First attempt at dying fiber

I was given a 3-ply wool blend of yarn many years ago. I held on to it not knowing what I wanted to do with it. I've been looking into dying yarn recently. There are natural dyes that I plan to use in the future like spinach leaves, black beans, onions, red cabbage, etc. While browsing, I discovered a recipe for Paas Easter egg dye. So when I was buying our kit to use with the kids, I picked up an extra box for a dying project.

Natural state of the wool

Any box of Paas with the tablets can be used

I rinsed the yarn and hung it to dry on the drying rack outside. It dried in an afternoon. This morning I had to soak the yarn again so it would soak up water and absorb more of the dye. While it was soaking in a bowl, I started getting the dyes ready. I added 3 tbsp of vinegar and a cup of hot water to the dye mixture.

Wool soaking in room temperature water

Bowls of Paas dye

I draped the yarn in each bowl and made sure the undyed parts transitioned into the bowl too. I ended up turning the burners on low because the liquid became cold fast. Heat is what sets the color, but no agitation because that will felt the wool. 

Orange, green, pink, turquoise, yellow, royal blue

Looks like I am turning into The Hulk

I went on a 2-mile run, hydrated, and rinsed the yarn with room temperature water, placed it in a bowl and hung it in the shower to dry. 

Rinsed out and ready to dry

Hanging in the shower to drip dry

I found it interesting that when I removed the yarn from the bowls, some of the colors were mostly absorbed by the yarn! 

What hue was left of the green and pink

What hue was left of the orange

I'm excited to wind the yarn into a ball and knit something with it! Oh, and I bought two more boxes on the clearance aisle for 50% off today! That should hold me over until next Easter! 

Do you think this is something you would try yourself?

R