Swatching Acid Dye Powders on Yarn

I love to crudely swatch acid dye powders on yarn to quickly get a feeling for the relative intensities and hues of different colors.  

Why? Acid dyes come in a wide range of colors and potency, from premixed pastels to super pigmented dark colors.  Almost all of the colors can be very intense when you dye directly with the dry powder - and therefore look very different from how they might look at a 1% DOS on a swatch card.  (DOS = grams of dye / 100 g of fiber.  A 1% DOS is 1 gram dye / 100 g yarn.)  

This quick method of swatching lets me see if colors might break with speckling and how different colors within one family compare to one another.  I've included a lot of these "swatch cards" in my videos, but I wanted to share these images as an easy reference since I look at the again and again.  The conditions vary in each example so it is best to compare colors within one image, but hopefully this can give you a rough feel of what you can get with different colors. 

I am going to add captions with all of the dye names below each of the images so you can easily search this page for the color you want to see. You will find all 40 Jacquard Acid Dye colors and most of the Dharma Acid Dye Collection. The video featuring the swatch is linked below each image so you can hear more about the colors and see how the final yarn from the swatch photo turned out! If I made the swatches in a livestream I linked to the recap so you can see the finished yarn and a summary of the project.

Color Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes - Cool Tones; DHARMA  Deep Navy, Toner Black, Silver Gray, Twilight Gray, Electric Violet, Frozen, Deep Purple, True Black

Color Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes - Warm Tones; DHARMA  Espresso Bean, Tangelo, Fluorescent Fuschia, Fire Engine Red, Cherry Bomb, Fluorescent Safety Orange, Jacquard Brown

Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes: Greens, Blues, and Purples;  DHARMA Emerald Green, Teal Green, Delphinium Blue, Avocado, Sage Leaf, Purple Pop 

Swatching 17 Dharma Acid Dye Colors - 5/21/19 Livestream Recap; DHARMA  Sapphire Blue, Caribbean Blue, Bright Aqua, True Turquoise

Swatching 17 Dharma Acid Dye Colors - 5/21/19 Livestream Recap; DHARMA  Sapphire Blue, Caribbean Blue, Bright Aqua, True Turquoise, Lilac, Radioactive (Fluorescent), Sour Apple, Blued Steel, Berry Crush, Deep Magenta, Platinum

Swatching 17 Dharma Acid Dye Colors - 5/21/19 Livestream Recap; DHARMA Fluorescent Lemon, Fawn, Sand Dune, Golden Poppy, Saffron Spice, Pecan Brown

Swatching All 40 Jaquard Acid Dye Colors on Yarn - 6/25/19 Livestream Recap; JACQUARD Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Brilliant Blue, Sapphire Blue, Gun Metal, Jet Black, Silvery Gray, Purple, Periwinkle, Turquoise, Violet, Lilac, Navy 

Swatching All 40 Jaquard Acid Dye Colors on Yarn - 6/25/19 Livestream Recap; JACQUARD Russet, Crimson, Cherry Red, Fire Red, Vermillion, Burgundy, Bright Scarlet, Hot Fuchsia, Pink, Chestnut, Ecru, Brown, Burnt Orange, Salmon, Deep Orange

Swatching All 40 Jaquard Acid Dye Colors on Yarn - 6/25/19 Livestream Recap ; JACQUARD Golden Ochre, Aztec Gold, Golden Yellow, Pumpkin Orange, Sun Yellow, Kelly Green, Chartreuse, Bright Yellow, Teal, Spruce, Emerald, Olive

August 2019 #ChemKnitsDyeAlong JACQUARD - Brown, Chestnut, Aztec Gold, Ecru

DHARMA - Fawn, Sand Dune, Pecan Brown, Espresso Bean, True Black, Silver Gray

September 2020 #ChemKnitsDyeAlong; DHAMRA Tobacco Leaf, Fawn, Olive Brown, Golden Straw, Champagne, Avocado, Moss Green, Lichen, Chartreuse, Radioactive, Sand Dune

October 2020 #ChemKnitsDyeAlong; DHAMRA Cabernet, Honey Mustard, Golden Poppy, Blazing Orange, Saffron Spice, Forest Green, Pecan Brown, Teddy Bear Brown, Eggplant, Espresso Bean, Berry Crush, Plum Dandy

Dyepot PS #32 - Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes On Yarn; Rough Swatches with New To Me Colors; DHAMRA Antique Mauve, Hyacinth, Midnight Blue, Indigo Blue, Extreme Blue, Alpine Blue, Baby Blue Eyes, Sea Spray, Spearmint Breeze, Plum Dandy, Cabernet, Aubergine (Eggplant)

Dyepot PS #32 - Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes On Yarn; Rough Swatches with New To Me Colors; DHAMRA Oxblood, Chinese Red, Ponsettia, Cayenne Red, Blazing Orange, Peach Blush, Valentine Pink, Ballerina Pink, Flamingo Pink, Antique Mauve, Pink Orchid

Dyepot PS #32 - Swatching Dharma Acid Dyes On Yarn; Rough Swatches with New To Me Colors; DHAMRA Teddy Bear Brown, Olive Brown, Tobacco Leaf, Chartreuse, Lichen, Moss, Kelly Green, Ivory, Champagne, Golden Straw, Sunflower Yellow, Duckling, Honey Mustard 

Video TBD! DHAMRA Avocado, Golden Poppy, Brilliant Yellow, Pecan Brown, Golden Straw, Sunflower Yellow, Honey Mustard, Sour Apple, Emerald Green

March 2021 #ChemKnitsDyeAlong DHAMRA Sour Apple, Chartreuse, Lichen, Moss Green, Honey Mustard, Teddy Bear Brown, True Black, Silver Gray

February 2021 #ChemKnitsDyeAlong DHAMRA Valentine Blush, Ballerina Pink, Flamingo Pink, Tangelo, Peach Blush, Antique Mauve

This post includes all of the crude swatches I've done through April 2021.