Can I redye half of this yarn?

[botannie]

I dyed up a skein of eco with koolaid using orange, tropical punch and strawberry. I was going for a hot pink and orange, but the pink isn't as bright as I wanted it to be. I was actually going for more of a red, but it looks pretty pink. I like the colors, I just want a little more variegation. Is it possible to redye only half of the hank ?

Can I set the dye by putting the whole hank back in the steamer, or do I have to somehow steam only half of it?

And lastly...does the yarn have to be wet? Can I just pour the dye on dry yarn? Stupid question, I know, but I've always wondered that.

Thanks!

[pmcgary]

Yes you can dye just a section - I don't know what technique you used...I do mine in the slow cooker and lots of times redye.....

I think yarn should be wet...I think if it is dry it unevenly absorbs from the bath - but don't swear to that explanation.

RE: steaming..I am not sure how you could do just that section, so no ideas there.

Why is it that everone else in the world gets pink but me? The only pink I ever got is from NEON dye....Mine always ends up peachy...and overdying gives me coral....

[Susan_WW]

To dye just half the skein, wet the whole skein (otherwise the dry side will wick up alot of the color). Put the dye in a big pot with warm water. Figure out a way to hang just half the skein in the pot (I just hang mine from a hanger attached to the handle of the cupboard over the stove, making adjustments as necessary). Bring the dye water to boiling, add your vinegar, then I turn it down and let it simmer for about 30 min. Then I turn the stove off and let it sit for a while.

I really like this method better than hand painting & steaming. It is much easier and less messy for me. But it only works for a maximum of 4 colors. Any more than that and I have to resort to hand painting to get smaller sections of each color.

[botannie]

Thanks!

Susan, your way sounds much easier. I've only handpainted, and then steamed the whole thing. I was wondering about the dry yarn, because when I get the whole thing wet, lay it flat and commense painting I get really bad pooling underneath, so it would've spread over the whole hank (if that makes sense).

But I think the way you do it will be perfect.

[botannie]

Well...here's how it turned out. Still not as much variegation as I wanted, but it'll work. I think its a little more coral than hot pink too.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeEM2zlm1Ztndg&open=1&x=1&sm=1&sl=1

[Susan_WW]

I think it looks nice. Sometimes I really like just a subtle variegation. :)

[pmcgary]

I like it too. I find when dyeing with KA it helps to not be too terribly particular about the end result...then you tend to be suprised by results rather than frustrated!

[averymybaby]

ohhhh!!!!! i like that very much! :nod

[CraftyMommaOf2]

loverly!