My experiments with yarn dyeing. Almost MK

When the need arises to dye yarn, we immediately think of chemical dyes and are lost if suitable dyes are not found. The plant colors that nature itself offers us are almost forgotten today. But a little more than a century ago, only vegetable dyes were used. Knitted and embroidered products of that time are painted surprisingly durable. They still amaze us today with their variety of soft pastel shades. Let's pay special attention to natural dyes.

Before you start dyeing the yarn, you need to prepare the dye and fixative.

Etching

When dyeing yarn with any dye, both chemical and natural, it is necessary to fix the dye so that the color of the yarn will remain stable in the future and the yarn will not fade. To fix (etch) natural dyes, you can use the following fixatives (mordants): vinegar, birch ash, sauerkraut brine, alum, copper sulfate, tartaric acid and other fixatives. But please note that the same plant produces different colors when used with different fixatives. In many cases, if a mordant is not used, the yarn will turn beige or light brown. To obtain the color of yarn of light tones, use alum as a mordant, and to obtain dark tones, you can use chrome mordant, copper or iron sulfate. The resulting color will also be influenced by the method of etching performed: preliminary, simultaneous or subsequent etching.

To prepare the mordant, you can use the following method: dissolve 4 g of alum per 100 g of yarn, dissolve 0.5 g of iron sulfate or 1 g of copper sulfate in 2 - 3 liters of water.

There are three ways to perform etching.

Method 1. Etching and painting occur simultaneously.

This method is the most common and is considered the most convenient. Add a fixative to the prepared dye. Dip the skeins prepared for dyeing into the resulting solution (read how to prepare yarn for dyeing in the article “Preparing for dyeing yarn”). Don't forget that the yarn must be perfectly clean and wet. Boil the yarn over low heat for 45 - 60 minutes.

Method 2. Pre-etching.

Dissolve the fixative in water and boil the yarn in this solution for 15 - 20 minutes. Then transfer the wet yarn, without squeezing, into the dye and boil for another 45 - 60 minutes.

Using this method of pickling, the yarn after dyeing acquires a darker, more intense color.

Method 3. Subsequent etching.

First, dye the yarn, and then remove the yarn from the dye solution. Add a fixative to the dye and mix the resulting solution well. Place the yarn back into the solution and continue to boil the yarn in this solution for about 30 minutes.

Coloring

What amazing shades of brown can be obtained from fir cones and brushwood. And from dry birch leaves you can get a wonderful yellow and beige dye at home, and from ordinary onion peels you can get a yellow color.

Natural dyes can be obtained from plant branches, bark, leaves, fruits, and plant roots. To prepare dyes, you can take both fresh and dried plants. Dyes from fresh plants give a brighter, more saturated color than dried ones, but this color is less durable.

The color of the dye is also affected by the time of harvesting the plants. It is best to collect the leaves in early June, when they are still young and capable of producing more intense shades. Pick flowers when they are just blooming. Spring is the best time to collect bark. At this time, the bark is better separated from the trunk. Collect the roots of the plant either before the plant blooms, or in the fall.

The resulting color of the yarn after dyeing depends on many factors, but the plant itself sets the color palette. Here, for example, are the colors that can be obtained from various plants:

I offer a table for obtaining some colors depending on the time of collection, and the method and type of etching:

I bring to your attention several old recipes for dyeing yarn. In these recipes, the amount of dye is indicated per 100 grams of yarn.

Dark beige color.

1. Take 200 - 300 g of dry fallen birch leaves.
2. Pour cold water into the bowl at the rate of 1 - 2 liters of water per 100 grams of plant.
3. Soak the leaves in this water for a day.
4. After a day, boil this infusion for 15 – 20 minutes.
5. Strain the broth into a container for dyeing yarn.
6. Dip into the broth) and boil for 1 hour over low heat, stirring continuously.
7. Then
8. Dry the yarn.

Beige color.

