Dyeing experiments and decisions

 

Tobacco Leaf Brown

I have dyed three 2-ounce samples of the Shetland wool that I recently scoured. Tobacco Leaf Brown will be the base of the heathered yarn I hope to make. The bulk of the wool will be dyed this color.

Forest Green and Cayenne Red

Forest Green and Cayenne Red are the auxiliary colors and I will need much less of them.

I used chemical dyes from the Dharma Trading Company, adhering to their recommended percentages of dye to wool: 1.5% to 2.0% the weight of wool for the amount of dye powder. Since I was dyeing only 2 ounces at a time, this meant a scant 3/8 of a teaspoon of dye for each bath (based on 1 tsp. = 1/8 ounce). I really needed 1/3 teaspoon but I don't have such a measure.

Following their recommended procedure, I soaked the wool (with a little no-rinse soap to ensure all--or most--traces of lanolin were gone). Put a stainless pot of water (with plenty of room for the wool) on the stove and turned up the heat. Diluted my dye powder in a little bit of boiling water then added that to the pot, followed by the pre-soaked wool. Brought the temperature up to 200 F (below the boiling point so as not to cause felting), then pushing the fiber to one side of the pot, added 1/8 cup of vinegar and let the whole thing cook for half an hour at around 200 F. It's a bit more vinegar than called for, but no harm. Very gently, I pushed the wool down several times during steeping, being ever so careful not to felt it.

I dyed the brown first and it was late in the afternoon by the time it was done cooking, so I left the wool in the pot overnight while it cooled. The dye was completely exhausted by the following morning (i.e. all the dye had been taken up by the wool). I'm very happy with the color and the dye job. The Cayenne Red was processed the same way, but I removed it from the pot after 5 or 6 hours. Another successful dye. The Forest Green came out with some mottling, an uneven dye distribution. Had this been for some other purpose I might have been displeased with the result, but since I'm making a heathered yarn, the uneven dyeing works to my advantage and I am happy!

Now on to some blending tests. This is unchartered waters for me and I'm going about it quite blindly. But I know what I want so I'm letting that guide me.

My drum carder

I took out the drum carder I bought 9 or 10 years ago and started running the wool onto it. First a good layer of brown then a scattering of red and green, following by more brown and more scatterings.

After the first pass through the carder, I got this batt:

First pass through the carder

Not bad, but the fibers need more carding. I tore up the batt and sent pieces of it through again resulting in batt number two:

Second pass through the carder

I like this quite a bit. Still, I wonder if it needed more carding, so I tore it up and sent it through the carder, making two more small batts.

Third pass through the carder (on right)

It seems to me that the third pass batts are too blended, the red and green disappear into the mix almost completely. Then I thought I'd run one of those back through the carder with the addition of more red and green bits, and that resulted in the fourth pass:

Fourth pass through the carder

OK, not bad. It's certainly carded enough. So I think my choices now are #2 or #4. But I will modify the process slightly by running the brown, alone, through the carder twice before adding the colored bits for passes three and four. Another test to do.

But. . . there is still the question of how I will prepare this for spinning. I can use my hand carders to turn the batts into rolags for modified long-draw spinning, and that will offer an opportunity to add red and green bits as needed, for good effect. On the other hand, if I decide to mount the batts on a distaff and spin from that, then these batts are the finished blend before becoming yarn.

I don't have a distaff yet and will probably wait for the Vermont Sheep & Wool next month to see if there are any available there. Or I could order from Etsy or eBay. Or decide to spin from rolags. There are probably even more choices that I'm not even aware of.

Lots of decisions go into making a yarn!! :)

A Mystery Spin

 

A hot mat doing it's job nicely at breakfast!

I've had this bit of roving for some time. I can no longer recall what breed of sheep it comes from, but if pressed, would guess Cormo. It is, when decompressed, very spongy with lots of spring. Although Targhee comes to mind, I'm pretty sure it's not that. So I'm saying Cormo, for now.

This picture was taken in natural light

The roving is pictured at right. After carding, the rolags are fluffy and light as air pictured top left. I spun two samples on the Country Craftsman wheel, both of which ended up more like string than yarn (bottom left). I tried to lessen the amount of twist on the second sample, but it still was not enough. Then I moved to one of my Kundert spindles (bottom center) and tada! Got the yarn I was seeking.

