Solar Dyeing Dye Along
Try out solar dyeing. There are lots of ways to solar dye. They all follow basic principles. You put fibre/yarn in a large jar, add water, a mordant and natural dye materials. Leave in the sun for at least three weeks dependent on the weather and personal choice.
With this dye along we are using 1.5L kilner jars, alum as a mordant 10g per 100g of fibre/year, we will be using wool and a personal choice of dye material.
1. Soak method: In a large pan, you add alum to enough water to cover your wool and bring to approx 80 degrees C and then leave to cool. Gently squeeze excess water and add wool to jar which you then top up with plain water.
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2. Non soak method: The alum is added to the water in the jar and wool is added to the mixture.
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It is suggested that you will get a more even dye colour if you soak the wool first in hot water and cool.
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No Alum, no problem. You can use white vinegar. Ratio is 2 teaspoons per 2 cups of water. You can soak the wool first in warm water or add the vinegar to the jar. The results will be different from using alum.
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End of week one, you should have found a jar, decided on the mordant and chosen the dye material. There are lots of YouTube videos on solar dyeing and information on using natural dyes.
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