1. Soak 500 g of dried nettle in water at the rate of 1 - 2 liters of water per 100 g of plant and leave for 3 - 4 hours.
2. Prepare a solution: 19 g of alum per 2 liters of water.
3. Strain the nettle infusion and heat it.
4. Dip the yarn into the heated nettle infusion and boil it for an hour, stirring it constantly.
5. Leave the yarn in the solution until it cools completely.

Yellow color with a beige tint.

1. Soak 500 g of wild rosemary branches and soak it for 24 hours
2. Strain the infusion and heat it. If you add 1 teaspoon of salt to the broth, the yarn will turn pink.
3. Dip the yarn into the heated solution and boil it for 4 hours over low heat.
4. Leave the yarn in the solution until it cools completely.
5. Rinse the yarn thoroughly and dry.

Yellow.

1. Pour 250 g of dry fallen birch leaves with 4 liters of water.
2. Strain the broth.
3. Dissolve 22 g of alum in 2 liters of water and put the prepared yarn in it (read the article on how to prepare yarn for dyeing "Preparing to dye yarn").
4. Boil the yarn in this solution for 30 minutes.
5. Transfer the yarn to the broth and, stirring continuously, boil it over low heat for 1 hour.
6. Leave the yarn in the solution until it cools completely.
7. Rinse the yarn thoroughly in warm water.
8. Dry the yarn.

Dark yellow color.

1. Prepare a solution at the rate of 15 g of alum per 2 liters of water.
2. Boil the prepared yarn in alum solution for 30 minutes.
3. Pour 800 g of onion peels with water at the rate of 1 - 2 liters of water per 100 g of peels and boil for 3-4 hours.
4. Strain the broth.
5. Dip the yarn into the strained broth and boil it for an hour over low heat, stirring constantly.
6. Leave the yarn in the solution until it cools completely.
7. Rinse the yarn well and dry.

Reddish-yellow (orange) color.

1. Pour 400 g of dry onion peel with 3 - 4 liters of water.
2. Leave the husk for 7 hours.
3. Strain the infusion and heat it.
4. Prepared wet yarn (read the article on how to prepare yarn for dyeing "Preparing to dye yarn") dip into a warm solution and boil for 2 hours over low heat, stirring continuously.
5. Rinse the yarn thoroughly in warm water.
6. Dry the yarn.

Green.

1. Prepare a solution: 15 g of potassium dichromate per 2 liters of water.
2. Heat the solution and dip the yarn into it.
3. Boil the yarn over low heat for 2 hours.
4. Dry the yarn.
5. Boil 400 g of wild rosemary for 3 - 4 hours.
6. Strain the broth and cool.
7. Dip the yarn into the cooled broth, heat it and boil for another 1 hour.
8. Leave the yarn in the broth until it cools completely.
9. Rinse the yarn thoroughly and dry.

Grayish-green color.

1. Pour 150 g of dry fallen birch leaves with 3 - 4 liters of water.
2. Boil the leaves for 3 – 4 hours.
3. Strain the broth.
4. Add 6.5 g of acorns and 1.2 g of iron sulfate to this decoction.
5. Boil the acorns for another 15 minutes and then cool slightly.
6. Prepared wet yarn (read the article on how to prepare yarn for dyeing "Preparing to dye yarn") dip into a warm solution and boil for 1 hour over low heat, stirring continuously.
7. Rinse the yarn thoroughly in warm water.
8. Dry the yarn.

Gray color with a brownish tint.

1. Prepare a solution: 15 g of alum per 2 liters of water.
2. Boil the yarn in this solution for 30 minutes.
3. Boil 400 g of wild rosemary in water for 3 – 4 hours.
4. Strain the broth.
5. Dip the yarn into the broth and simmer over low heat for another 1 hour.
6. Leave the yarn in the broth until it cools completely.
7. Rinse the yarn thoroughly in warm water and dry.

We examined in detail several methods of dyeing yarn with natural dyes. If you have any questions or want to discuss something, be sure to leave a comment.

