Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things
Okay, someone posted this link and I thought these were too fun and funny not to pass along. Short-toed Socklet (pdf) Now, mind you, I would never in a million years wear these, but they sure are cute. LOL
Last night after all the chatter about Wilton Icing Dyes on Spindlers, I just had to go get some and experiment for myself. Using Joan of Mississippi's suggestions, I put regular tap water into my dye pot along with two tablespoons of Citric Acid. Then I screwed the top off of a tub of Wilton's Delphinium Blue and realized it had a foil tab cover. The tab had quite a bit of dye on it, so being thrifty, I decided to stick it into my dye pot and swish it around with a pair of tongs until the water was a fairly uniform aqua green. I was sort of surprised by the color, but since this was just a test, I pulled off a hunk of roving (probably two ounces) and dropped it into the mixture. Joan's post stated that dry wool produced more vibrant results, so I thought I would give it a try.
Next I set the pot on the stove under medium heat and just let it go. I came in routinely to peek at it and the color split was evident after just a few minutes. When the water got closer to boiling, I turned it down to a very low simmer and walked away. I came back after a while and noticed that all of the dye had bound to the wool and was exhausted, so the water was clear once again. The roving was a very nice variegated bright blue/aqua/purple/pink.
Here is a photo:
7 Comments:
Afraid to "wing it!" are you kidding me(lol)...I read about this procees on spindlers too. Looks like fun and I really like the results. I have to many irons in the fire to attempt it this week, but next week's looking promising.
I'll have some recipes posted by then. LOL It was fun and I can't wait to see how some of the other colors split. It smells good too. hehehe
the color split always bothered me coz i wasn't getting what i wanted from a tub of color. Now, i can see it from another perspective! How interesting :)
....so a yarn-fiber diet is different from a spindle diet, eh? .... :)
Pretty! I have some Delphinium Blue downstairs. Might have to try soon.
Well of COURSE a fiber diet and a spindle diet are different. :-D Seriously, I *love* the idea of color splitting, it gives me the look of painting with a LOT less hassle. This is no-brainer stuff...and it sure beats all those little bowls of dye I needed for hand-painting. :-)
Hi - just found your blog. I love your wilton dyed fiber, that is just so pretty. And I love your blog too!
Hey, these socklets are great to knit & wear! they really dress up some "plain sandels" and help if you have sweaty feet...I really enjoy wearing them just hear the comments..
Thanks for the info on the Wilton dye..you did a wonderful job!
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