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Fun Ways to Experiment with Dyeing Yarn at Home

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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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Comments

  1. 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. 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?

A Whimsical Sock Pattern to Blow Your Mind

You probably know by now if you’re a regular reader (and if you’re not, welcome!) that I love a knitting pattern that’s a little silly or a little different from the usual. Classic patterns are great, too, but sometimes you just want to make something with a bit of whimsy. And when it’s super functional, too, that’s even better.

That’s the case with the Bananen-Socken pattern from Susanne Shahin. These banana socks are one of those patterns no one seems to be totally sure where it came from, and this free pattern on Ravelry explains how she makes them based on how she learned it.

It’s a sock that’s curved and when not on a foot it looks rather like a banana. There’s no heel, and you can use whatever number of stitches you need to make it fit your foot. If you’ve knit enough socks to know how many stitches you like you can just use that number, or the pattern notes include sizing charts to help. (It needs to be multiples of 2 for the ribbing.)

After working a traditional cuff, the body is made with ribbing on the back and welts (or what the pattern calls horizontal ribbing) on the front, which is what gives it the curved shape. There’s no heel, but there is toe shaping, but for the leg and the foot you just keep working the same pattern as long as you like.

I’m a little skeptical about how these socks will feel with ribbing on the bottom of the foot, but I’m definitely intrigued and will probably give them a try. 

The pattern notes are available on Ravelry in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. If you head to the pattern page you can see a photo of what it looks like on a foot, and it just looks like a normal sock.

Have you ever knit banana socks or do you want to now? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Susanne Shahin]