Individual skeins of KnitPicks bare yarns are 20% off for the month of December! shrsl.com/omyr (Affiliate Link) Pick some up so you can dye along with me!
Tip for acrylic: bring the water to a boil and remove it from the heat to avoid melting fibers, especially if you don't want to stir the yarn while dyeing. DyeMore is formulated to coordinate in color across all fabric types, synthetic and natural. Avoid having to wash so many times by using less dye.
Thank you, Allie! I've found that Rit seems to encourage you to use a lot more dye than is actually required (probably because that would help you get a more even color.) I absolutely plan to use less dye next time. :)
The wool can handle the heat better so if you put the wool in first you might not get the melted acrylic, It is right on the bottom of the pot against the element.
At least the yarn is still usable! I see the melting when I do wool/acyrlic blends sometimes. I now have a thermometer so I can moniter the heat better.
Also, I think you're supposed to keep the yarn moving while it's in the dye bath. I think that would keep the acrylic from sticking in one spot too long and melting.
I see a lot of comments concerning the heat factor and how it potentially ruins the acrylic yarn. Is it necessary to heat the water/dye bath? Is it possible to soak the acrylic yarn in a room-temperature dye bath and still have basically the same results?
This is great! Have you ever thought about dyeing yarn with lichen? I have a few times from lichen I gathered from windfallen branches and I got a gorgeous bright raspberry. It's so vibrant that even I, who made the dye and dyed the yarn, have a hard time believing that it's not synthetic.
No, lichen dyes are substantive. There are a few methods but I mixed about 75/25 water and ammonia in a mason jar, threw some lichen in, put the lid on and then shook it every day for about 2 months. When the mixture is the color of grape juice it's ready to use. It's a long process but SO satisfying!
I am curious,,, : do you then heat the mixture and dip the wool (What type of wool?) The wool does not get ''Burned'' by the ammonia ? I use natural dye also and love it . It is wonderful to discover what nature offers :)
No, the ammonia doesn't burn the yarn. You have to dilute it a LOT with water. I used about a cup of dye with about 8-10 cups of plain water (and the dye is already 75% water). I simmered 100% wool yarn in the dye bath until I liked the color.
I would really like to see if you could handpaint the acrylic yarn with the Rit synthetic, and then microwave it possibly? Like if you did super short burst, like a minute at a time to both heat set the color and not melt the acrylic. Dunno would love to see though. :)
I'm so disappointed that I can't really dye acrylic yarn to get the beautiful colorways everyone else gets with wool and woolblend yarns. I live in an area where we don't have craft stores and Wal-mart is our only option unless we purchase online. It seems wool and wool blend yarns are so much more expensive I can't afford them so I am stuck with what my local wal-mart store offers.
Janita, You can probably handpaint 100% acyrlic yarns with Rit Dye More Synthetic. I haven't done handpainting yet, but I plan to do some more acyrlic dyeing in the future.
Please consider purchasing 100% wool online and having it shipped to you; you can wait for sales and wool is SO much better for the environment than all of the cheap synthetic yarns.
@@sherryda2018bb, I completely agree! While, yes, wool is better for the environment, but it's awfully expensive (online and in brick and mortar stores) and not a whole lot of us can afford it. Thank you for speaking up first!!
Hi Rebecca, yeah I think the dye bath was too hot, my local craft shop owner dyed with the Rit Dye and she told me she had it on medium heat and that you are supposed to stir it. (She used 100% acrylic) I don't know, now I'm a bit apprehensive to use this stuff. I bought Red, Blue and Yellow. (I still need to get a pot to try it though) Great video! Happy Dying from Canada 🇨🇦 ❤️Marie
I have not used the liquid dye yet. I like using the powdered RiT. Either by sprinkling or mixing a solution. A little goes a long way and you do need to rinse alot. I think i get more control with the powdered.. i even use it in the microwave in dye only containers.
@@ChemKnitsTutorials dyed 2 Irish wool sweaters 1- graphite silver 1- dark green Both came out exceptional! ( I had no vinegar, so I used muriadic acid instead)
Very cool color. I love purple. Im dyeing mohair as i write with Rit dye....an overdye actually of an ugly ugly puke green to a charcoal gray for field mice. Lol i wanted a lighter gray and thats what i bought and only used 1/4 cup of dye but man this mohair sucks it up. Lol and yes i used a smaller amount of dye but i only dyed one skein too. I bet you could have dyed 3 more skeins with your dyebath. Very intense too. And i added 1/2 cup vinegar too and it said on the bottle to use vinegar for wool. So i followed the instructions cuz me and Rit are not close friends like i am with Wiltons. Ha UPDATE....its fabulous. It all absorbed and the pot was nearly clear. Im so amazed at this experiment. I used such a small amount of dye. And it was washed in gentle shampoo and rinsed. Hardly anything left in the mohair to rinse so that dye is definitely in my yarn. Im so so pleased. But i am usually not afraid to just jump in and dye whatevre with dye. Im like you Rebecca.....ya get what ya get. Just go for it. I do have some silk yarn i am a bit nervous to dye really.