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Today we have a huge selection of yarn, but sometimes you want original colors that you can’t find in stores. In such cases, the ability to dye yarn will help out. Moreover, you can paint not only new, but also old thread that has lost its original appearance.

If you need to make dark yarn light, use the bleaching method. Also, using this method you can get a thread dyed in different colors.

To dye yarn at home, you will need convenient dishes (an enamel saucepan or basin without cracks or stains) in which the dye will be diluted and the yarn will be soaked. It is also very important to properly prepare the yarn and stock up on high-quality dye.

Usually at home you can dye only 500-600 g of yarn at a time. If suddenly you need to dye a lot of yarn, and the dyeing container is not very large, do not try to divide and dye the yarn in parts. The shades of each separately painted skein will be different, although the amount of water and dye will remain the same.

If the yarn has a yellowish tone, and you need to dye it, say, blue, pale pink or gray colors, then before painting it must be bleached. Otherwise, you will not be able to get a “pure” shade.

Aniline (acid) dyes are used to dye wool. The amount of dye depends on the weight of the yarn to be dyed. To get a rich color from 300 - 400 g of yarn, you need to use 1 package of dye, about 2 tablespoons of acetic essence or a glass of vinegar.
To obtain an even color, Glauber's salt is sometimes used - it slows down the coloring process. For one packet of dye add 1 tablespoon of Glauber's salt, or 2 tablespoons of regular table salt.

Dyeing of wool yarn is done as follows: the dye is poured into a liter jar and poured with hot water, stirring gently with a wooden spoon or stick. Add two tablespoons of regular table salt or one tablespoon of Glauber’s salt to a container with water heated to 30 - 45 °C and mix well. The dye is filtered through several layers of gauze into the same container with water.

Clean wool, soaked in warm water, is gently wrung out without twisting and placed in a container. Continuously stirring the yarn, warm up the container for 5-10 minutes (do not boil).

Then the wool is taken out of the container and a tablespoon of vinegar essence (half the norm) is poured into it, the yarn is put back in and, stirring gently, bring to a boil. Keep the yarn in this solution for another 20 minutes. The secret to successful dyeing is constant stirring of the yarn.
After 20 minutes, remove the yarn from the container, add another tablespoon of essence to the solution, mix well and lower the yarn, leave for 20 - 30 minutes.

Afterwards the container is removed from the stove. The yarn is not removed from it until the water is completely transparent and the thread is colored in the desired tone. Then the thread is carefully rinsed in water and vinegar. If the wool sheds when rinsed, it means the dye is of poor quality, or the solution was oversaturated with it.
In this case, the skeins must be brought to a light boil again in a new solution of vinegar and salt. The finished dyed yarn is dried, and after drying it is wound into balls.

Sectional coloring.

The technique for sectional dyeing (in 3-4 colors) is the same, the only difference is that before dyeing, not all of the clean yarn is soaked, but only a part (1/3 - 1/4). A wooden stick with a skein is placed on the container, so that the wet part of the skein is in the dye. Having colored one part of the skein in this way, move on to painting the opposite end in a different color. Then the skein is dried and folded so that the painted parts are in the middle, and the clean parts are on the outside. These ends can be painted another color or left white.

When dyeing yarn using this method, you need to tie the skeins quite tightly in order to separate one shade from another. But at the same time, you need to take into account that paint does not penetrate under tightly bandaged areas and they may turn out to be poorly painted.

Another way to get yarn dyed and different colors is bleaching. The painting technology is the same as for painting, but dark-colored skeins are used.

In this case, the container should contain soapy water, in which the skeins should be heated for 25-30 minutes, changing the water 3 times, as a result of which the paint gradually comes off from the wool. Bleaching is completed at the moment when the color becomes intended.

The next part of the skein is boiled for a longer time, the next part even longer, constantly changing the water. A product made from such yarn should usually be made in stocking or garter stitch. The canvas turns out to be quite original and beautiful in color.

