Dyeing Sock Blanks Doughnut-Style for textured Gradients

YUM!

This particular technique got me so excited when I saw it on Rebecca's Dye Pot Weekly episode #107, because knitting the sock blank into fabric and then shaping it for textures hearkens back to my old Procion Dye experiments on cotton.  This was something I wanted to try on yarn that is knitted into fabric form!


Heree is Rebecca's wonderful video demonstrating this technique.

Below you'll find my notes on how it turned out for me.  ;-)

My little Addi Express could make the narrow sock blank, but I realized I'd need the larger one to make wider, looser sock blank.  I didn't really want to invest $200 in the Addi King if my interest in this was short-lived, so I opted to purchase a generic circular knitting machine at 1/4 the price.  This was recommended by Margaret O at Sheepishly Sharing.    I got this one on Amazon for $54--used my points, and got it essentially free.  And it arrived in only 2 days!  [Note : I considered purchasing the Knit Quick knitting machine that Rebecca is using in the video, but the reviews on it are dismal -- It tends to break if not immediately, soon after you start using it.  Hopefully this generic pink one will wear better, and last a little longer.]

I made the sock blanks - one small and tidy, and one larger and looser.  Yarn is Marly Bird's Chic Sheep made of 100% Merino.  It has a delightful spring to it, and is washable, so it will be perfect for socks, I think.

   

Sock Blanks Rolled

Then you roll them into themselves, like a doughnut, so we can see how the dye will penetrate the layers.

Instead of the stove top, I opted for my slowcooker / crockpot method for this experiment.   Here the doughnuts are pre-soaking in plain water for 20-30 minutes.  I had the crock pot set on high so that the room temp water could slowly warm up to the needed temps for this method of dyeing wool. 

 I already had the box of Wilton's food coloring she had in the video -- not the usual gels we've been using, but drops.  You mix the colors according to particular formulas.  That's really satisfying to see the color come together / develop with the component colors.

I took out the yarn doughnuts, and added the required dye drops for a deep purple.  Gave it a stir, then dropped in the yarn doughnuts, squished them a bit to make sure the dye could penetrate and let them sit.

It always amazes me how the color of the water changes through the dye process.   This must have been soon after I dropped the yarn balls into the pot.   You can still see the reds in the dye.

After a while, the reds had absorbed, and you could still see the blues (and a very little red) in the water.  

This is probably about the time that I added 1/4 cup vinegar to help the blues strike the fiber.

This is probably when I went to bed at 10:30 pm or so.

I left the crock pot on "Keep Warm" or Low for the night, as heat also helps the blues absorb into the fiber.

By morning, the water was essentially clear.  Just a hint of light blue left.

Behind the spoon, you can see the deep purple yarn doughnuts.  That outer layer absorbed a goodly amount of the dye as it was readily available.

Here's another shot of the yarn doughnuts in the spent dye pot.  The water is essentially clear, and the water is still steamy and hot.  

This was the first peak after I unrolled them, still hot and wet from the steaming dye pot.

I was so excited to see the colors and gradients we got.  Yes, these are colors I can live with!

It took a couple of days for them to completely dry, especially now since we're not building a fire for heat every day.

Here's the larger, looser sock blank. They dye had a much easier time penetrating because it was so loosely knitted and rolled.

Here's the other side.

This has been turned right side out again.  Though when it was dyed, the purl side was out because of the way it was rolled into the doughnut.

Here's a detail shot of the larger, looser blank.

Here's the tighter blank.

Here's a detail shot of some of the color variation.

All day at work today, I was thinking about coming home and being able to unravel those sock blanks to see what kind of designs I got on the yarn.  But first -- I had to make a cheap Niddy Noddy out of PVC pipe, connectors, and end caps that I picked up at the local hardware store for about $7.  Build your own PVC Niddy Noddy.    Didn't take long to cut and put together, either.

Rebecca at ChemKnits / Dye Pot Weekly also demonstrates how to unwind a sock blank with 2 threads / yarns.  I was wondering about this myself, so her simple video was helpful.   I think she also has a video about making your own PVC Niddy Noddy.

 Aren't they gorgeous!  Like rain coming down ...  or a meteor shower.  The knitted structure acted like a resist, and made it a little harder for some of the dye components to penetrate.  What a beautiful effect!

As you are winding it onto the Niddy Noddy, you don't notice how kinked up the yarn is.  The heat and water during the dyeing process served to set the fibers in the knitted shape. I think this will eventually relax -- I'll have to look and see if there are tricks to that.  That kinky skein is what it looked like before I twisted it into  the smaller hank.

 I am so happy with this gradient!  I hope there enough there to actually make a pair of socks!  If not, I know how to make more!

I am excited to get started with a real knitting project on the new pin looms.

This technique has so much potential for other colors, gradients, textures!  There are so many possibilities, I think I want to develop some kind of grid (like gamers use) and roll the dice to choose what color(s) / techniques to dye yarn.  Unless someone has already done it?