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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
 Posted - 11/07/2005 : 11:12:27 AM
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Planning an experimental Fair Isle type Teddy Bear Sweater - and figured I would try dyeing some white merino I had to get my three shades of two colour families I need for the project.
It turned out to be a bit more complicated then I figured.
among other things - different components of the kool-aid "strike" the yarn at different times - so if I didn't "cook" it all the way the colour changed, not just the shade.
Getting the shades more saturated took some doing!
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2005 : 11:40:39 AM
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Anyway - take "grape" - I wanted to get three shades of purple - and had the three skeins of white merino.
So one would expect that if I took three skeins and used half the reccomended quantity on one skein, and twice the reccomended on the 2nd skein and the normal quantity on the third skein I'd get a nice graduated colour series, yes?
seems it doesn't work that way! Half the quantity gave me colour so pale it looked like the yarn was dirty. and twice the normal quantity could barely be told from the normal amount. Ended up using six times the "normal" amount in order to get the darkest shade I wanted - and redyed the lightest shade several times in order to get a medium shade.
The "normal" quantity of dye ended up my "light" shade.
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2005 : 11:42:26 AM
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I also discovered that for "grape" at least, the red and blue components of the dye strike the wool at different times - and if I took the yarn out early - the leftover liquid was blue and the yarn was definately pinkish!
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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brown-eyed purl
Chatty Knitter
182 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2005 : 11:45:52 AM
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| Hmmmm...I know a lot of knitters on the board dye, but hoo boy, it sure sounds like it's more complex than you'd think. Glad you found something that worked for you, though! |
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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2005 : 12:07:07 PM
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well - part of it was that was I was trying for a specific result - three shades of a related colour.
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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knottyknitter
Permanent Resident
USA
3702 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2005 : 2:12:42 PM
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| Sounds like it is more of an exponential progression that is needed rather than a linear one. For intance, to make it twice as saturated, try 4 times as much color. To make it 4 times as saturated, try 16 times as much color, and so on. |
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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2005 : 2:32:42 PM
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yup - that seems to be true - at least to some extent. I think the individual colors vary as well.
The cherry I tried came out much more orange then samples I have seen before - and I'm wondering how much the hardness of water effect the shade you get.
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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KS
Seriously Hooked
862 Posts |
Posted - 11/08/2005 : 6:49:34 PM
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I've done a lot of dyeing, but very little with Kool-Aid, so take this with a grain of salt.
The amounts of dye required to create a gradation of color is exponential, not linear. It's not a good idea to try to create a gradation by taking your fiber out at different times. Doing separate dye runs & diluting the dye is a far better method. No matter how much you have done, you can still get surprised. A couple of weeks ago I tried to do some self patterning sock yarns. One was to be really intense colors. The other one was to be the same basic colors, but pastel. I got a difference in how dark the colors were, but no way could you say I got dark & pastel!
It is possible to create repeatable, predictable results. Within limits. Even the big guys have dye lot differences!
Almost everything you use in the dye process can vary your results. The hardness of the water is one of the big variables.
KS |
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MMario
Permanent Resident
2202 Posts |
Posted - 11/09/2005 : 06:56:58 AM
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KS - Thanks for confirming what I was beginning to suspect from my results...
I guess if I had more time to "play" this would be a lot of fun - it was mostly frustrating the other day.
MMario - I don't live in the 21st century - but I play a character who does. |
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