You're a chemist/biochemist! of course it's going to "melt" or change from original character. Boy, I'm getting this dye to do my wools! and some experiments on them, like dropping the dye onto the yarn in a low immersion bath....yippee! Whoa! And some of those wools where I don't like their original color. Thank you for trying this ... I didn't realize this Rit dye was available
Rit dye is at most big box craft stores so this is why I started with it on my journey on non-food coloring dyes. :) I don't use acrylic yarns much at all. It was such a "DUH!" moment to me when I pulled it out of the pot. I know some people mix the dyes and then add the fiber versus "cooking" it on the pot. I'll have to play around with this a bit more.
ChemKnits Tutorials ...looks like it might be fun! I might end up dying all that ugly yarn I bought that's wool. I just went looking around for that dye to buy online and I was at the Rit Dye site and watched their video and NO MENTION of melting/destroying! So excuse my comment above, fellow Chemist. I bet it was the above person's comment about close to the burner is what did it 😆
I think the dyebath was too hot! I see some melting (although not quite this much) from steam setting the acrylic in the last DPW episode. I've used steam from my iron to "kill" crocheted acrylic to block it, too. I wasn't very impressed by the instructions on the Rit website. I finally just went for it to see what would happen. :)
ChemKnits Tutorials hahaha ja, I unfortunately killed some ribbing on a knit piece for someone with steam blocking!...oh well...that plastic stuff is good for something once in awhile (like to maintain color in an acrylic/cotton blend)
ChemKnits Tutorials maybe you could do a mini experiment to see what temp range "kills" acrylic yarn? That info could be useful even for blocking and ironing!
Water boils close to 100 ° but not exactly. It depends on the air pressure and how much moisture is in the air. Did you record any data with further experimentation?
So I've been wondering ever since you started experimenting with the Rit dyes if you can use them the same way as the Tulip tie dye kits. Do you need the heat or can you just wrap it in a bag and let it sit overnight?
I frequently use around this much soap in my videos. The issue was more about the vast number of rinses, and squeezing, and therefore the agitation. This is the most felted I've ever had from any of my yarns. I think there was just WAY too much dye in the pot plus it isn't meant for natural fibers.
Wool felts with 3 things: change in temp, soap, and agitation. You went from hot to cold, even if you did allow the fibers to cool down. It is always best to go from a cold state to hot. I'd rinse in warm water not cold. When you are ready to add soap- do not allow to suds. Just let it sit in soapy, unsudsy water. Rinse without pressing, squeezing or without much handling until clear of dye and soap. :) I also agree its a bit much soap just to rinse out dye. Soap is better to cut lanolin or grease. BUT I do enjoy all your experiments! Thanks for all your videos.
In my very poorly expressed comment, I was trying to say that there was so much excess dye that it would have been better to rinse until almost clear before adding the soap. I'm sorry for that. I really enjoy your yarn dyeing adventures!
@@amiranda365 it wouldn't felt anything if tbe wool had come back to room temp which i beleive had happened. Its mostly the heat with the movement that felts. I have dyed many skeins and the ones who came near felting had alpaca in them or were 100% alpaca and i did get too agressive moving it around. However they were not truly felted but just innthe beginning of felt and they did pull apart nicely giving me a lovely halo on the swift.
@@marlenejones6266 Heat and agitation alone do not felt. Try washing raw fleeces or felting projects. As you said, your skeins did not fully felt. Depending how long you were handling them, the changes in water temperature could have contributed to beginning felt stage. It is the expansion- contraction of fibers and scales caused by change in temperature and pH from the addition of soap along w agitation that cause felting.
If All else Fails, Read the INSTRUCTIONS! "If the garment you are dyeing has a pattern or logo, the color you use will mix with the existing color(s) in the fabric and create new colors. To learn more about this, please review our instructions on overdyeing patterns and logos. "
Haha! I'm going to try to dye some other cotton items with rit dye soon. I thought I would this week but it keeps getitng pushed back. I recommend only using the Rit DyeMore for synthetics, it took way too long to wash out of the wool.
ChemKnits Tutorials I noticed that, I am going to stick with the easy Dyeing methods for now until I become a bit more comfortable..we are expecting our first snow of the season this weekend so what better way to spend the weekend than to play around with my #KnitPicksHaul of Bare Yarn. I just got 2 boxes and one more coming today.. #Worsted #Bulky and #Sport this girl is going to be experimenting with tie dye, Kool Aid, food coloring and Wilton's.. I am so excited.. I'm going to try whole skeins and mini's as well as dipping and Painting.. I will post all pictures on IG: paula_elizabeth69 🙌👍🙌
Maybe! I think that at this time I didn't have a spin dryer yet. But the big lesson overall here is to not use way too much dye, and to not bother dyeing wool with this dye. (If you want to dye wool with Rit, use the all purpose for natural fibers!) I've used the DyeMore on some other projects and have had better washing luck.
