Mixed-Up Monday, Pale Pinks

This week we're playing with pale pink.  Think summer sunsets, petals, and cotton candy.  There are so many different subtle shades of pink. We're only dyeing 5 this week but you can experiment and come up with your own perfect pink!

What you'll need:

Gloves

Acid: citric acid or vinegar

Acid Dye Stock Solutions:  magenta, yellow, turquoise, brown, and black

Wool or Yarn

Dyepot: stainless steel or enamel crock pot

Measuring spoons

Gather your wool and soak in room temperature tap water until fully saturated.  I'm using 1 oz bundles of mixed breed combed top.

Fill a dyepot with a few inches of tap water.  Add 1/2 tsp citric acid or 2 tsp vinegar. (this is for 1 oz of fiber)

Add 1/4 tsp of Magenta dye solution.  A little goes a long way!

Add wool or yarn.  Press wool down gently to cover all areas.  Cover and turn on low heat.  Heat this up slowly.  Check after 15 minutes to see if dye has exhausted.  If not, let it heat for a bit longer checking every 5 minutes. Water will be clear.  

Let cool.  I like to transfer freshly dyed wool by using a piece of nylon net.  It keeps the fibers from floating around too much while you rinse and soak.  Put this fiber in a sink full of water that has a drop or two of textile detergent (or blue Dawn).  I let it soak a few minutes and then do one final rinse by setting the bundle in a sink of fresh water.  Gently press out excess water and hang dry.

This is the basic pink recipe.  Pretty, huh?  A perfect shade of cotton candy pink!

Variations:

Here I added 1/8 tsp of turquoise to the basic recipe.  It's now a pretty orchid pink.

Added 1/4 tsp of yellow in this dyepot.  Pink leaning toward pale coral.

Adding 1/4 tsp of brown goes to dusty rose.

Add 1/8 tsp of black for a pretty silvery lilac shade.

You can mix and come up with so many different hues.  Try yellow and brown, or maybe a turquoise and black?  Just remember you only need a little to change it up!

Have fun!

xo

Next time on Mixed-Up Monday: Pumpkin