Mixed-Up Monday: Grass Green

Spring is here and we're going to be seeing lots of grassy greens now.  New greens are popping up on once bare branches and in garden beds.  It's always a welcome sight!

What you'll need:

gloves

wool: fiber or yarn

acid: citric or vinegar

acid dyes: yellow, turquoise, magenta, brown, black (post on mixing solutions)

dye pot: stainless steel or crock pot

measuring spoons

I'll be dyeing up 1 oz bundles of mixed breed wool combed top.

Gather up your fiber and soak in some room temp tap water until saturated.  I like to keep mine in some nylon netting for all the soaking and rinsing.

Add a few inches of water to the dye pot, enough to completely cover the fiber.  

Add 1/2 tsp citric acid or 2 tsp of vinegar.

Add 1 TB (15 ml) of Yellow dye stock.

Next, add 1 tsp (5 ml) Turquoise dye stock

Add the wool or yarn to the pot making sure it is completely submerged.

Cover pot and turn to low heat.

Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Water should be almost clear.  If not, you can simmer longer checking every 10 minutes.  Or you can add a bit more acid if the dye is being stubborn.  My dye water had just a hint of turquoise when done.

Let cool.

Prepare rinse baths.  One with a few drops of textile detergent, and one with plain water.  Soak fiber for a few minutes in each one.  

Hang dry (or flat)

You've got grassy green fiber!

Variations:

Add 1/4 tsp of Magenta dye stock to tone it down a bit.

Adding 1/2 tsp Brown dye stock will warm it up and darken it.

If you add 1/2 tsp of Black, you'll get a darker and cooler shade of green.

Play around with the basic recipe to get different depths of color. 

Here I only used 1 tsp yellow, and 1/3 tsp turquoise.

The grass is always greener here.  Have fun!

xo

Next on Mixed-Up Monday (4/13): Mauve