Mixed Up Monday: Periwinkle

The color periwinkle gets its name from the color of blossoms produced by the plant called Periwinkle, or myrtle, Vinca minor.  It is a mix of lavender and pale blue.

What you'll need:

gloves

wool: fiber or yarn

acid: citric or vinegar

acid dyes: turquoise and magenta.  Brown, black, and yellow are optional.  (link for mixing dye                            stocks can be found here)

dye pot: stainless steel or crock pot

measuring spoons

I'll be using 1 oz bundles of mixed breed wool combed top for each dye pot.  

Gather your wool and soak in some room temp tap water until saturated.

Add 1/2 tsp citric acid, or 2 tsp vinegar, to a dye pot filled with a few inches of water.  

Add 1 tsp, 5 ml, of Turquoise dye stock to the pot.

Next, add 1/2 tsp of Magenta dye stock.  Give it a stir.

Add the damp wool making sure it is completely submerged.

Cover and turn heat to low.

Simmer for 20 minutes.  Water should be clear when done.

Let cool.

Prepare water baths, one with a couple drops of textile detergent or Blue Dawn, and one bath of plain tap water.  Soak wool in each one for a few minutes. 

Hang dry.

A pretty shade of periwinkle. :)

1 tsp Turquoise dye stock

1/2 tsp Magenta dye stock

Variations:

Adding 1/4 tsp of Yellow dye stock will tone it down while keeping a pastel shade.

Here I added 1/4 tsp of Brown dye stock to darken and warm it up a bit.

Adding 1/4 tsp of Black dye stock will darken and bring out more cool undertones.

Have fun and keep on dyeing!

xo

Mixed Up Mondays will be back soon!  

Mixed-Up Monday: Purple

I'm a purple person.  I love every shade of purple, from violet to plum.  Many of the colorways I've created have some sort of purple in it...I have to force myself not to use it in everything.  It's so versatile!

What you'll need:

gloves

wool: fiber or yarn

acid: citric or vinegar

dye solutions: turquoise, magenta, yellow, brown, black

dye pot: stainless steel or crockpot

I'm using 1 oz bundles of mixed wool combed top.

Gather up your fiber and soak in some room temperature tap water.

Fill the dye pot with a few inches of water, enough to fully submerge the amount of fiber you'll be adding in.

Add 1/2 tsp of citric acid (for 1 oz) or 2 tsp of vinegar.

Add 3 TB (45 ml) of magenta dye stock.

Next, add 1 TB (15 ml) of turquoise dye stock.

Add the damp wool making sure it is completely covered with dye.  

Put on the lid and set heat to low.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.  Dye water should be almost clear when done.   If there is still a lot of dye floating around you can simmer for a bit longer checking every 5 minutes.

Let cool completely.  Prepare you rinse baths.  I use one with a few drop of textile detergent or Blue Dawn, then finish it off with a plain water bath.  Hang or dry flat.

Pretty purple wool!

You can adjust the ratio of magenta to turquoise to get different shades.  (3 magenta to 1 turquoise is used here).  Add more turquoise for violet, or add more magenta for plum.

Variations:

Add 1 tsp (5 ml) of yellow dye stock to tone it down.

Adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of black dye stock will darken and cool it down.

Add 1 TB of brown dye stock to darken and warm it up to a deep plum.

Also experiment with the amount of dye added.  Here I only used 1/3 of the main recipe.  (1 tsp magenta, 1/4 tsp turquoise)

Have fun finding your perfect purple!

xo

Next on Mixed-Up Monday, 3/2:  Yellows