Happy Halloween!

Sunday.  It's Halloween!  What a fun day too.  I've just completed my first fore into dyeing my own yarn...yes I am now hooked!  The color, albeit not as vibrant or intense as I wished, did turn out very well indeed.  I have named this color, October Salmon.  And Salmon colored it is too; just beautiful.  I can't wait to get it dry and start another pair of socks!

So here's the way I did it:

• First remove the original ties from a skein of natural colored wool and replace with scrap yarn very loosely tied in several places to keep the strands all together
• Place warm, not too hot, water into the canning pot; enough to cover the wool and add approx 1/2-3/4 c vinegar, stir
• Then gently lay the wool on top of the water and allow to sink by itself without assistance, this takes some time, so be patient
•  Once the wool has sunk to the bottom of the pan, carefully lift it out and set aside undisturbed
• Add the Kool-Aid to the pot (add as many packets as intensity needed) stir this well 
• Carefully add the wet wool back into the pot
• Place the pot onto the stove and turn on burner to low to allow the water to warm gently, you can stir it gently, but don't get carried away, don't want felt!  Leave on for about 30 min or until the water becomes clear
• Once the water becomes clear, remove from stove and set aside to cool...I left it alone for about 1/2 hr and then added fresh cool water, very gently to help cooling process
• Once it's cool, gently pour off the water and carefully put the yarn into the sink where you have  some warm water and a touch of fabric softener waiting
• At this point I gently swished the yarn around a bit, be very careful here, remember we don't want felt!
• Then carefully take out of the sink and place on a thick towel and roll up to remove the water
• Gently hang around a clothes hanger and place a weight at the bottom and hang the whole lot up to dry in a place where it will be undisturbed
• Once dry, take pix, post and the best part...MAKE SOMETHING! In this case I am going to make some socks!

Notes:
I think next time though, I will use more packets to help intensify the colors I want.  I also think I will try regular food coloring as well and try smaller batches.  And then of course go on to the variegateds....this is so much fun!



~Now on to find more wool and colors...what next?!