Would you say Rit Dyemore can cover an existing color well enough? I have some yellow-green yarn, which I'd like to dye either black or grayish. I'm hesitating between the black dye (because I would want a black and not a dark green) or the royal purple (which could give me a grayish pink) But that all depends on the coverage capacity. What would you suggest? My yarn is 80% acrylic, 20% wool.
I have only played with the Dyemore this one time, but as you can see we got REALLY deep coverage. I think it depends on how saturated the yellow/green is. I feel like you could really cover something with black more than grey, but the best thing to do would be to take a little snip of the yarn and a smaller amount of dye and see how well it gets covered. I think part of the reason why I had to do so much rinsing here is that I had WAY WAY WAY too much dye in the pot. I think the instructions are written for dyeing garments more than yarn, so keep that in mind as you play, too.
It should! However, I would absolutely wash the blanket on its own for a while with color catchers just to make sure there isn't any other pigment to rinse out.
I haven't tried this out yet. I do know now that I used WAY WAY too much dye for the amount of fiber that was in here. With the normal rit liquid dyes (for natural fibers) 1 tablespoon per 100 g gives a really nice colors. I'm not sure how quickly the colors set, but you might be able to get cool speckles with a paint brush. Something like from this video: ruclips.net/video/--5egaUoMpY/видео.html
I'm wondering two things, would you be able to throw in more yarn to exhaust the dye, and could you dip dye for acrylic yarn toenails. I have a ton of acrylics that were given to me that are just not my thing
I have no idea if you can dye acrylic nails with these dyes. I would imagine that those would be more solid than fibrous yarn, but you never know until you try! Yes, you could use the residual dyebath with more yarn. I want to try dip dyeing some acrylic yarn next to see if I can get a fun gradient with this synthetic dye.
It didn't surprise me that the wool dyed so dark. I do have some superwash that needs to be over dyed. The colors were nothing like what it looked like on the auction. I tried to over dye it but it just made it a darker color that I actually liked. I still have more and I may use this to over dye it and see if that will work, it is super wash wool after all. I'll let you know what happens.
Awesome! I recommend the standard RIT vs dyemore for natural fibers because of the amount of washing needed at the end. But the colors are beautiful. :)
It depends on what the cardigan is made out of. If it is a synthetic then Rit DyeMore Synthetic might work. I would see if there is a tiny thread you could snip to do a bit of a test on before dyeing the whole thing. Good luck!
I have a dark navy blue beanie that I wanted to turn black. It’s 60% acrylic, 15% Alpaca, 15% wool and 10% viscose. Can you guide me on how to turn it black? I was thinking about using Rit synthetic dye in graphite.
ChemKnits Tutorials graphite is the name of the black one. Do you think I should dye it using the stovetop method? I’m worried about burning the acrylic.
Can you give me some advice? I have a scarf that's medium grey, which I tried dying black. I followed the instructions, but it didn't get darker at all. Months later, I used rit color remover to remove the grey dye first (which didn't remove ANY color), and when I dipped it in the black dye, I used extra dye and salt, but it still looks the same. I've had successful results with dying other pieces of clothing in the past, and I'm not sure why this scarf isn't affected by any dyes or color removers. As far as I know, it's knit from wool, but I could be missing something. Please reply, I'd really appreciate your input.
What is the fiber content on your scarf? When I tried playing with Rit color remover, I found that it did very little on acrylic and a lot more on wool (plus some fiber damage on the wool.) What kind of dye were you using? Were you using Rit Liquid dye or the Rit DyeMore Synthetic dye? I'm surprised the synthetic one didn't work.... So far I've only used it this one time, but I plan to use it again in the future.
@@ChemKnitsTutorials Thanks for replying. I'm not sure what the fiber content is, as it doesn't have a tag or anything. If I were to guess, it might be acrylic or some kind of blend, cause it feels a little "harder" compared to most wool. Also, I used plain rit dye. The kind that comes in powder form in a box. But for my first attempt, I used Jacquard Acid Dye.
That is the problem then. If the scarf didn't take any dye, then it is likely acrylic. The rit powders will dye wool and cotton really well, but not acrylic. The Rit DyeMore Synthetic line should work for you. (I hope!)
I personally choose to not put commercial dyes in my microwave. I might get a dedicated dye microwave at some point though. I could check the manufacturer website to see what they recommend.
I tried using the same dye in Apricot Orange on Loops and Threads worsted yarn, the 285 yard one...and somehow it ruined the yarn. Too much heat, maybe? Any tips?
Hmmm... this is the only time I've tried using the Rit DyeMore Synthetic dye. how was the yarn ruined? Did it melt a bit? That can happen with acrylic and heat. I might try using a lower heat. I hope to do some more videos with this dye type soon.
