Monday, February 12, 2018

Dye Along Livestream Schedule - The Sock Blank Special 2!

Are you ready to dye along with me in the Sock Blank Special 2?  I have talked about the materials and equipment you will need for the #ChemKnitsDyeAlong, and now it is finally time to talk more about the schedule for the week.  I plan to host livestreams at a variety of times of day so as many of you will have a chance of joining me live as possible.  Don't worry if you can't catch me live, the livestream archives will be available to replay later.


In all of the livestreams, I will dye a combination of KnitPicks Stroll Sock Blanks and DIY blanks made out of various yarn weights, fiber types, and number of strands.  The Stroll Sock Blanks are double stranded, so when we unravel the yarn we will get two identical 50 g skeins of yarn.  The homemade blanks will feature both single stranded and doublestranded blanks.

ChemKnits Dye Along; Sock Blank Special Schedule 

With each episode/livestream in the schedule, I have indicated if you will need any special materials to dye along with me.  Make sure you refer to the General Materials list just after the schedule for things that will be used in most of the episodes. This list might be tweeked as we get closer to the Sock Blank Special.
  • LIVESTREAM: Sunday 2/25/18 7:15 PM EST -  #ChemKnitsDyeAlong Kickoff!  A chat to get excited about the week ahead of us.  I might work on making some blanks (via knitting machine or crocheting) or unravel some dyed blanks.   
    • Special Materials needed: Sock Blanks!  Finish getting your sock blanks together to dye along with me this week.
  • Monday 2/26/18 8:30 AM EST - Dyepot Weekly #28 comes out a day early!  This isn't a livestream, but I am moving up this week's Dyepot Weekly episode 24 hours so it can help kick off our week of fun.  Want a sneak peek?  Check out the livestream where I unraveled this blank.  
    • Materials Needed: Squeeze bottles for applying the dye (Jacquard acid dyes) to the homemade double stranded sock blank.  
  • LIVESTREAM: Monday 2/26/18 8:00 PM ESTRandom Patterns!  Tonight we are going for true random patterns.  We will tie dye, randomly dip, and more.     
    • Materials needed: Utensils to apply dye to the fiber (brushes, squeeze bottles, or syringes), a dish basen or dye safe bowl, rubber bands.  
  • LIVESTREAM: Tuesday 2/27/18 9:00 AM EST - Stripes, Stripes, and More Stripes! We will dye multiple homemade and commercial sock blanks in a variety of striping patterns. 
  • Tuesday 2/27/18 PM Late Afternoon TBD - A New Sock Blank Special Episode!  
    • Materials Needed: A double stranded crochet sock blank.  (Sneak Peek is coming Monday 2/12!)
  • Wednesday 2/28/18 8:30 AM EST - Snow Dyeing Sock Blanks! This episode has been prefilmed.  For a sneak peek, check out the unraveling of the homemade and commercial snow dyed blanks livestream
    • Materials Needed: KoolAid Packets, Snow (as a substitute, try either crushed ice or ice cubes!)  
  • LIVESTREAM: Wednesday 2/28/18 Noon EST - Stamping and Stenciling Sock Blanks 
    • Special Materials: Guar Gum (a thickening agent), Wilton Gel Icing Colors (they are already thick to begin with!), foam brushes, squeeze bottles, stencils, stamps, and cookie cutters
  • Thursday 3/1/18 Morning TBD - A New Sock Blank Special Episode! 
  • LIVESTREAM: Thursday 3/1/18 8 PM EST - Spray Painting Blanks
  • LIVESTREAM: Friday 3/2/18 10:30 AM EST - Sprinkles, Speckles, and More! 
    • Special Materials: Sprinkles (Sugar Sprinkles or nonpareils), KoolAid packets (or similar drink mix)  
  • Friday 3/2/18 Afternoon/Evening TBD - Ice Dyeing a Sock Blank
    • Materials Needed: ice cubes (multiple trays worth, I filled up a whole dish basen with cubes), KoolAid packet (or powdered citric acid), liquid food coloring.  
In addition to the above scheduled events, I might add some additional unraveling streams as our dyed blanks finish drying.

