Cochineal.. the dyed yarn

After a lot of rinsing, washing and laying out to dry for days, here is the final result of the natural cochineal dye.  The wool and cotton fibers took the dye differently but they both make for some beautiful light rustic red colors.

 The wool yarns.

 The cotton yarn.

Now to decide what to make with this yarn beautiful yarn.  

Lets see if I remember how to knit!

Be Bold in your Designs

peace&love

Rebecca

Cochineal.. Experimenting with Natural Dyes

After a research project I completed on the Oaxacan Rug weaving, I became very interested in the use and process of natural dyes.  It amazes me that prehistoric people were using these techniques and materials that laid the groundwork for the current dying processes.  With something so natural, why use synthetic?

First I unwound my balls of yarn, wool on the left and cotton on the right, and rewound them so to get a more even dye.

Alum is the metal binder that is used to help adhere the natural dye to the yarn fiber.  The yarns can be soaked in this first or it can be added to the dye pot and done all at once.  I added mine to the dye pot.

This is a batch of the cochineal dye.  Cochineal is an insect found on prickly pear cacti.  They are picked/harvested from the cacti and dried.  We placed a handful of the little insects in a cheese cloth to keep them from floating all around.  The dye is slowly brought up to a boil and is kept at a long simmer to get a nice color, then cooled down.

Then we added the yarn.  We slowly brought it up to a simmer and kept it at the simmer for about an hour.  Since we didn't quite have enough dye we had to stir it constantly to make sure it got an even soak.  After the hour we turned off the heat and now we are letting it sit.  All will be uncovered Wednesday!

try something natural.

peace&love

Rebecca

Dyeing of the Warp.. OMBRE

For this next project I am attempting an ombre fade through the warp threads.  You saw the dying process in previous posts and here it is all measured out.  With the ombre fade on the warp threads (versus the weft threads) the fade will be atmospheric, fading from the horizon.  

I blended the yarns to get an even yet random gradation of color.

On the loom.

Threading through the dents of the reeds.

Be Bold in your designs.

peace&love

Rebecca

Live to Dye.. Part Two

For this porject I am creating a gradation ombré effect that will go from dark navy to a lighter turquoise.  I took my four bundles of warp yarns and planned out the perfect mix of color for each bundle.  

First fill all four buckets with warm water, about 2/3 full, or enough to cover the yarn or fabric your about to dye.

Soak the bundles of yarn in the water.

Mix the dyes.  3 teaspoons of dye powder with enough water to dissolve the powder.  I used a combination of three colors: navy, teal blue and canary yellow.

Lift the yarn bundles, pour in the dye, and submerge the yarns.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix a salt solution.  2/3 cup salt to 1 cup of water. Stir to dissolve.  Pour into the bucket, stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix the soda solution.  3 tablespoons soda to 1 cup water.  Mix into the bucket and let sit for 10-20 minutes.

Rinse out the yarns until the water runs clean.

Let dry and enjoy the beautiful colors.

Be Bold.

peace&love

Rebecca