The Rug.. Chevron Dyeing

Yesterday I dyed the warp yarns.  All my preparations paid off and everything went very smoothly, but since I had about 5 dye lots, it still took a good 6 hours.  Here is the process.

I started off with 3 dyes.. taupe, old ivory and dark gray.  When I ordered these dyes they did not have color samples so I just hoped for the best.

The recipe called for white vinegar to act as a mordant, what attaches the dye to the yarn.

For the dye to work best, the dye needed to be simmering.  I used this large aluminum, old camping pot (worked great).

After choosing and tying off each section that needed to be dyed, I dipped each end in the simmering dye.  

It only stayed in for a couple of minutes.  I could see the yarns soaking up the dye.

The first batch.  The last yarns added to the dye bath ended up lighter since the earlier yarns had soaked up all the dye.

The first dye lot.. taupe, all laid out.. everything is going to plan.

Re tying for the the next color.

The second color is a less concentrated taupe.

Re tying for the third color.

Third color, Old Ivory.. all laid out.

I had one more color, a dark grey, that tied everything together.  Stay tuned for the start of the weaving process.

Be Bold in your Designs.

peace&love

Rebecca