Thursday, July 13, 2017

About Wool Dyeing

all images in this post from Pinterest


I learned to dye in
a class given by Barb and Emma Lou
it was heavenly!
 the blurry photo above is 
the list of colors by Cushing
the dyes they wrote their book using

I've had one of these charts
hanging in my kitchen cupboard ever since
no matter where I've lived
 

a page from the back of the book
always loved seeing which wools they used to overdye

shortly after they wrote their book
Cushing changed a few of the dyes
so not all recipes will be perfect...
that is always true 
because of variations in water anyway



the cover is a photo of one of Barb's rug
oh, to see it in person was a treat every time 



using the dyes above
the spoons below 
I've dyed a lot of wool over the years 

if I were to start dyeing now
I would probably use Pro Chem dyes
just to avoid those tiny bags inside 
the Cushing enevelopes

I did purchase some a few years back
to dye some Polly Minick recipes
for red and blue

plus
most of the newer recipes are written for Pro Chem dyes


this dye book has always called to me
but I have way too much Cushing to change now


in my stash of recipes:

these recipes from Wendy Miller are great




have the book but not the swatches


love these recipes
too bad the book is hiding from me
especially good over Dorr oatmeal

I have some swatches to show you tomorrow
they are on a little white card each
with a doodle
can't remember who sold them
each recipe is for 1/4 yard


 Karen Kahle's swatches...
would love a set of these just to asmire


one really should keep track of dye recipes
successes and failures

do you think I do? 


I think this is Julies Butler's...
what fun it would be to see each swatch and recipe

*****

wool dyeing is very easy
check out YouTube for plenty of how to videos

when I use up / sell off
my stash of dyes I will most likely switch to 
all as-is hooking
 there is so much available today 
compared to when I started hooking in the 90's

Happy Thursday!

it's dreary and humid here in Ohio
not a good day for taking photos
hoping tomorrow you'll be able to see a table full
of newly dyed wool
 
 
 

8 comments:

basketnut said...

Dying wool has always intrigued me, but not enough to go there...I promised myself that when I started rug hooking I would not take on another hubby of dying wool, so far so good. Besides, there is so much out there available, I don't really miss it!
I hope you're enjoying your time away from work?!?!?
Tammy

Saundra said...

OMG, Kelley, you'd have laughed your ass off if you's seen me doing my very first...and maybe my second... dye job. You'd have thought I was performing brain surgery in the outback on my own while reading instructions.

Admittedly I'm not a dye by eye dyer and if it doesn't turn out then I'm not sure what to do but toss it in the stash and use later or dye again.

Jacque. said...

ohboy. I remember those days of sweating over the dye pots. I don't have but a few things left from then, though. My 2 large white enamel pots are used to keep cotton fabric scraps in. Have fun!

acorn hollow said...

I have the Barb Carroll dye book also and yes I have dyed but never get the results I am looking for so I become frustrated
Cathy

WoolenSails said...

I know you gave me some small, older books, will have to see what ones I have.
I usually use emma lou's colors, and never follow the recipes, lol, but it is fun experimenting.
I also have the 3 color book with swatches, but rarely use the books since I just throw it all in the pot and see what happens;) Maybe that is why your colors are so much nicer than mine, maybe it is time I follow directions.

Debbie

marly said...

Interesting. Didn't realize there were recipe books!

Quayceetatter said...

Very interesting blog, so glad someone is posting on dying. My first dying turned out really bad. The blue sky formula turned out grey so my hooked rug sits in a corner till I buy more white wool. Using Pro chem dyes and waiting for this person to restock her dye book. Would you be interested in having a FB page dedicated to dying that is wool dying? Thank you again for the great post!

AthertonCA said...

This is a great, informative post. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together and share with others.