I recently tried dying with dyemore and followed the directions exactly. One thing I do remember is that it says to stir "consistently" (I took it to mean very frequently). Not sure if that was for consistent color or to keep things from melting by being on the bottom too long? I'm planning to try again to hand dye some Christmas presents for friends who are allergic to wool but I think the weirdest thing to me was the instruction about adding soap to the dye bath.
Since these are the synthetic dye... I'm not really sure what their mechanism is. I think the huge amount of rinsing was due to the fact that there were a lot of unreacted dye molecules in the yarn. We got a deep saturated color on the wool, but it just took a LOT to get that dye out. I'm not planning to use this dye on wool again, but I would like to play with acrylics some more.
If you put vinegar in with the dye like it says when doing wool you don't have all that rinsing to do. And when on stove it absorbed all the dye. I didn't have anyone to record it when I did it but it did like with food coloring absorbed it all
Hi Tammy, This is the synthetic dye so it is not really intended for wool. I've had really great success with Rit dyes for natural fibers + vinegar on wool yarn.
I'd have to find the bottle and see. On the website they have slightly better instructions: www.ritdye.com/techniques/the-basics/dyemore/ But it isn't as though the yarn comes with a melting temperature on it. ;) I think next time I want to dye acyrlic yarn I would heat up the dyebath, remove it from the heat and let it cool a bit before adding the yarn.
I wonder about adding the dishwashing liquid to the dye bath. What is the dishwashing liquid’s purpose? It’s very curious to be adding a detergent to a dye bath.
I enjoyed using the Rit geared for natural fibers a bit more than this dye more, but in both cases I had to do SO MUCH RINSING it was unbelievable. Even though DyeMore works on natural fibers, I would use the regular Rit next time. And vice versa for the synethetic fibers. :)
I think too many variables in one pot and not enough room makes for unattractive results. To me all yarns look lifeless and uninspiring to knit with but would make great Raggedy Ann/Andy hair or some novelty use. I would not have the heart to discard them, but put them in a bag with all my old eyelash type thrift shop yarns I bought that I most likely will never use. I have found personally that when I use Rit dye, there is some sort of dead quality that often turns up on tee shirts or cottons, kinda flat and lackluster. I also think probably that was too much dye and the absorption rate of each item must have had an overall effect on each other yarn. I will leave this one alone and not experiment further. As always, Rebecca the adventurer with a great ability to play in the right brain area!!! Thank you as always, you are a playful chemist to say the least.
I believe that you can, but it might not be permanent. I've used beet juice powder and got a lovely pink. You can see the pink in this yarn: www.etsy.com/listing/595418552/variegated-fingering-weight-sock-yarn :)
Interesting. I know that with acid dyes warm water can create some bleeding because of the types of chemical bonds between the dye and fibers. I'm not sure what kind of dyes are in Rit.
Individual skeins of KnitPicks bare yarns are 20% off for the month of December! shrsl.com/omyr (Affiliate Link) Pick some up so you can dye along with me!
Tip for acrylic: bring the water to a boil and remove it from the heat to avoid melting fibers, especially if you don't want to stir the yarn while dyeing. DyeMore is formulated to coordinate in color across all fabric types, synthetic and natural. Avoid having to wash so many times by using less dye.
Thank you, Allie! I've found that Rit seems to encourage you to use a lot more dye than is actually required (probably because that would help you get a more even color.) I absolutely plan to use less dye next time. :)
Great tip ty ! I plan to dye a mix yarn 🙏
Dye more is great stuff. And so are you! I had never thought to do it on yarn. Thanks for saving me the time.
No problem! It is great for the synthetics, but I would get normal Rit for 100% wool.
The wool can handle the heat better so if you put the wool in first you might not get the melted acrylic, It is right on the bottom of the pot against the element.
At least the yarn is still usable! I see the melting when I do wool/acyrlic blends sometimes. I now have a thermometer so I can moniter the heat better.
Also, I think you're supposed to keep the yarn moving while it's in the dye bath. I think that would keep the acrylic from sticking in one spot too long and melting.
@@toxicbutterfly02 But too much movement has felted the wool I've worked with sometimes.
I see a lot of comments concerning the heat factor and how it potentially ruins the acrylic yarn. Is it necessary to heat the water/dye bath? Is it possible to soak the acrylic yarn in a room-temperature dye bath and still have basically the same results?
This is great! Have you ever thought about dyeing yarn with lichen? I have a few times from lichen I gathered from windfallen branches and I got a gorgeous bright raspberry. It's so vibrant that even I, who made the dye and dyed the yarn, have a hard time believing that it's not synthetic.
WOW! I haven't ever tried this. Did you use a mordant?
No, lichen dyes are substantive. There are a few methods but I mixed about 75/25 water and ammonia in a mason jar, threw some lichen in, put the lid on and then shook it every day for about 2 months. When the mixture is the color of grape juice it's ready to use. It's a long process but SO satisfying!