Bleaching.

If the tone of the dyed yarn turns out darker than it should be, or the yarn is dyed unevenly, then it can be bleached - discolored:
baking soda – 100 g per 500-600 g of yarn;
soda ash– 2 – 2.5 tablespoons per 10 liters of water (the bleaching process takes place within 10 – 15 minutes, the solution is not brought to a boil);
ammonia - 150 - 200 g and 100 g of soap shavings per 10 liters of water;
table salt– the thread is soaked in warm water and carefully immersed in a solution (250 – 300 g per 10 liters of water) at a temperature of 60 – 70 ° C for 20 minutes, brought to a light boil, stirring all the time with a wooden or plastic stick, then gently rinsed in water ;

Composite colors.

To obtain a composite color, you need to dilute light paint and add darker paint to it. The intensity of the tone should be checked by first dipping a small strand of yarn into the solution.
By mixing dyes and additional reagents it is possible to obtain the desired shade of yarn:
half blue + half yellow = salad;
half red + half yellow = orange;
half a vine of blue + red = purple;
half blue + half pink = lilac;
½ part red + ¼ brown + 1/3 black + 1 part yellow = 500 g terracotta wool;
1 part cornflower blue + 2 parts blue = bright blue;
half burgundy + half blue = cherry.
Experiment!

Yarn dyeing at home

All the best!

First, soak your yarn thoroughly by pressing something heavy on top (I used a glass cutting board) so that there are no air pockets and the yarn is completely saturated with water. You can wash it in shampoo or soap to remove any remaining lanolin.

After the yarn has been in the water for about 10 minutes, it needs to be lightly wrung out, the water drained, and the yarn placed in a fireproof glass container.
Now you can thin the paint. I already bought it in liquid form (small vials in the photo, they stand behind the measuring cup), but since they are highly concentrated, I diluted them with water. You can dilute with hot water immediately, or with cold water, but it will take longer to heat up in the microwave. We dilute the paint to desired strength- I had a glass of water and 10 drops of paint. Everything will depend on the quality of food coloring. My yarn is not nuclear colors, so I was happy with this color. Pour in about a spoonful of table vinegar so that the color takes on. And so with each color.

You can, of course, dye the yarn one color and not bother. But I'm not interested. That's why I painted it in three colors. The next step is to water the yarn with our paint solution, trying to select colors that will look harmonious, even if they flow into each other.

We put on gloves and press the yarn so that the paint completely saturates our layer. In general, we will have section-dyed yarn, if I'm not mistaken in the terms.

And the third color. Then cover cling film, having made a couple of small holes for ventilation and put it in the microwave at full power for three minutes, maximum five. It all depends on the power of your microwave. The yarn will be “ready” when all the dye from the water has been absorbed into the yarn and the water becomes almost clear. I checked about every three minutes and did several cycles. Be careful! The vessel, as well as the yarn, gets very hot! Use a spoon or spatula to gently push back the edge of the yarn to check the color of the water. Between each microwave cycle, the yarn should be allowed to sit for about five minutes.

After the yarn has absorbed all the dye, we remove the dish from the microwave and let the yarn cool at room temperature. If you immediately dip it in cool or cold water, it may mat - it's wool! After the yarn has cooled, we rinse it with the addition of a tablespoon of vinegar, dry it, wind it into balls and knit it, rejoicing at how clever we are - we dyed the yarn ourselves! Well, or we give it to those who love to knit.

This is the yarn I got. Unfortunately, it is not in the finished product, as it was sold.

And more examples of yarn dyed by me

and like this

Section-dyed yarn is a delight to the knitter's eye. Especially while it’s on the counter and in skeins. What is typical is that fabric made from such threads often turns out to be completely unpredictable, since the color spots fall, depending on the length of the section and the width of the knitting, as they want, and not as we need. The “sectional area” with short fragments of shades is especially famous for these surprises. As a result, the cute skein that we greedily grabbed in the store turns out to be a top or dress with strange color spots, putting unnecessary accents on those places that we would like to hide, and not stick out.