General Materials Needed for the Dye Along

I covered this in the where to buy and how to make sock blanks post, but I wanted to recap the other materials you should have on hand.  Please refer to the materials list in the "Where to Buy Sock Blanks" post for other items you should consider having on hand. If you plan to use acid dyes, make sure you use dedicated non-food equiptment and utensils for dyeing.
  1. Yarn: In all of the videos, I will dye yarn that is in either a knit or crochet blank (read more about).  All of the yarns will be predominantly protein based fibers (wool, alpaca, silk, etc.) I will use a mixture of homemade blanks (see how I make them in the videos at the end of this post) and commercial blanks (KnitPicks Stroll Sock Blanks)   
  2. Dye: This dye along will feature either food safe (i.e. food coloring) or commercial acid dyes. The overall techniques will work for either type of dye. If you plan to use commercial acid dyes, make sure you are using dedicated dyeing equipment and utensils. 
  3. Acid: Either white vinegar or citric acid
  4. Heat: I will either use a microwave (with food coloring dyed yarns) or a pot on the stove.  My dyepot has a steamer basket which I use for yarns handpainted with commercial acid dyes.  
  5. Miscallenous: plastic wrap, gloves, measuring cups and spoons, tongs, heat safe dishes, container for presoaking the blanks, cups for mixing dyes

Other Resources

I have two playlists on the ChemKnits Tutorials YouTube channel that features the dyeing of preknit blanks.  There is the original Sock Blank Special playlist from videos and livestreams that took place in December 2017.  All of these videos feature KnitPicks Stroll Sock Blanks.  These blanks dye and unravel SO BEAUTIFULLY and they are a dream to use.  I just orderd a bulk 20 pack of these blanks, which means that I plan to do some sock blank dyeing videos even after the dye along is over!  (Maybe Sock Blank Special 3?)

I know that purchasing sock blanks can be expensive, so I am also going to use homemade sock blanks.  I have another playlist that features videos of making and dyeing homemade knit blanks.  I use a Singer hand crank knitting machine for all of my homemade knit blanks.  I find that this machine works well for worsted (and thinner) single stranded blanks and fingering weight double stranded blanks.  The machine struggles to make double stranded worsted and DK blanks, but I was able to complete them.  I worried that I might strip the gears, so proceed with caution that you could damage your machine.

Finally, check out the "Where to Purchase Undyed Sock Blanks for the Sock Blank Special Dye Along!" blog post to learn more about what are sock blanks, different companies that offer sock blanks for puchase, and the general materials you will need to dye along with me in the #ChemKnitsDyeAlong.


Timeline Disclaimer

I have two young children and I work out of my home.  The livestream schedule depends on my kids being healthy and able to attend school. If one of them is home from school sick, then I will need to shift the schedule above and potentially delay some of the livestreams.  Thankfully, I am pre-filming many different techniques so you can still dye along even if I have to push back some of the livestreams.


Share Your Own Projects!

Tag your pictures with #ChemKnitsDyeAlong on Instagram and Twitter.  I will have a post on the ChemKnits Facebook Page where you can share your finished dyed sock blanks, the unraveled yarn, and items that you made our of your dyed sock blanks.  I can't wait to see what you create!  You are also welcome to come and join the ChemKnits Lab Group to chat more about ideas and all types of dyeing projects.  The group is filled with hundreds of ChemKnits fans and we are having a lot of fun.

Watch How to Make and Dye Homemade Sock Blanks!




I cannot wait to dye along with you during this Sock Blank Special.  I have tried to take many of the requests from the last Sock Blank Special and incorporate them into the events for this special week.  Are you ready to dye along with me?

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This post contains some affiliate links to Amazon and KnitPicks.  All thoughts, opinions, and product selections are my own and I was not approached to promote any of the products.