Natural yarn dyeing

Yesterday I took a natural yarn dyeing workshop, hosted by the Twist Festival and given by Swans Island dyer Jackie Ottino-Graf. It was an all day workshop in Saint-Andre-Avellin, QC. And it was amazing!

As a beginner dyer I learned so much about using natural products. I also learned that if you want to replicate your work, then you have to be good at math, take notes and measure! Kind of like baking.

We worked on 6 dye baths to get a rainbow sample - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

There was also a little bit of free experimentation with the green and tried out cochineal.

The class was quite large (about 15 people), so Jackie was the one doing most of the dyeing, while we all looked on. We learnt how to get an extract from wood chips, and how adding modifiers can change the results of your colours.

Jackie was a great teacher, and I'm hoping to be able to take more classes with her in the future. 

Yarn Dyeing

I tried my hand at dyeing yarn again this weekend. This time with Wilton's food dye. The result was interesting, and the colour split up quite a lot. It came out purple, pink and blue! I'm going to use it to knit up Goodale Sweater.

The formula:

• Knit Picks Peruvian Highland Wool in Fingering
• Wilton's Violet Icing Dye
• Vinegar

Steps I took:

• Soaked the yarn in lukewarm water for about 30 minutes.
• Heated up a full pot of water on high (electric stove). When steam began rising, I turned it down to 4 and put in the yarn.
• Let the water heat back up with the yarn in it.
• Mixed about 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) of Violet to about 1 cup boiling water.
• Added the dye to the pot.
• Left to simmer on 4 for about 20-30 minutes.
• Poured in 1 cup of vinegar.
• Watched the magic happen.
• When the water came out on a spoon clear, I made the mistake to empty the pot of water. I should have let the water and yarn cool together.
• Let the yarn cool without its water.
• Rinsed. No colour ran!!
• Hung to dry.

Yarn Dyeing

This summer my colleagues and I took an escapade into dyeing our own yarn with Kool-Aid and Wilton dyes. The results were fantastic!

T used only orange Kool-Aid, and Wilton's Cornflower Blue. The orange came out bright and vibrant. The blue came out dynamic with purple mixed into it.


S used a mixture of green and blue, and then threw in a bit of cornflower once she saw it brought out purple. Her result is a beautiful green which invokes an enchanted forest.


I used a mixture of strawberry Kool-Aid with pink Wilton's dye and purple Kool-Aid with purple Wilton's dye. I was ecstatic with the result. It ended up more pink than purple once knitted up, but I love the projects I made with it. The yarn we all dyed was Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes Bare.



I used up one skein to make Ysolda Teague's Ripley and tante ehm's Camp Out Fingerless Mitts. I still have another skein left which I will make a scarf or cowl with.