This brief tutorial explains basic immersion dying. Please remember to use appropriate safety precautions, especially if you are dying in your kitchen (like I do).
In this tutorial, I am dying some mohair yarn that I spun. If you are spinning yarn, you need to tie off your skein in several places to keep it from becoming a knotted mess. Be sure to tie it off very loosely so that the dye can get under the ties (otherwise, it leaves a white line. Learned this the hard way)
This process works exactly the same for spinning fibers, you just don’t have to worry about tying anything off.
| Step 1 | Weigh the dry fiber.
I use a digital kitchen scale that is accurate to 2 grams. It also displays ounces so I don’t have to convert weights. When working with professional dyes, I use weight in grams. When working with Kool-Aid, I use ounces. |
| Step 2 |  Wet the fiber.
I add some vinegar (I’m not super precise) and enough water to cover the fiber to my kitchen sink or a large bowl. I let this soak for at least an hour. |
| Step 3 | Prepare work area.
Your fiber will be dyed, but so will your tile, grout, counters, linoleum, cabinets, etc. Cover anything you are worried about ruining. If you are working with professional dyes, now is the time to make sure that anything that might come in contact with food is put away. |
| Step 4 |  Prepare the dye and add it to the dye pot.
First you add water and some more vinegar to the dye pot. The amount of water doesn’t really matter as long as it will cover the fiber and allow it to move freely. Try to use close to the same temperature as the water the fiber is soaking in. Now measure out the dye and add it to the dye pot. To achieve bright colors, I use 3% weight of fiber for professional dyes (3ml of solution to 100 grams of fiber), or 3 packets of Kool-Aid to 1 ounce of fiber. |
| Step 5 |  Add the fiber to the dye bath and heat it up.(You can smash it down a bit so it all gets covered, just be very gentle) I set the burner on my stove to about 3 so that the water heats up gradually. Let the dye bath get up to a simmer but DO NOT LET IT BOIL!!! This will felt your fiber so fast it will make your head spin. |
| Step 6 |  Keep and eye on it.
I let my dye pot go for a half hour, or until most of the dye exhausts, whichever comes first. Then, I shut the stove off and allow the water to cool completely (usually overnight) before moving it. Any dye that didn’t exhaust usually does so overnight. When the dye is completely exhausted, the water is clear or almost clear, like in the picture to the right. |
| Step 7 |  Rinse the fiber.
Use lukewarm water and a little bit of gentle soap. I use Sythropol or sometimes fragrance free shampoo, depending upon what I have around. Try to get the excess dye out of the wool, but avoid agitating it too much. If the dye exhausted all the way, you shouldn’t have much to rinse out. After I rinse out the soap or whatever, I like to soak my fiber in Kookaburra Wool Wash or hair conditioner to soften it up a bit. |
| Step 8 | Dry you fibers DO NOT WRING YOUR FIBER OUT! I like to run my fiber through a spin cycle in the washer to remove excess water. I’ve never had problems with this felting my fibers as long as I remember to turn off the water. Then I hang my fiber over the bath tub to dry the rest of the way. Wool has an impressive ability to absorb water, so this usually takes a day or two. If you are dying handspun yarn, you may want to add a weight to help set the twist. Don’t use anything too heavy. I usually use a hand towel that I don’t mind getting dye all over. |
| Step 9 |  Enjoy your awesome dyed fiber! |