Threads with long sections (such as “kauni”) are a little more predictable in this regard: the fabric is obtained with gradient and smooth transitions of shades, more like stripes than camouflage spots or small splashes of colors.

What to do if you want to experiment with yarn and get what you need? color scheme and the length of the section, as well as the principle of their alternation?

Of course - paint! The threads must be completely natural, because synthetics will be colored differently (however, if you are not afraid to experiment, go ahead!). We will use safe dyes: food-grade ones for coloring eggs, sold in grocery stores before Easter. For food you will also need vinegar, and for dishes you will need containers for laying out wool. Let’s not forget about kitchen appliances: you can use a microwave, you can use an oven. Some people make do with a colander and a boiling pan. You will also need plastic film and gloves to protect your hands.

Safety first. Cover the table with newspapers or unnecessary film, tablecloth, fabric so as not to change the color of what you did not plan to decorate. Yarn can be dyed in skeins, or in balls. Depending on how you arrange the contact of the threads with the paint, the length of the “output” section is also determined. So, if you want to have longer sections, you should wind the threads into small balls of the same size. If you want to color the material in various shades, it is better to wind the skeins, but longer ones (meter-long - at least). Don't forget to tie them with threads in 4-5 places (the longer, the more dressings there should be)!

Dilute the dyes (they are in powder form) in hot water, don’t skimp on the dyes, and you don’t need a lot of water. The solution should be very intense. You can figure out whether you need to add powder or whether it’s better to dilute it by dipping a sample of thread into the paint for a couple of minutes. Wring it out (did you remember your gloves?), evaluate it, and add what you need to the container. When the coloring solution is ready, you need to add vinegar essence to fix it - about 1 tablespoon per glass of liquid. And now you can begin the most creative stage.

If you are dyeing balls, pour a little dye into a flat basin or large bowl, lower the balls there so that their lower part is in the liquid. Leave for a few minutes for the coloring solution to absorb.

You can do the following with the skeins: lower them at different ends into 2-3-4 jars with the required solutions. You can leave long unpainted fragments between the jars; you can, on the contrary, move them as close as possible and move the skeins in such a way that natural color there are no threads left.

Another option is to lay out the skein in zigzags, loops and other curves along the bottom of the basin and carefully pour paint from the glass into different areas of the resulting “surface”. Try not to pour too much so that the coloring solutions do not mix into a single brown shade. However, if you use two colors (for example, red and yellow), then mixing them in the form of orange can be a good idea.

When we painted everything the way we wanted, it was time to fix the dye. Slightly wring out the yarn and place the container with it in the microwave. If there is a lot of thread, you can do it differently - wrap the balls or skeins in plastic wrap (wrap the skein like a “sausage” so that the colors don’t mix), put everything in the oven (temperature just above 100 degrees, time – 10-15 minutes). They say that you can leave the package in the open sun all day. True, it is unknown - what to do if it is winter or a rainy, foggy spring?

After the threads are removed from the microwave or oven, do not rush to unwrap or open the container. It's worth letting them cool. Then we wring out the yarn and rinse it thoroughly in warm, then in cool water. As a rule, by the end of rinsing the water is no longer colored. This is evidence that natural fibers bind very well to food coloring. Dry the skeins or balls. Then all that remains is to wind them up (if you did not dye them in balls) - and start knitting samples as soon as possible, because there is nothing more interesting than finding out what happened as a result of such entertaining experiments!

Now in pictures.

This is what the sheep's wool that we will be dyeing looked like before spinning.

Place the skein in jars with the chosen paint:

Drying what you painted:

The color turned out to be what we wanted: bright, with transitions.

For comparison, let’s put the resulting threads and the wool from which they were spun side by side.

Let's roll it up into balls.

We will definitely link samples!

Now you can start knitting the real product. Prickly clean wool threads great for socks!