Even though I can’t knit (the shoulder saga continues), I can dye yarn. I’ll always find some way to play with fiber! These projects were done specifically for the Ravelympics Ravellenic Games “Hand Dye High Dive”.
For this event, I gathered up some sock yarn that I didn’t like. I didn’t like the colors and knew I would never knit with them. The answer was to either give them away, or over dye them. Dye it is!
First I’ll show you the before photo, then the after photo. All the skeins are 50g of fingering weight yarn, 90% merino and 10% nylon.
Pink to Purple -
Now, isn’t that better? What’s interesting is that 2 of the pink skeins were darker but in the purple, only 1 looks just a touch darker (the bottom skein). It’s a lovely semi-solid color with just hints of lighter purple throughout.
Now the green -
Wow, I have to say, I LOVE how this came out. What’s interesting to me is that all the original skeins were different shades of blue and green and all turned out dark green with hints of kelly green throughout. The bottom skein has just a touch more lighter green than the rest. The dye I used was 80% kelly green and 20% black. I mixed the colors together in a jar before putting into the dye pot, and stirred it really well. Did the dye just not mix as well as I thought it did? Why did the yarn dye in this semi-solid way? I just don’t know, but I’m thrilled with the result.
And finally, the blue -
I love this blue! As you can see in the “before” photo, 2 skeins were dyed blue and black with some grey between, and 2 skeins were dyed with just the blue. I didn’t expect the new blue to cover the existing black, and it didn’t, but it did cover the grey (like a good dye should, you know). The dye I used was sapphire blue with just a touch (10%?) black. The depth of color is really lovely. I’m going to make a short sleeved T with this, alternating the skeins to get black stripes here and there through the entire sweater. 200g should be just enough, I hope.
So, that’s my games, done and dusted. I am super happy with these results! I love dyeing yarn. I have to stop myself from thinking about making it a side business. I think, as with a lot of things, it would kill the joy. I will dye what I will knit myself. At least for now!