Dyeing your own Floss...

Blackhat

catsarecute replied at 2012-4-5 23:38

                               
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You are correct about cotton floss not being as good as knitting yarn, of course. My bad. I have a ...

Hey, no problem! In experimenting with different fibers for various projects over the years, I'm still maybe only 5% into all there is to learn about yarn and string and various elements of each... it's a LOT of specific info. :funk: The tightness of the ply, the way the fibers are combed, even the material making up the machine it was spun on can all have a major effect. It's crazy! ;_;

Wow, you mother can prepare dye from the wild? That's a rare skill! I've been trying to do that for years, but I can only ever manage pale, bland colors. ^^;

Blackhat

HollyBlue replied at 2012-4-15 18:51

                               
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Did you decide on a dying method?  I think it'd be interesting to hand dye for a single colour chart ...

Actually, I've got a few experiments lined up, but I haven't tried them yet. Would you like to have a go? :D

1) Use leftover easter-egg dye with the instructions given on the box (just as for eggs), but then iron the wet thread in rags until it is dry to set the color.

2) Use some old permanent markers and "bleed" the color into the floss...?

3) Mixing fabric medium with a very small amount of concentrated acrylic-enamel model paint, plus distilled water to thin out the mix into a pastel ink...?

A blogger I know suggested these to me; she doesn't like cross-stitch, though, so she's never tried them on floss...

littlestar

I used kool-aid to dye wool yarns before but never try it on floss. I am really new to xs. Those big charts transfer from pictures to xs just doesn't appeal to me and unfortunately that's what's available around me until one day i ran into this site. It opened a new world of xs to me and i am in love with it now. I will try to use kool-aid on floss next time i get hold of some white floss. Will keep you posted if i achived something.:P

Blackhat

littlestar replied at 2012-4-17 10:43

                               
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I used kool-aid to dye wool yarns before but never try it on floss. I am really new to xs. Those big ...

Internet searches tell me that kool aid is actually a very poor dye for cotton. It works on animal fibers (wool, silk) but because it is acidic (I think that's the explanation, anyway), it doesn't take to cotton or any other cellulose (plant fibers, flax) very well. I don't know if there's a way to make it stick. :(

htsear13

Following this thread

u1sunny

Very Nice!!

funshine

Good question

BlueTanager

This is a quite old thread but wanted to give my 2 cents since it seems alive still:
-There's plenty dyes nowadays that will work well on cotton, so the floss can absolutely be dyed.
-It is advisable to wash first anything you plan on dying. Some industry made yarns/floss/threads have a coat that might not react well with the dye.
-Always test first on a small batch. Heat time, type of dye and the usage of mordant can change results drastically! Taking notes is a good idea!
-Try to dye as much as you'll need for your project: hand dying will hardly end up the same in a second batch, that's the nature of hand dying stuff.
-If the result is uneven, don't lose heart and treat it as a variegated. Even if it doesn't look the best it can absolutely surprise you on a project :kiss:

manolimu

Thank you very much!

LunaBee

I have experience dyeing cotton. Plant-based fibers,  like cotton, need a different type of dye and a different mordant than animal-based fibers, like wool.
The best way is to use Procion fiber reactive dyes. You use soda ash as a mordant. Salt and urea can also be used to help the dye.
There are lots of resources on the internet about using procion dyes.

You can also use rit dyes, but they are not as colorfast.