Wool: immersion- and gradation dyed

From Dyed Fabrics & Threads

The magical change from white to dyed wool happens in an acid dye solution at a high temperature. The yarn consists of a blend of 80% wool and 20% ramie:

Except for the pink, the yarns were dyed twice.

Results after dye bath 1:

For the first dye bath I dissolved commonly used acid dye powder for wool and silk and mixed them to make other colors. I recently bought some with this rainbow dye kit at a fair in the Netherlands:

• some white roving (100% wool) for future use in felting projects was also dyed
• the moss green and orange roving were dyed by immersion
• for the chartreuse roving and the yarns I used methods that yields gradations in colour and intensity of colour

The pink yarn was created by immersion dyeing with an acidified Procion (!) dye solution of fuchsia (MX-8B):

The recipes and methods used are from Marjie McWilliams who gives on-line classes in "Wool Dyeing" at Quilt University.

Isn't it amazing that wool, a fiber of animal origin, can also be dyed with acidified Procion dye solutions, instead of the commercial acid dyes who are mostly used?

After making the dye solutions, I was curious to know their acidity. Because I once worked in chemical labs I know I could use a pH indicator paper strip:

A solution is called acid when it has a low pH (like 4).
Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25 °C (77 °F).

I wondered what acidified Procion would do with the colours of the yarns from dye bath 1.

Results after dye bath 2:

I re-dyed the yarns by immersion in different acidified and diluted Procion dye stock-solutions from the refrigerator:

• golden yellow (MX-3RA) for the purple-blue-green yarn
• fire engine red (MX-BRA) for the orange gradation yarn
• violet (MX-G) for the purple gradation yarn

The double dyeing gives a vibrant and rich appearance to the yarn with the blend of 80% animal fibers (wool) and 20% plant-basid fibers (ramie), don't you think?

What will double dyeing with acid and Procion dyes do on silk or mixtures with a silk component?
Silk is also a fiber of animal origin but can both be dyed at low pH at a high temperature with commercial acid dyes, and, like the plant-based fiber cotton, with Procion dyes at low (room) temperature (see my blogs on hand dyed silk and cotton). In Procion dye solutions the soda creates a pH higher than 7 and vinegar or citric acid creates a pH lower than 7.

I still have some silk fabric and threads left and I already ordered 100% wool yarn.
Just need more time for doing future experiments!

For a better view you can click on the pictures or go to the album Dyed Fabrics & Threads
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