Can I tie-dye yarn?

Question

And what kind?

Answer 1

You can dye and overdye natural fiber yarns, but not acryllic or man-made fiber yarns. Man-made fibers are colored before the liquid is extruded to make the yarn. You can put it into a dyebath, but don't expect permanent results.

Animal fibers are probably the easiest to take dye up, but will also felt easily if not handled carefully--the exception being superwash yarns. Acid dyes, including soft drink mix and dyes sold specifically for wool work best on these. The dyestuff is mixed with boiling water and an acid, usually for home dyeing one uses white vinegar, is added. The yarn is tied off in sections and pre-wet in hot water with a bit of dishwashing detergent in it and soaked for about a half an hour to get it thoroughly wet. Take a long sheet of plastic wrap and lay it out on a counter, put the drained yarn (you can squeeze most of the water out of it gently) on the plastic. Take your dye and spoon it onto the sections where you want the color to be, taking care not to use so much dyestuff that it runs. Then roll it up in the plastic wrap and put it into a steamer with some simmering water under it and simmer it in the steamer for 20 minutes to half an hour, taking care not to boil the water out of the pot. Let the yarn cool and rinse it thoroughly in the sink and hang it to dry. You can also put the wet yarn into a canning jar with dye in the bottom, add a second dye to the middle of the yarn, and a third dye to the top and put it in a pot of boiling water, again simmering it for about a half an hour for the dye to take up.

Cotton and plant fiber yarns need to have dyes specific to plant fibers to dye well. They aren't my favorites for dyeing because it isn't as easy as dyeing animal fibers.

Please be aware, for safety's sake, all pots, pans, steamers, dye jars, measuring instruments, including measuring spoons and cup measures, and stirring equipment ESPECIALLY if you use chemical dyes, should be used only for dyeing and once used for dyeing, even Kool-Ade dyeing, should not be used for cooking or food use again. For this reason I have a set of equipment just for dyeing and use disposeable paper cups and chop sticks for dyeing so they can be tossed out afterwards. A dust mask and rubber gloves should be worn while dyeing, and any surface you work on should be covered either with a plastic tablecloth or damp newspaper to control the spread of the dyepowder. Even Kool-Ade can be dangerous if you have respiratory problems and chemical dyes fly all over the place. Don't let anyone drink leftover dyestuff of any sort. If you want to chat further about this, please e-mail me.

Answer 2

Sure you can tie-dye almost any kind of yarn. You just have to make sure that the colors arent as neutral as most colors. The best type of yarn you can og with is cotton, and kind that you can actually feel the fuz over the yarn. Try going to the website od joanne fabrics and check out the different types of yarn you can use. But jsut to let you know, when you are drying them, make sure it isant humid out and there isnt a lot of moiture in the air. It would be most convinient to air dry the yarn...but with cool air-not warm or hot. I hope this helps!

Answer 3

A friend of mine dyes wool yarn with koolaid and uses it to make the most wonderful kids' clothes. It looks like most people think natural yarns work out the best. Here are some links I found:

Answer 4

Yes you can, they did it one day on knitty gritty. It would work best on a natural fibre. Cotton is great. Look for instructions on http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_dkng/0,2044,DIY_18180,00.html

edit: Here's the direct link http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_knitting/article/0,2025,DIY_14141_4185694,00.html

Answer 5

no