I am curious,,, : do you then heat the mixture and dip the wool (What type of wool?) The wool does not get ''Burned'' by the ammonia ? I use natural dye also and love it . It is wonderful to discover what nature offers :)
No, the ammonia doesn't burn the yarn. You have to dilute it a LOT with water. I used about a cup of dye with about 8-10 cups of plain water (and the dye is already 75% water). I simmered 100% wool yarn in the dye bath until I liked the color.
Thank you for answering me Emily . This is so interesting :)
I love the color purple and these came out so beautiful!
I would really like to see if you could handpaint the acrylic yarn with the Rit synthetic, and then microwave it possibly? Like if you did super short burst, like a minute at a time to both heat set the color and not melt the acrylic. Dunno would love to see though. :)
Maybe steaming would work better instead?
I'm so disappointed that I can't really dye acrylic yarn to get the beautiful colorways everyone else gets with wool and woolblend yarns. I live in an area where we don't have craft stores and Wal-mart is our only option unless we purchase online. It seems wool and wool blend yarns are so much more expensive I can't afford them so I am stuck with what my local wal-mart store offers.
Janita, You can probably handpaint 100% acyrlic yarns with Rit Dye More Synthetic. I haven't done handpainting yet, but I plan to do some more acyrlic dyeing in the future.
Please consider purchasing 100% wool online and having it shipped to you; you can wait for sales and wool is SO much better for the environment than all of the cheap synthetic yarns.
reivenne How elitist of you to insist she use something she has said she finds too expensive....stop trolling....
@@sherryda2018bb, I completely agree! While, yes, wool is better for the environment, but it's awfully expensive (online and in brick and mortar stores) and not a whole lot of us can afford it. Thank you for speaking up first!!
@@sherryda2018bb be nice
Rebecca!!! Pantone's color of the year!!? What a fashionista you are 😁
Maybe I'm just being picky, but hex code #663399 aka Rebecca is my absolute favorite color, and this isn't quite spot on :p
An excellent tutorial and people5comment round out the knowledge very well.
Hi Rebecca, yeah I think the dye bath was too hot, my local craft shop owner dyed with the Rit Dye and she told me she had it on medium heat and that you are supposed to stir it. (She used 100% acrylic)
I don't know, now I'm a bit apprehensive to use this stuff.
I bought Red, Blue and Yellow.
(I still need to get a pot to try it though)
Great video!
Happy Dying from Canada 🇨🇦
❤️Marie
I'm using some of this today!! I'm so excited
Good luck!
I have not used the liquid dye yet. I like using the powdered RiT. Either by sprinkling or mixing a solution. A little goes a long way and you do need to rinse alot. I think i get more control with the powdered.. i even use it in the microwave in dye only containers.
Very interesting video. Answered a lot of my questions about dying acrylic yarn. Thanks.
I'm so glad it was helpful!
You made me want red cabbage!
Sometimes the yarn in a pot does look like food!
@@ChemKnitsTutorials dyed 2 Irish wool sweaters
1- graphite silver
1- dark green
Both came out exceptional!
( I had no vinegar, so I used muriadic acid instead)
Came here to see if this dye would work with wool, thankyou for the video!
You’re welcome 😊 It works, I just don't recommend it due to the washing involved. I also used WAY too much dye for yarn in this video.
Very cool color. I love purple. Im dyeing mohair as i write with Rit dye....an overdye actually of an ugly ugly puke green to a charcoal gray for field mice. Lol i wanted a lighter gray and thats what i bought and only used 1/4 cup of dye but man this mohair sucks it up. Lol and yes i used a smaller amount of dye but i only dyed one skein too. I bet you could have dyed 3 more skeins with your dyebath. Very intense too. And i added 1/2 cup vinegar too and it said on the bottle to use vinegar for wool. So i followed the instructions cuz me and Rit are not close friends like i am with Wiltons. Ha UPDATE....its fabulous. It all absorbed and the pot was nearly clear. Im so amazed at this experiment. I used such a small amount of dye. And it was washed in gentle shampoo and rinsed. Hardly anything left in the mohair to rinse so that dye is definitely in my yarn. Im so so pleased. But i am usually not afraid to just jump in and dye whatevre with dye. Im like you Rebecca.....ya get what ya get. Just go for it. I do have some silk yarn i am a bit nervous to dye really.
I'm so glad that it came out okay!
@@ChemKnitsTutorials its mohair not silk. With nylon.
You're a chemist/biochemist! of course it's going to "melt" or change from original character. Boy, I'm getting this dye to do my wools! and some experiments on them, like dropping the dye onto the yarn in a low immersion bath....yippee! Whoa! And some of those wools where I don't like their original color. Thank you for trying this ... I didn't realize this Rit dye was available
Rit dye is at most big box craft stores so this is why I started with it on my journey on non-food coloring dyes. :) I don't use acrylic yarns much at all. It was such a "DUH!" moment to me when I pulled it out of the pot. I know some people mix the dyes and then add the fiber versus "cooking" it on the pot. I'll have to play around with this a bit more.
