Friday, March 8, 2019

Leave No Dyes Behind!

What do you do with leftover dye?  If I have extra dye in a cup, the remaining ends of bottles, or some extra powder on my counter, I can't bring myself to just throw the dye away.  These dyes can turn into something wonderful!  I find myself saving leftovers whether they're food coloring or commercial dyes to use to create some stunning one of a kind colorways. 

The following video is a great example of this philosophy.  I added a bunch of pastels onto some KnitPicks Bare Stroll fingering weight yarn (Affiliate Link) and felt like something was missing.  I have a container where I combine random acid dye powders leftover from projects (which at the time was mostly Forest Green) and added speckles onto the yarn.  This tied the whole thing together, and I think the results are stunning. 

This yarn is currently available in the ChemKnits Creations Etsy Store! 

The only downside to using leftover dyes is that sometimes I create some colorways that are so beautiful I'd love to recreate them.  Recreation is hard when you're not aware of the acidity and proportions of different dyes used.  Sometimes the dyebath is fresh for these videos, but frequently I'm using leftover exhausted baths, or presoaks... basically anything that I can reuse!

Want to see more Leave No Dye Behind videos?  Check out the following playlist!  This is a non-numbered series of videos that show up in random order.  Sometimes they're tied to the video where I mixed the dyes, and other times I have no idea where the leftovers came from. No matter what, we have a ton of fun!

 

This post contains some KnitPicks affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission off of any sales through my link.  I have been a KnitPicks affiliate since Fall 2017.