Time for a new dyeing video, yay!
It really warms my heart how excited my followers get when I share pictures of my filming setup. They are excited because it means that a new video is (finally!) in the works.
With two small children it can be hard to produce videos quickly. I can get multiple experiments started in an afternoon but I'm frequently limited to what I can fit it around nap schedules. Then I have to wait for the fiber to dry (which can take a few days) and edit the video. Last winter I was still working on my old laptop so it would take HOURS to export the final video. (As I'm writing this post in March I'm crossing my fingers that my new computer will help speed up some of these issues.) I filmed the following video back when I was still pregnant and Rowdy was 2 months old when I finally had the chance to sit down and edit this video.
Enough babbling... onto my new favorite roving dyeing technique! When I overdyed some previously dyed roving I kept it in a crocheted chain (which I sometimes call a braid). I think that this gave me some fun variation of color, so I wanted to test this out by kettle dyeing starting with a dry crochet chain of yarn.
Here it is! Check out what happened when I kettle dyed a braided crochet chain of roving:
- [0:00] Introduction and crocheting the roving
- [2:37] Making the dyebath
- [4:52] Adding the fiber
- [7:16] 20 minutes later
- [7:56] Removing Fiber from the dyebath
- [8:56] Washing the fiber
- [9:40] Reveal of the finished fiber and conclusions
The kettle dyeing is following the same protocol I've used dozens of times now. Make dyebath, bring to boil, reduce heat and add dry fiber. The only difference is that we're starting off with a dry braid so some regions of the fiber will be more accessible to the dyebath than other parts.
Next time I want to try doing this with Wilton's Violet to see if I can get some colors to break. Or maybe even dip dyeing the braid... I have so many ideas here! Tell me what you'd like to see in my next video in the comments.