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Fun Ways to Experiment with Dyeing Yarn at Home

April 8, 2015 by Sarah White

natural yarn dyeing methodsOver the weekend, when we were done dyeing our Easter eggs, I decided to use some of the leftover dye to dye some yarn. It’s really simple and if you use vinegar in the dye solution the colors should be pretty fast (though the pink has been rubbing off all over as I knit with it).

Dyeing yarn with basic stuff you already have on hand or natural materials you can easily procure is a lot of fun. These methods are great to use around kids, too, because they’re not toxic like some chemical dyeing situations would be.

I’m not the only one with dyeing on the brain lately. Portia at Makery UK has been doing some dyeing, too, using tumeric to make an ombre cotton yarn and food coloring in a series of small bowls to make another multicolored yarn that came out really subtle and pastel for spring.

If you’re looking for other ways to play with dye at home, try dyeing with Kool-Aid, dandelions or strawberries (other fruit would work, too).

Have you ever dyed yarn before? I’d love to hear about it!

100 % cotton yarn

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  • Knitting Patterns to Use Worsted Weight Yarn…
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Comments

  1. Maryanne says

    April 9, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    I tried Kool-Aid dyeing once with my kids. The yarn came out well, and was all sorts of colors, but it never lost the smell!

  2. MadScientistK says

    April 9, 2015 at 5:52 pm

    The colors will strike a lot faster and be much more wash and rub fast if you steam the yarn after dyeing. You can do this in the microwave in ziplock bags or a glass dish, or in mason jars in a stock pot water bath. It was all ready to rinse as soon as it cooled off from steaming, with no bleeding or crocking in the rinse or after they were dry.

    The kids and I dyed around 10 oz of wool roving and a skein of fingering weight yarn with the dye left over from doing our Easter eggs. It’s become a tradition. 🙂

Have you read?

Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right? 

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead). 

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry. 

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up. 

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now). 

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults. 

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English. 

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