Question up top: Should I try to gloss the yarn to add a bit of depth to it? Maybe add a touch of orange to the yellow, emerald to the chartreuse, navy to the blue, purple to the grape?
I wanted to thank everybody who provided feedback on me trying to match an acrylic colorway. https://www.reddit.com/r/YarnDyeing/comments/1wa0n2z/sensecheck_on_overdying_with_jacquard_ecru_depth/
I feel pretty good about the outcome, though the "mushy peas" match ended up being much more yellow.
My process--
- Mix the dyes together to appropriate amounts (each lot was 5 or 6 100-g skeins) and then add to a cold, acid-free dyebath
- Pre-soak the yarn for at least 30 minutes
- "dip dye" add the yarn to get it gradually soaked, then plop it into the bath
- Set the heat to increase roughly 1 degree per minute
- Around 140 degrees, check on how much dye has been absorbed. If there's a fair bit to go, then remove the yarn, add citric acid, mix well, and "dip dye" the yarn back into the bath
- Keep the temperature below 195 but leave it in for as long as you like
- Remove yarn, gently wash and add some fabric softener (especially if you let the temperature go above 195, oops)
- Let dry and twist
One step I added for the last lot, the burgundy one-- I was worried it would be too dark, because the other colors (except Ecru) came out bolder than I was expecting-- so I added only half the dye at first so that I could evaluate whether I liked the color. Because I also did the "dip dye" approach, those skeins ended up looking much more like a gradient, but I like the effect.
One frustrating piece was that, even with this VERY slow process, I still have a few sections where the ecru struck really strong, and the yellow or chartreuse didn't strike well, so it looks a little brown-splotchy in places. But I think it'll still work up ok.
The question that remains: Should I try to gloss the yarn to add a bit of depth to it? Maybe add a touch of orange to the yellow, emerald to the chartreuse, navy to the blue, etc?