ChemKnits Tutorials ...looks like it might be fun! I might end up dying all that ugly yarn I bought that's wool.
I just went looking around for that dye to buy online and I was at the Rit Dye site and watched their video and NO MENTION of melting/destroying! So excuse my comment above, fellow Chemist. I bet it was the above person's comment about close to the burner is what did it 😆
I think the dyebath was too hot! I see some melting (although not quite this much) from steam setting the acrylic in the last DPW episode. I've used steam from my iron to "kill" crocheted acrylic to block it, too.
I wasn't very impressed by the instructions on the Rit website. I finally just went for it to see what would happen. :)
ChemKnits Tutorials hahaha ja, I unfortunately killed some ribbing on a knit piece for someone with steam blocking!...oh well...that plastic stuff is good for something once in awhile (like to maintain color in an acrylic/cotton blend)
ChemKnits Tutorials maybe you could do a mini experiment to see what temp range "kills" acrylic yarn? That info could be useful even for blocking and ironing!
Water boils close to 100 ° but not exactly. It depends on the air pressure and how much moisture is in the air. Did you record any data with further experimentation?
I didn't record the temperature directly here, and you're right that it does vary on air pressure. (I'm pretty close to sea level where I did this.)
So I've been wondering ever since you started experimenting with the Rit dyes if you can use them the same way as the Tulip tie dye kits. Do you need the heat or can you just wrap it in a bag and let it sit overnight?
This is on my experiment list. :)
Cadbury wrapper purple is true Royal Purple btw. I love love love purple!
You added so much soap to the rinse/wash that it's no wonder the wool felted!
I frequently use around this much soap in my videos. The issue was more about the vast number of rinses, and squeezing, and therefore the agitation. This is the most felted I've ever had from any of my yarns. I think there was just WAY too much dye in the pot plus it isn't meant for natural fibers.
Wool felts with 3 things: change in temp, soap, and agitation. You went from hot to cold, even if you did allow the fibers to cool down. It is always best to go from a cold state to hot. I'd rinse in warm water not cold. When you are ready to add soap- do not allow to suds. Just let it sit in soapy, unsudsy water. Rinse without pressing, squeezing or without much handling until clear of dye and soap. :) I also agree its a bit much soap just to rinse out dye. Soap is better to cut lanolin or grease. BUT I do enjoy all your experiments! Thanks for all your videos.
In my very poorly expressed comment, I was trying to say that there was so much excess dye that it would have been better to rinse until almost clear before adding the soap. I'm sorry for that. I really enjoy your yarn dyeing adventures!
@@amiranda365 it wouldn't felt anything if tbe wool had come back to room temp which i beleive had happened. Its mostly the heat with the movement that felts. I have dyed many skeins and the ones who came near felting had alpaca in them or were 100% alpaca and i did get too agressive moving it around. However they were not truly felted but just innthe beginning of felt and they did pull apart nicely giving me a lovely halo on the swift.
@@marlenejones6266 Heat and agitation alone do not felt. Try washing raw fleeces or felting projects. As you said, your skeins did not fully felt. Depending how long you were handling them, the changes in water temperature could have contributed to beginning felt stage. It is the expansion- contraction of fibers and scales caused by change in temperature and pH from the addition of soap along w agitation that cause felting.
If All else Fails, Read the INSTRUCTIONS! "If the garment you are dyeing has a pattern or logo, the color you use will mix with the existing color(s) in the fabric and create new colors. To learn more about this, please review our instructions on overdyeing patterns and logos. "
did you have to put the yarn in water first ?
I did presoak the yarns overnight in tap water so they would go into the dyebath a bit easier.
Thanks for sharing this.. now I know Not to use Rit dye on anything but Bare Yarn 👍👍
Haha! I'm going to try to dye some other cotton items with rit dye soon. I thought I would this week but it keeps getitng pushed back. I recommend only using the Rit DyeMore for synthetics, it took way too long to wash out of the wool.
ChemKnits Tutorials I noticed that, I am going to stick with the easy Dyeing methods for now until I become a bit more comfortable..we are expecting our first snow of the season this weekend so what better way to spend the weekend than to play around with my #KnitPicksHaul of Bare Yarn. I just got 2 boxes and one more coming today.. #Worsted #Bulky and #Sport this girl is going to be experimenting with tie dye, Kool Aid, food coloring and Wilton's.. I am so excited.. I'm going to try whole skeins and mini's as well as dipping and Painting.. I will post all pictures on IG: paula_elizabeth69 🙌👍🙌
Would you use this for a poly-wool blend fabric?