This picture was taken in artificial light

It spins up like a soufflé, so much loft! That's the first skein of 45.5 yards. Again, I'm chain plying on the fly, so I can only get so much into a skein. That's OK though, I don't mind smaller skeins; it's faster to wind them into balls!

In general, my spinning is improved from the days of NYC spinning. I am not adding so much twist, resulting in yarn that has a better "hand", in my opinion.

I have a movie that Norman Kennedy made, called "From Fleece to Wool". I rewatched it last month and it sunk in that less twist can result in a better yarn.

Norman Kennedy is a well-known spinner and weaver from Vermont and started a weaving school there. He hails from Scotland, where he learned his trade. The school was called the Marshfield School of Weaving in Marshfield, Vermont. It has since relocated and goes by the name The Newbury School of Weaving. I recently discovered that it's not too far from where I live. Oh, boy!

The tale of a rescued Fair Isle knit

 

I knit this much of a scarf, in the round, three years ago. The gauge I worked with was not the one specified for the pattern, hence my tubular scarf was knitting up much wider and bulkier than designed. I really loved my color choices, but knew I would end up not wearing it because it was so heavy. So I stopped knitting it.

Too pretty to frog (frogging stranded isn't my cup of tea either) or toss, I ended up stitching up the seam with the sewing machine and cutting it open into one large rectangle. I thought it might make a nice lap throw, but it wasn't quite large enough for that. So it got put upstairs to wait for another day.

I was re-arranging my room over the weekend and came across it, now containing a moth hole or two. Oh drat! I was this close to throwing it away, but couldn't do it. Then, having been influenced and inspired by watching many videos on spinning, dyeing, and knitting and weaving, I had a eureka moment: felt it! Then I'd be able to cut it up into coasters and table mats for hot dishes. Fab idea! So I tossed it in the washing machine then the drier. Since it wasn't as felted as I wanted, I tossed it in a tub with soapy water and massaged it well, till I got the desired amount of felting.

On the chopping block it went. I cut out ten coasters, 2 smaller table mats, and one large table mat. I'm finishing the edges with tapestry wool in blanket stitch. I've only gotten 6 of the coasters and 1 of the small mats edged so far, and I'm really pleased with them. They have a hand-made, make-do wonkiness that is charming and warm. And they work great.

8" x 6.5"

The large mat which is not yet edged is about 23" x 14":

And the second small mat is about 10.5" x 6.25":

The four unfinished coasters are not the same color as the 6 above:

A sad tale turned around. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

Fleece plans

I achieved two accomplishments today. The Shetland fleece is now all scoured and teased, and the mixed fiber roving from Wellington Fibres is now all spun up.

I got 689 yards total of 3-ply yarn from the 250 grams of roving. Not enough for a vest or sweater. At the moment I'm undecided what I will make with it. I could weave a shawl--they are handy in the winter. Nothing feels cozier than a wool cloth around one's shoulders when the temperatures dip low.

I haven't weighed the fleece yet to see how many ounces there are. I did not have to toss too much of it, just a bit more than a handful of it was too soiled to try and keep. I will put that in the garden as mulch.

My large basket was overflowing and I had to employ a smaller one as well!

I have come up with a plan for this fleece so long as there is enough of it. First, I'm going to dye it. A large portion will be dyed "Tobacco Leaf Brown", one smaller portion will be dyed "Cayenne Red" and another small portion will be dyed "Forest Green". All three dyes are acid dyes that I have on order from Dharma Trading Co. They should arrive next week, I hope.

I had wanted to use natural dyes, Black Walnut, specifically. But since I don't have any Black Walnut trees, I would have to order the powdered form (or possibly see if I could find chunks somewhere). However, the fun of natural dyeing is going out to harvest materials oneself. It's the process that brings me joy. So if I'm going to buy powder, it might as well be an acid dye because it will be much more light fast. I've worked with acid dyes before and they are fun too, but not the same as foraging and making do with that which is at hand. It's just different. Acid dyes are called acid because they require the presence of an acidic environment to work. Vinegar is often used to make the bath acidic. Another option is citric acid.

The red and green dyed wool will provide a heathered effect in the brown. After the wools are dyed, I will mix the three colors on the drum carder. I chose green and red because they are Christmas colors and if all goes well, I will have a cape or cloak to wear around that time of year.

