Dye wool yourself - instructions & methods

• Material and preparation
  • Wool
• Dye wool
  • With food coloring | manual
  • Homemade natural colors | manual
  • Solar Dye | manual

They like to knit passionately, but they do not find yarn with the desired hue or creative color gradient ">

Dyeing wool is not only an effective method to adapt wool yarn or fabric to your own color ideas, but to try something new. For example, if you want to see how a particular color affects your favorite yarn, self-inking is great.

The advantage here is above all in the possibility to use colors from plants in the own garden or even ingredients from the pantry. In order to try out the individual methods, you will find detailed instructions with which you can clearly understand the individual steps. Thereby

Material and preparation

Wool

Before you can start dyeing, you must first get the right wool. Since wool dyeing can go a long way wrong, you should not use any balls because they knot together during dyeing and thus could only be used with difficulty. For this reason you should bet on a wool strand, because these are separated and do not knot thereby. In addition to the shape of the winding also offer different types of wool.

• Sock or stocking wool
• merino
• virgin wool
• Merino wool with synthetic parts

If you are using this style for the first time ever, you should put on stocking wool, as this provides a similar intense color result as high quality wool types. Also offers residual wool, if you still have some left over. Then you have some idea of ​​how the color comes out and what you can count on when using high-quality wool types.

Of course, in addition to wool yarn, you can easily use woolen garments for dyeing, but it is not easy to determine the color gradients. This is particularly noticeable with already dyed wool. Therefore, ideally use undyed wool yarn or variants in light shades. You can not go wrong with that.

Tip: If you are thinking of a mottled wool as a result, you should choose a lower proportion of animal fibers and put on a higher percentage of cotton. Since cotton fibers are difficult to dye on their own, a mottled effect is created that can be used attractively in a wide variety of projects.

Dye wool

Dyeing wool yourself is quite easy if you are familiar with the respective methods. They inspire through their easy implementation and numerous creative possibilities, attractive color gradients and intense tones. Depending on the results of a variety of points such as the color used and the method. In some variants, the colors are gaudy, while others significantly paler, but pleasant in the course or pattern. Below you will find three different ways to dye your wool . Live as creatively as possible.

Tip: If you opt for textile dyes, just follow the manufacturer's instructions. These colors are very intense and easy to use, which makes the application uncomplicated.

With food coloring | manual

A classic is dyeing its own wool through the use of food or Easter egg colors.

These have dyes that are strongly absorbed by the wool fibers and thus show a good effect. Before you can apply these colors, you need to stain the wool before dyeing.

This is done by a vinegar pickling:

• Mix 1 liter of water and 250 ml of vinegar in a container

• Align final amount of stain with amount of wool
• Container should have a lid
• Now put the wool strand in the stain

• should be completely covered with stain

• Close container with lid

• leave stain for a few hours
• do not rinse after pickling, just express
• never wrestle, otherwise there is a risk of knotting

After pickling, you can now use the colors. Put on gloves because the products can be seen on the skin for a long time.

Following the instructions:

Step 1: Mix 400 ml of water with 10 ml of food coloring. Each color should be mixed in a separate bowl if you want to use different tones.

Do not forget a small splash of vinegar per bowl.

On average you need 40 ml of food coloring for 100 g of wool for a color intensive result.

Step 2: After mixing the colors, the wool strands are placed in the bowls. They must be completely covered.

The exposure time is only ten to 20 minutes. If you want to create gradients, spread a skein over several trays by moving them across the edge of the tray to the next tray. Over time you will rotate, so that all places are actually colored. Here are also other color pattern variations possible.

3rd step: After exposure, excess paint and water are pushed out from the strand into the shell from top to bottom.

Then prepare a baking tin with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for one hour at 90 ° C.

Step 4: Finally, you only have to get the wool out of the oven (be careful!), Allow it to cool down and rinse it lukewarm. Then hang up and let it dry.

This is what your dyeing result looks like.

Homemade natural colors | manual

You do not have to rely on food or textile dyes, but can use plants, vegetables and berries to dye the wool. Since many plants form intensive shades, they are ideal for coloring.

The following list gives you an overview of possible colors:

• Bowls of onions: yellowish brown
• Tea (black): light brown
• Red cabbage: reddish purple to blue
• Peels of pomegranates: yellow
• Kernels and peel of avocados: Salmon
• Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea): Yellow
• Real chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): yellow
• Marigolds (Calendula): Yellow
• Poppy (Papaver rhoeas): purple red
• Black-red varieties of the Common Hollyhock (Alcea rosea): Blue with shades of gray to black
• Elderberries, Blueberries: Blue to Purple
• Elderberry Bark: Black
• Walnut shells (unripe): brown
• Blackberries: bright violet
• Leaves of blackberries: brownish green
• Berries of Mahonia: Pink to light violet
• Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare): Yellow
• Sage (Salvia officinalis): light brown
• Woodruff (Galium odoratum): Pink

You see, you have a really wide selection of shades available. The pretreatment is again a vinegar stain, which you carry out in the same way as described above. Otherwise, you only need a large amount of the desired plant material, preferably in the ratio 1: 1 with the wool strand, a laundry bag and a pot.

• Rinse wool well after pickling
• in the saucepan boil the plant material with water
• Strain the plant material through a sieve
• fill this into the laundry bag
• Now let the solution cool down a bit
• then add the wool fabric to the dye solution together with the laundry bag

• already here you can divide the strands
• Now heat everything together for at least an hour

• take longer to act at its discretion
• second dyeings are possible, only much weaker in the intensity of the hue
• Carefully remove wool from the pot after cooking

• Rinse and dry

Solar Dye | manual

Solar dyeing is one of the slowest and gentlest methods of dyeing wool itself, without relying on chemistry or strenuous processes. However, there is a small drawback to solar dyeing: you can not really influence the direct result when dyeing, because the garments or yarn is not divided as in the other dyeing methods, but is placed completely to the colors.

You need the following materials to dye the wool yourself:

• Mason jar (size depends on amount of wool)
• Natural dye (choose from the list above)
• water

You do not need any more for this method, because solar dyeing is a variant of cold dyeing that uses only the power of the sun and light. The wool is heated only slightly, which is also dependent on the available solar radiation. For this reason, the results are not as intense as with other dyeing varieties.

The following instructions will introduce you to solar coloring:

• First, stain the wool
• this works in the same way as explained above
• Rinse wool well after pickling
• Place wool and coloring material in the ratio 1: 1 in the glass

• for even results, do not fill the glass completely
• the yarn or woolen dress needs freedom of movement

• completely "stuff" glass for effects
• alternatively set individual strands
• Alternatively, wrap dyeing material directly into the yarn
• completely fill with water
• This prevents mold growth
• now close the lid

• the dyeing time is at least one week and can last for several weeks
• The more sun you have available, the faster the material will turn
• move the glass during the dyeing period or turn it upside down
• Movement improves the result
• at its discretion, terminate the staining phase
• Open glass in a clean sink and empty s
• rinse thoroughly
• the color solution can be used a second time

Do not be surprised if the dye solution begins to ferment, which is completely normal. Therefore, always put some pressure on the dyeing time by opening the glass.

Tip: Do not use any poisonous plants or plants that you are allergic to when coloring or using natural dyes. Since many of the dyes along with the toxins in the fibers of the wool remain and can not be washed out, it can cause skin irritation and even in the long run to serious poisoning.