How would I soften the acrylic yarn? Hints
Once you melt acrylic fibers you cannot really go back, unfortunately.
Hi, what if you put the yarn in the spin dryer to get most of the dye out before washing, then possible less washing after??
Maybe! I think that at this time I didn't have a spin dryer yet. But the big lesson overall here is to not use way too much dye, and to not bother dyeing wool with this dye. (If you want to dye wool with Rit, use the all purpose for natural fibers!) I've used the DyeMore on some other projects and have had better washing luck.
Would you say Rit Dyemore can cover an existing color well enough? I have some yellow-green yarn, which I'd like to dye either black or grayish. I'm hesitating between the black dye (because I would want a black and not a dark green) or the royal purple (which could give me a grayish pink) But that all depends on the coverage capacity. What would you suggest? My yarn is 80% acrylic, 20% wool.
I have only played with the Dyemore this one time, but as you can see we got REALLY deep coverage. I think it depends on how saturated the yellow/green is. I feel like you could really cover something with black more than grey, but the best thing to do would be to take a little snip of the yarn and a smaller amount of dye and see how well it gets covered.
I think part of the reason why I had to do so much rinsing here is that I had WAY WAY WAY too much dye in the pot. I think the instructions are written for dyeing garments more than yarn, so keep that in mind as you play, too.
After you rinse this out will the color stay in without bleeding on like if I made a blanket out of it
It should! However, I would absolutely wash the blanket on its own for a while with color catchers just to make sure there isn't any other pigment to rinse out.
Does anyone know if it's possible to use a hand painted method with this dye to get a speckled effect?
I haven't tried this out yet. I do know now that I used WAY WAY too much dye for the amount of fiber that was in here. With the normal rit liquid dyes (for natural fibers) 1 tablespoon per 100 g gives a really nice colors. I'm not sure how quickly the colors set, but you might be able to get cool speckles with a paint brush. Something like from this video: ruclips.net/video/--5egaUoMpY/видео.html
Will you be doing some proper acid dyes, aka not food colouring, at some point?
The Rit is acid dye
I'm wondering two things, would you be able to throw in more yarn to exhaust the dye, and could you dip dye for acrylic yarn toenails. I have a ton of acrylics that were given to me that are just not my thing
I have no idea if you can dye acrylic nails with these dyes. I would imagine that those would be more solid than fibrous yarn, but you never know until you try!
Yes, you could use the residual dyebath with more yarn. I want to try dip dyeing some acrylic yarn next to see if I can get a fun gradient with this synthetic dye.
It didn't surprise me that the wool dyed so dark. I do have some superwash that needs to be over dyed. The colors were nothing like what it looked like on the auction. I tried to over dye it but it just made it a darker color that I actually liked. I still have more and I may use this to over dye it and see if that will work, it is super wash wool after all. I'll let you know what happens.
Awesome! I recommend the standard RIT vs dyemore for natural fibers because of the amount of washing needed at the end. But the colors are beautiful. :)
I have a white cardigan which a dear friend made for me but I want to dye it a dark color, preferably black. Can I do it this way?
It depends on what the cardigan is made out of. If it is a synthetic then Rit DyeMore Synthetic might work. I would see if there is a tiny thread you could snip to do a bit of a test on before dyeing the whole thing. Good luck!
@@ChemKnitsTutorials is acrylic so I know the natural dyes will not work. Thank you for your quick response!
I have a dark navy blue beanie that I wanted to turn black. It’s 60% acrylic, 15% Alpaca, 15% wool and 10% viscose. Can you guide me on how to turn it black? I was thinking about using Rit synthetic dye in graphite.
I think the rit synthetic dye would be the way to go. Is there a black one (or is graphite the name of the black?)
ChemKnits Tutorials graphite is the name of the black one. Do you think I should dye it using the stovetop method? I’m worried about burning the acrylic.
Can you give me some advice? I have a scarf that's medium grey, which I tried dying black. I followed the instructions, but it didn't get darker at all. Months later, I used rit color remover to remove the grey dye first (which didn't remove ANY color), and when I dipped it in the black dye, I used extra dye and salt, but it still looks the same.
I've had successful results with dying other pieces of clothing in the past, and I'm not sure why this scarf isn't affected by any dyes or color removers. As far as I know, it's knit from wool, but I could be missing something. Please reply, I'd really appreciate your input.
What is the fiber content on your scarf? When I tried playing with Rit color remover, I found that it did very little on acrylic and a lot more on wool (plus some fiber damage on the wool.)
What kind of dye were you using? Were you using Rit Liquid dye or the Rit DyeMore Synthetic dye? I'm surprised the synthetic one didn't work.... So far I've only used it this one time, but I plan to use it again in the future.
@@ChemKnitsTutorials Thanks for replying. I'm not sure what the fiber content is, as it doesn't have a tag or anything. If I were to guess, it might be acrylic or some kind of blend, cause it feels a little "harder" compared to most wool.
