Dyeing Yarns with Mordant Dyes and Indigo
Workshop Fee: $270.00
This is a color class for spinners, knitters, and weavers who want to dye their own yarns with natural dyes. At this time of year we will need to use concentrated dye extracts, as the plants in the dye garden will not be blooming. However, we will be able to use dried flowers from the 2023 harvest. In the class we will be dyeing yarn as either skeins or in wound warps for weaving. We will make immersion baths to dye the fiber all one color. We will also make the dye extracts into thickened paints for space dyeing. An indigo vat will be available for over-dyeing the mordant dye colors to get deep purples, greens and browns. It is rare, in introductory dye classes, to ever get to the stage of mixing colors and inventing new combinations. In this class we will do that, both in the dye baths and for the paints.
Skills and Techniques:
- Managing yarn, with proper tying, so you don’t end up with tangled spaghetti in the dye pot.
- Fiber preparation: scouring for cellulose and protein
- Mordanting with alum sulfate and alum acetate
- Making stock solutions from concentrated dye extracts
- Using dye extracts in immersion baths and as thickened paints
- Using dried plant materials from the dye garden in immersion baths
- Painting, or space dyeing skeins and warps with different colors
- Using ferrous sulfate as a color modifier
- Steaming the painted yarn to fix the dye
- Over-dyeing with indigo to achieve purples, greens and browns
Materials Fee: $30 paid directly to instructor.
Special Tools or Equipment: Students are encouraged to bring any natural fiber yarn they have spun or like to work with. Make sure you know the fiber content. Weavers may bring a small (no bigger than 2 yards) warp for painting. A variety of yarns will also be available from the instructor.
Workshop Policies: Please be sure to read our policies before you register for a workshop which can be found here Workshop Policies
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