Yes, that's the plan: A garment. After dyeing and carding I will spin my brown heathered yarn and weave it into enough cloth to hand sew a lined cloak or cape. Gosh, I hope there's enough fiber. I think there is.

If it turns out I'm short of yarn, the Vermont Sheep & Wool is coming up in October and I might be able to buy another Shetland fleece there. If not, I'll have to think of something different to make.

Processing a Shetland fleece

The craft/spare room has become something of a magic cabinet. Every time I go in, I come out with something new and exciting! The latest is a Shetland fleece that I purchased a few years back.

So I've taken it downstairs to process. Over the past few days I've scoured about half of it. The remaining half sits spread across the corner of the kitchen (picture above) while a quarter of it--already scoured--sits on a screen on the deck where the breezy, beautiful, warm air is drying it speedily.

 Another quarter of it, that which was already dried from yesterday and some from earlier today, sits in this basket having been "picked". Picking is the process of opening up the locks and separating the fibers.

My scouring routine is to use two plastic tubs in the sink. I use hot tap water (it's pretty hot) and a bit of Dawn dish detergent (no more than a tablespoon) .

After a 20 minutte soak in the soapy water, I carefully remove it, wring it, and move it to the other tub with fresh soapy water for a second soak. As can be seen in the following picture, the first soak removes a lot of lanolin and muck.

After a second soak in soapy water, I  wring it and lift it into a rinsing bath. Always matching the temperature of the new bath to the old, or hotter, but not cooler.

Rinsing is the last step in the kitchen, after which I take the wet wool outside, to the deck, and lay it out on screens to dry. When dry--which is pretty quick in this weather--I "pick" it; some may say "tease" it.

I am seriously thinking of dyeing these fibers before I spin them. I would like to create a heathered yarn. A nice heathered, Shetland, yarn.

After dyeing, since I would like to create a heathered yarn, I will probably run the wool through the drum carder and tie the batts to a distaff to spin from.

More to come on this project.

Another quick knit

Somehow I'm continuing to get good mileage out of the old handspun scraps. There is nothing like restricted choices to get the creative juices flowing!

I'm quite happy with this skinny scarf. I realized, when close to half way through, that there would not be enough gray to continue alternative white and gray for the entire length. There was still a small ball of the blue/burgandy wool/silk and after some thought and hesitation decided to go with it.

I also wanted the ends to be different from each other, and I still had a small amount of repurposed sari silk "yarn" (which I did not spin, it's the only bit in the scarf that's not my own spinning) so I used that.

The doubts were high as I approached the finish on this scarf that it would just look ridiculous, but in the end, I don't think it does. I quite like it.

Skinny scarf number two:

There is still some yarn left, but the pickings are getting slim. I will try to put yet another knit together. :)

Spinning Silk

Mawata, to be precise. Silk cocoons that have been slit open, degummed, and stretched on a frame, and beautifully dyed.

I remember, years ago, taking a class in silk reeling where the intact cocoons are heated in water and a thread from maybe half dozen of them are gathered up and pulled into a long strand. Fine thread indeed.

Working with Mawata is very different. It is full of nebs and noils, and although a very thin thread can be obtained, it is unlikely to be 'silky' smooth. However, it takes well to chain plying and the plying tends to even things out, leaving a nice silky, shiny yarn.

With Mawata, it's all about pre-drafting. I start by lifting one hanky out of the bundle and stretching out it's border, all around. Then I poke a hole in the middle of the hanky and pull it into a ring, breaking it at one point. I then draft the whole into an almost final size. I finish the drafting while spinning. It requires a very long drafting area as the fibers are long and strong. Couldn't be much easier, but it's challenging if there's the slightest breeze and the silk wants to stick to everything. It finds every little rough spot on your hands

Top to bottom: A 'hankie', stretched out edges, pulled into a circle, drafted out (this is about 1/4 of the pre-drafting that I will do before starting to spin it.).

There is a technique of spinning Mawata where one simply bunches it up and drafts away. I haven't tried that yet but my experience so far tells me that the drafting must be quite difficult. I will try it at some point.

I'm spinning with a drop spindle, one I purchased years ago from someone online. Resin with embedded leaves. It spins beautifully.

Current amount spun. This is 3 ply, chain plied.

I found this fabulous carrier the other day at the thrift store, $4! It has a zillion compartments and pounches, perfect for porting my spindle spinning.

Work continues on the woolen, modified long draw spinning, and the green Merino spindle spun yarns.