Also, I used plain rit dye. The kind that comes in powder form in a box. But for my first attempt, I used Jacquard Acid Dye.
That is the problem then. If the scarf didn't take any dye, then it is likely acrylic. The rit powders will dye wool and cotton really well, but not acrylic. The Rit DyeMore Synthetic line should work for you. (I hope!)
Would it be safe to microwave that dye and acrylic yarn?
I personally choose to not put commercial dyes in my microwave. I might get a dedicated dye microwave at some point though. I could check the manufacturer website to see what they recommend.
I have a question about the rit dye more. How long once opened do u think it'll last before I shouldn't use it?
Great question, and I honestly don't know since I've only used it once. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer!
Rit dye does not expire, just make sure to shake well before each use.
I tried using the same dye in Apricot Orange on Loops and Threads worsted yarn, the 285 yard one...and somehow it ruined the yarn. Too much heat, maybe? Any tips?
Hmmm... this is the only time I've tried using the Rit DyeMore Synthetic dye. how was the yarn ruined? Did it melt a bit? That can happen with acrylic and heat. I might try using a lower heat. I hope to do some more videos with this dye type soon.
I recently tried dying with dyemore and followed the directions exactly. One thing I do remember is that it says to stir "consistently" (I took it to mean very frequently). Not sure if that was for consistent color or to keep things from melting by being on the bottom too long? I'm planning to try again to hand dye some Christmas presents for friends who are allergic to wool but I think the weirdest thing to me was the instruction about adding soap to the dye bath.
Any thoughts on adding vinegar to the rinse?
Since these are the synthetic dye... I'm not really sure what their mechanism is. I think the huge amount of rinsing was due to the fact that there were a lot of unreacted dye molecules in the yarn. We got a deep saturated color on the wool, but it just took a LOT to get that dye out. I'm not planning to use this dye on wool again, but I would like to play with acrylics some more.
My acrylic yarns while dying with natural products did the same thing.
From the steam?
Add salt to the water .....that's an important step
What does that do? I’ve never died yarn before.
Rit Contains SALT. Your tap water does as well.
If you put vinegar in with the dye like it says when doing wool you don't have all that rinsing to do. And when on stove it absorbed all the dye. I didn't have anyone to record it when I did it but it did like with food coloring absorbed it all
Hi Tammy,
This is the synthetic dye so it is not really intended for wool. I've had really great success with Rit dyes for natural fibers + vinegar on wool yarn.
What directions did it give about dying synthetic or acrylic items?
I'd have to find the bottle and see. On the website they have slightly better
instructions: www.ritdye.com/techniques/the-basics/dyemore/ But it isn't as though the yarn comes with a melting temperature on it. ;) I think next time I want to dye acyrlic yarn I would heat up the dyebath, remove it from the heat and let it cool a bit before adding the yarn.
I wonder about adding the dishwashing liquid to the dye bath. What is the dishwashing liquid’s purpose? It’s very curious to be adding a detergent to a dye bath.
I never add soap to the dyebath itself, I usually add it when I wash it.
I guess I should have said I was asking about adding the detergent to the dye bath because that is what the directions say on the link you sent.
I use it on ugly yarn I pick up for cheap at second hand stores.Some time I mix colors and get some very nice yarn.
I enjoyed using the Rit geared for natural fibers a bit more than this dye more, but in both cases I had to do SO MUCH RINSING it was unbelievable. Even though DyeMore works on natural fibers, I would use the regular Rit next time. And vice versa for the synethetic fibers. :)
I think too many variables in one pot and not enough room makes for unattractive results. To me all yarns look lifeless and uninspiring to knit with but would make great Raggedy Ann/Andy hair or some novelty use. I would not have the heart to discard them, but put them in a bag with all my old eyelash type thrift shop yarns I bought that I most likely will never use. I have found personally that when I use Rit dye, there is some sort of dead quality that often turns up on tee shirts or cottons, kinda flat and lackluster. I also think probably that was too much dye and the absorption rate of each item must have had an overall effect on each other yarn. I will leave this one alone and not experiment further. As always, Rebecca the adventurer with a great ability to play in the right brain area!!! Thank you as always, you are a playful chemist to say the least.
You dye yarn with beet juice
I believe that you can, but it might not be permanent. I've used beet juice powder and got a lovely pink. You can see the pink in this yarn: www.etsy.com/listing/595418552/variegated-fingering-weight-sock-yarn :)
It looks like it killed the acrylic yarns.
In my experience with Rit dyes, every time you add soap it bleeds some more.
Interesting. I know that with acid dyes warm water can create some bleeding because of the types of chemical bonds between the dye and fibers. I'm not sure what kind of dyes are in Rit.
This made me never want to dye purple 😂
Just never dye wool purple with dyes indended for synthetic fibers ;P
😭 Some of us are woolen challenged😿
thankfully the yarn is knittable. ;)