The Basics of Dyeing Wool With Commercial Dye By Amy Wood‐McCroskie AandAAlpacas.com The process of dyeing wool in these instructions is called immersion dyeing. Please read these instructions entirely before you begin so that you have everything at your fingertips by the time you begin. First and foremost, acquire a brand new stainless steel pot with a lid and a sturdy bottom that controls heat more efficiently. Consider buying a larger one so that you can use it again and again as you gain confidence and become proficient. For dyeing purposes, it’s important to use a brand new pot that has never been used for food preparation as food and oil residue can affect the dye process chemically. More importantly, dyes can be poisonous. Once a vessel has been used for dyeing, residual chemicals can contaminate or poison food that you prepare to be consumed. Never use your dye pot for food preparation and you’ll be fine. It’s important the pot be stainless steel or enamel since other types of metal such as aluminum, copper and cast iron can result in unexpected and unpredictable color outcomes due to chemical reactions. Once you learn how to dye with predictable outcomes using stainless steel, it’s great fun to experiment with other methods and different dye pots. Secondly, you will need to purchase some dye. For this lesson, I am using Jacquard Acid Dye in powder form. Jacquard dyes are some of the easiest to use plus they are safe to use, predictable and fairly inexpensive. Jacquard products are available at many craft stores as well as online directly from Jacquard or Dharma Trading Company. The small, 1/2‐ ounce containers are fine for beginners and will last you through your learning phase of how to dye. Larger sizes are available in all colors when you become proficient and need them. You will need 1 or 2 ounces of good quality, soft wool for this lesson in dyeing. Any type of wool is fine but for your first lesson, I highly recommend it be white so that you can actually see the dye process before, during and after. I know it can be scary to use better quality wool because most are fearful of ruining it during their learning phase. But coarse, “trash” wool or fiber doesn’t always dye well. When the end result isn’t exciting, you’ll blame yourself when indeed it was the fault of the lesser‐quality wool you used. Trust and have faith that you’ll do this correctly and the result will be wonderful. Prewashed, clean wool is best for your first dyeing experience. Roving, batts, finished yarns or knitted end products can be dyed easily once you become proficient and build confidence with dye and various methods of dyeing. You will also need a heat source to use in the dyeing process. It can be a kitchen stovetop, outdoor camping cooktop or even an outdoor grill. Any type of heat source is fine to use as long as you have the ability to control the temperature. Being able to control the temperature setting is really important when dyeing. Additional supplies you will need: 1. Large stainless steel kitchen spoon. 2. Stainless steel kitchen tongs. 3. Metal measuring spoons. 4. Disposable latex gloves. 5. Glass measuring cup for liquids. 6. Distilled white vinegar. 7. Quilted pot holders or oven mittens. 8. An old towel or paper towels. It’s Time to Dye! Using your new dye pot, add enough cold water so that the wool will have enough room to move around freely. Avoiding any kind of agitation whatsoever, place the wool into the water slowly then very gently stir so that the wool is completely immersed in the water. Add 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar and stir it around gently in the water. Vinegar is the “acid” that chemically reacts with the dye and allows the whole dyeing process to work successfully. Combined with a low, gentle heat, the dye will “adhere to” or absorbed by the wool. Then move the dye pot to your heat source and bring the temperature up very slowly to approximately 185 to 200 degrees. You honestly don’t need a thermometer unless you feel more comfortable using one. The lowest setting of heat on your heat source will usually suffice as you bring the water to a steep. Important: Never allow water to boil when dyeing. While the pot of water and wool on the heat source is heating to the correct temperature, lay out a towel or a thick layer of paper towels mentioned in the supply list above. It’s time to mix the dye but be sure to do this on the towel or base of paper towels in order to protect your work surface, especially if you are working in your kitchen. Put on a pair of disposable latex gloves, then add approximately 1/4 teaspoon of the powdered dye to a cup of hot water in your glass measuring cup. Stir it slowly and gently to dissolve the dye really well. Once the dye is well dissolved in the measuring cup, set it aside, away from children and curious pets. Once the pot of water with wool on the heat source is hot, pour the dissolved dye from the measuring cup into it. Using the stainless steel spoon, stir the water very, very gently. Be sure there is no agitation whatsoever. Slow and gentle wins at the finish line of this adventure. Once the dye is fully dispersed, place the lid on the pot and resist any further stirring of the water. Leave the heat source on and allow the water to steep, continuing to carefully monitor it. If you begin to see bubbles in the water or any indication of a soft rolling boil temperature, lower the heat. Also, try really hard to resist the temptation of stirring or extracting small portions of wool to see if the process is working. I know how hard it is to wait but be as patient as possible. Dye baths do not like to be disturbed while they are working and wool loves to morph into felt if it’s disturbed too much while bathing in hot water. After 30 to 45 minutes, you should begin to see the water turning more and more pale, working its way to being clear. You can use the stainless steel spoon to see this occurring in the water. The dye bath turning clear means the dye is being absorbed into the wool and that your first lesson in learning to dye is going to be successful. Once you see the water clearing of the dye color, remove the pot from the heat source so it can begin to cool. As it cools, more and more of the color will continue to be absorb. I always put the lid on the pot at this point and walk away from it. Allow the pot and the water to cool completely, even if it means leaving it overnight. Once the pot has cooled, you can then take off the lid and check your level of success. The water should be completely (or close to) clear of color. Once you have removed the dyed wool, the water in the dye pot should be completely clear of any dye color. But do not be alarmed if a tiny amount of color remains in the water. It’s called “exhaust” but we will talk about that in another lesson. For this lesson, the water in your dye pot should be clear at this point. If you still see a lot of the dye color in the water, it can mean the water wasn’t hot enough or it wasn’t allowed to cook long enough. You can reheat it at this point and it won’t hurt the wool. Put it back on the heat source and allow it to heat until you see the water turn clear. Once the water is clear, allow the water to cool again before you try to remove the wool. Once the water in the pot is completely cooled, you can safely remove the wool without getting burned and without fear of felting the hot wool. Before removing it from the dye pot, run a sink full of fairly warm water with your favorite wool detergent in it. The wool should be beautifully dyed at this point but it will smell like vinegar so you will want to soak it in fairly warm water and a tiny amount of your favorite wool detergent to remove the vinegar. Use the stainless steel tongs to remove the wool from the dye bath and transfer it to the sink full of water and detergent. My favorite wool detergent is liquid Tide. Yes, the same liquid Tide a lot of people use to wash their laundry. I wash approximately 1,000 pounds of alpaca fiber each year and though I’ve tried every detergent possible, I continually come back to liquid Tide. I use the low suds, HD formula invented for front‐loading washing machines. It works at a lower temperature and works beautifully without harsh enzymes that can harm protein fibers. Once you have added the wool to the sink of water and detergent, watch it closely as the water cools. If you were successful with the dye bath, there will be no residual color or “color bleeding” into the water while it’s soaking. Success! That means it won’t leave color on the hands of the hand‐spinner or fiber artist working with the wool in the future.