I've been dyeing since last year, and I've tried a few different things. I've tried to make variegated, tonal, solid, and speckled yarn; tried breaking black; and experimented with different acids and food dyes. But I've been scared of one thing: Red #3.
You might wonder why, if you don't spend as much time reading about food dyes as I do. Red #3 is notoriously difficult to set. It does something called "crocking" if too much acid is added too quickly -- instead of binding with the yarn, the dye will sit on the outside, hardening and becoming powdery. It might stain your dyeing vessel or fingers and the color will rinse off.
Red #3 isn't in some of the common food dyes (for example, Kool-Aid uses Red #40), so it can be easy to avoid, but many of the Wilton's color gels include it and it is one of the dyes in the readily available McCormick's red. I knew that I was going to have to try it if I really wanted to broaden my dyeing horizons.
So Monday night, I put my game face on and decided to give it a shot. I got out my standard supplies: two 15-yard miniskeins of Lion Brand LB1878 per dye bath, one cream and one pale tan, and two Mason jars. I three-quarters-filled each Mason jar with tepid water and added 15 drops of McCormick's red food coloring to one (I was going for a darkish red) and 4 drops of Berry Crocker Neon Pink food coloring to the other (which is also made with Red #3), and then stirred. I put my dry yarn into the Mason jars and microwaved them for 2 minutes, rested them for 2 minutes, and then microwaved for another 2 minutes. Just the heat and water allowed some of the dye to set at that point. I then added 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar to each jar (I usually soak the yarn with one tablespoon of vinegar before I even add the dye!) and microwaved for another 2 minutes.
That was all it took! The dye set and didn't crock and I think my yarn looks really great.
You might wonder why, if you don't spend as much time reading about food dyes as I do. Red #3 is notoriously difficult to set. It does something called "crocking" if too much acid is added too quickly -- instead of binding with the yarn, the dye will sit on the outside, hardening and becoming powdery. It might stain your dyeing vessel or fingers and the color will rinse off.
Red #3 isn't in some of the common food dyes (for example, Kool-Aid uses Red #40), so it can be easy to avoid, but many of the Wilton's color gels include it and it is one of the dyes in the readily available McCormick's red. I knew that I was going to have to try it if I really wanted to broaden my dyeing horizons.
So Monday night, I put my game face on and decided to give it a shot. I got out my standard supplies: two 15-yard miniskeins of Lion Brand LB1878 per dye bath, one cream and one pale tan, and two Mason jars. I three-quarters-filled each Mason jar with tepid water and added 15 drops of McCormick's red food coloring to one (I was going for a darkish red) and 4 drops of Berry Crocker Neon Pink food coloring to the other (which is also made with Red #3), and then stirred. I put my dry yarn into the Mason jars and microwaved them for 2 minutes, rested them for 2 minutes, and then microwaved for another 2 minutes. Just the heat and water allowed some of the dye to set at that point. I then added 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar to each jar (I usually soak the yarn with one tablespoon of vinegar before I even add the dye!) and microwaved for another 2 minutes.
That was all it took! The dye set and didn't crock and I think my yarn looks really great.
