment with different ratios but anything that will give you a small measured amount such as a teaspoon or small measuring cup will do.
Here I mixed red and green in a ratio of 5:1 both ways; blue and orange in a ratio of 5:1 both ways and yellow and plum in a ration of 5:1 both ways.
Once you have your mix right, scale it up so that you will have enough to dye your fibre. The sample in your box has strips of the red/green; orange/blue and yellow/plum mixes that I created from the stock solutions.
Of course, it’s up to you how you apply the dye – I used a low immersion method with a shallow dish and a microwave I order to obtain strips for your sample. If I had left this as a continuous braid of fibre I could have created a regular colour changing yarn by spinning it as it comes. Painting the fibre and wrapping in cling film would achieve a similar effect.
If you prefer a more random application you could use a high immersion or one pot method – add your pre-soaked fibre to the pot and then add two or more of your pre-mixed colours. If you have a favourite autumnal shade add that to the pot and then add your pre-soaked fibre for a more solid or semi solid colour.
FINALLY..
You can find further instructions for making up your dye stock and dyeing on a stove or microwave here. Please follow the safety guidelines and remember not to use any equipment used for dyeing for any other purpose.
We would love to see your results – either email me – shop@fibrehut.co.uk with pictures or post them on Instagram using tag #fibrehutdyers and @fibrehut
JULY – GOING FOR GOLD!
THE FIBRE...
July’s fibre is British Blue faced Leicester which really is the Gold Standard as far as British fibre is concerned. It’s amazingly soft, has a slight sheen, spins nicely and the natural creamy colour takes the dye well. The Duo Twist BFL/Tencel blend mixes grey and white BFL fibres and uses Tencel as a silk alternative and enhances the lustre. The natural Oatmeal helps to give the dyed fibre a deeper shade.
THE DYES...
July’s dyes are SILVER, SUNSHINE and RUST EasyDye FibreDye. These dyes have the Citric Acid already added. They produce a more pastel shade and require a greater concentrate of dye to dry weight fibre.
You’ll need approximately 300ml of a 1% stock solution for every 100g of dry weight fibre. You can make a 1% dye stock by mixing the whole sachet with 1 ltire of water or, alternatively, use half the sachet (5g) with 500ml of water. Unused dye stock will keep for about a month or more in an air tight container. Unused dye powder will keep indefinitely if kept dry in a sealed container.
THE CHALLENGE...
Since the 2024 Olypmic games in Paris are now underway I thought you might like to create some metallic medal shades of gold, silver and bronze. You can mix varying amounts of each colour to achieve the right balance. I used a mix of Sunshine and Rust for a deep gold, I used the Silver on it’s own, and I mixed all 3 together for a darker Bronze. Dyeing on different bases can affect the colour of the final fibre so there are many variations you can try.
I use a pippette to experiment with different ratios but anything that will give you a small measured amount such as a teaspoon or small measuring cup will do. 1 part Rust and 5 parts Sunshine gave me a darker gold while adding a very little silver to equal parts of Rust and Sunshine gave a lovely bronze, especially on the oatmeal fibre.
Once you have your mix right, scale it up so that you will have enough to dye your fibre. Of course, it’s up to you how you apply the dye – here are some ideas:
You could dye each fibre in a solid or semi solid medal colour using a high immersion or one pot method – add 300ml for each 100g of dry weight fibre of dye stock to the pot and then add your pre-soaked fibre.
You can also use the one pot method for a random mix of all three colours to create a traditional hand-dyed braid of fibre where the dyes swirl around each other in the pot to create dark and light golds and a variety of bronzes. In this case, add your pre-soaked fibre to the dye pot before you add your dye stock (a total of 300ml for every 100g of dry weight fibre) and let them mix and mingle during the heating process. I generally add dye to different parts of the pot, maybe 100ml of gold in the middle and 100ml of the silver and the bronze on either side.
For small amounts of fibre you can do something similar using a low immersion technique with a glass dish and a microwave for example. Lay your pre-soaked fibre in a glass dish and measure out the required amount of dye from your stock solution or mix (300ml in total for 100g of fibre). Top each up with a little water and pour it over the fibre, This enables a gentle movement of one medal colour to the next and gives you more bit more control over colour placement but can still be random.
You can control colour placement even more accurately by painting directly onto the fibre and setting in a microwave or steamer. Use the same amount of dye but do not add any additional water. You may need to flip the fibre to make sure the dye has penetrated to the underneath. Place the wrapped fibre in a dish before heating to ensure any escaped liquid is captured.
FINALLY...
You can find further instructions for making up your dye stock and dyeing on a stove or microwave here. Please follow the safety guidelines and remember not to use any equipment used for dyeing for any other purpose.
We would love to see your results either email me shop@fibrehut.co.uk with pictures or post them on Instagram using tag #fibrehutdyers and @fibrehut