HOW TO: Dye Yarn

I hate it when I go to buy yarn and can't find the color combos I want. Someday, I REALLY want to have my own yarn line so I don't have to be all bummed while shopping. How do we make that happen? It's like, I can see the color and textures I need but I don't think they exist.

So what to do in the meantime? Dye my own color combos. It'll hold me over for now. It's super easy too!

This is what you need:

- White cotton yarn
TIP: If you want you can start with a base color, like I did here, yellow or green. Then add the dye to that.
- Tulip One-Step Dye
- Plastic table cover
- Plastic grocery bags.

Unwind the skein around your thumb and elbow. Then add the rubber bands from the dye box to keep the yarn intact. Important: Soak your yarn and blot it.

 

Cover your work area with a large plastic covering, put on the gloves that come in the dye box.  Set out the smaller grocery bag. Set the yarn on top and add the dye. For this yellow yarn, I added orange dye and a fuchsia. When it is super juicy like this, roll up the yarn tightly within the grocery bag, set aside.

Repeat for the other batches you're making. Wrap them and let them sit for 6 hours.

Place them in the empty washing machine - KEEP THE RUBBERBANDS ON! Wash in cold water, with a little bit of soap on light wash.

To dry, remove all the rubberbands and then add only one in the center of each skein. Place in dryer for 20 minutes until dry. Remove and roll into balls.

My finished yarn. Now if only I could find a way to dip them in glitter!

TIPS: This will only work on natural fibers!

Here is a video where I show hwow to make ombre yarn!