How to dye solid black without it breaking

 

Ok, dyeing solid black seems to be one of the biggest issues indie dyers have.  I see it all over Facebook dyeing groups, asking how in the world to get a solid black!

I'm here to help.  First, make sure you are using a good quality black.  I use our black dye at Camaj Fiber Arts. I find that it's saturated, solid and a great black. You can find it  CLICK HERE. 

Here is the trick to dyeing a really solid, level color, black or otherwise:

1.  Pre-wash commerical yarn to remove spinning oil. Use a soap that is gentle and made for wool, avoid Dawn, the alkaline properties of this soap are a bit too harsh for animal fibers.  Make sure to rinse out the soap well.

2.  Pre-soak the yarn in water only for at least 30 minutes.

3. Fill a pot with cold water.  Add the correct amount of dye per fiber weight.

4. Add glaubers salt. This helps the dye to adhere slower to produce a more even dye job.  

5. Gently remove excess water from the soaking yarn and place in the dye pot.  Swish gently to get the dye in all areas of the yarn.

6. Start to raise the temperature very slowly!  Use a thermometer and make sure you don't go over the recommended temperature for the dye type you are using.

7.  Once you reach the temperature, lift out the yarn and add the acid.  Stir the pot and put the dye back in the pot gently swishing or dunking a couple of times.

8. Cook for 30 minutes.  Every 5 or 10 minutes swish or gently dunk the yarn to ensure the dye adhers evenly.

9. When 30 minutes is up your water should be exhaused. Turn off the heat. Keep the yarn in the water overnight.  If your dye is not exhausted look for the blog post discussing why your dye pot did not exhaust. 

10. The next day, wash the yarn in a gentle soap made only for wool. Avoid Dawn as stated above.  

11. Gently rinse, remove excess water and hang to dry.

That's it!  Watch this YouTube video on how I dyed solid black. 

 If you want to learn how to make the rainbow wisp, the full lesson has been added to the dyeing modules in the Spinning & Fiber Extravaganza class or the Let's Dye Yarn and Fiber break out class at the Camaj School of Fiber Arts.  CLICK HERE TO JOIN.   Join the thousands of fiber folk who are spinning, scouring, prepping and dyeing better. 

I hope thiswas helpful and happy dyeing!

XO

Mary Egbert