They are knitted in my own handspun, a 2 ply laceweight wool/mohair blend. I knit them in the original, natural, cream color but after including dark colored beads realized it was too much contrast and dyed them a dark denim color.
My dyeing method was far less than precise. I dumped enough hot tap water into my crockpot to cover them, added a tablespoon of vinegar, submerged the handwarmers and then left them to soak for about 30 minutes. I then removed the handwarmers temporarily while I added powdered Ashford dyes and stirred, then I put them back in and turned the pot on "low" until all the dye was absorbed.
I'm very pleased with the color. It is exactly what I was aiming for. I achieved it with an educated guess. "Blue" (less than and 1/8 teaspoonful), "black" (just a few grains to darken the blue), "red" and "yellow" (in very small proportions to create "orange" which is the compliment of blue and therefore "mutes" the blue to a nice denim color). Heh. All those color theory lessons in my highschool and college classes paid off!
These are destined to be a gift.
5 comments:
Oh, those are pretty! I've been wanting to try beading... lucky recipient!
remind me to ask you about colors when i start dyeing on a regular basis. very, very, very nice!
those are so pretty! what a great way to bring the last year to a close and to begin this year.
I like to use the crochet hook method if there aren't too many beads involved Carrie. It's easy and you don't have to deal with tons of prestrung beads getting all tangled!
Minnie, It's just basic color theory. If I'm starting with white or natural colored yarn/fiber I'm usually quite successful. It gets a bit more complicated if you try dyeing something that has a more pronounced base color. Some dye powders don't give you the true primary colors of red, yellow and blue and then it gets tricky.
Oooo those are pretty!
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