The Art of Yarn Dyeing (and Why it Matters) 

An umbrella swift is very handy to have when trying to turn a commerical skein into a dyeing hank or twist.

When I saw the beginning of the video I thought "it looks like Chem Knits". 😃 Cool that RU-vidrs are inspiring each other. 😊

As a fellow sock obsessive with a similar propensity for second sock syndrome, I’ve found that knitting two at a time is the best way to get around it… I’m not into magic loop, much prefer a 25cm circular or even dpns, so I just have two identical sets of needles, split the skein into two balls rather than one, and literally do each step on one sock then the other. Overall it takes a bit longer to see the payoff but when you get to the end of one, all you should have left to do on the other is the toe! Huge game changer.

I use a lightweight umbrella swift (it is a bit wobbly but it works) to wind yarn into skeins. The one I have has a little handle on the top so you can spin it. I set it up so it is almost at a 90 degree angle. I have tried a sturdy wooden swift but you cannot change the angle and there is too much friction to freely wind. Good luck with your dyeing project, that green color is gorgeous (and I've done that to myself too! 😆).

Oo your yarns turned out pretty! I've been playing with ice dying on clothes and it's so fun and addicting.❤

Get a niddy noddy! I find it to be the absolute best way to quickly skein yarns. Also, if you want some extra inspiration - I'm going to shamelessly toot my own horn here, haha - I'm doing a series on different techniques of yarn dyeing on my channel, much like Rebecka from ChemKnits, where I show the entire process from beginning to end. There are several episodes out already, but more to come. Feel free to stop by if you have the opportunity. 🙂 Have fun dyeing! Can't wait to see what you make, and also to see that garden in the future. I'm thinking about doing a series on natural dyeing next year, which will be a completely new process to me. Can't wait to try it though. 🙂

A dye garden would be so interesting. 😃 You might have to grow dye plants with European origins in the winter instead. The woad pigment likes heat though, apparently. Another RU-vidr did an experiment, and if woad leaves were harvested under 25c. they didn't give much pigment. (I have forgotten which RU-vidr so I can't say who it was). I don't know how madder will react to the hot weather in Australia. Maybe you should grow madder in the shade? I don't know.

Looking forward to seeing more of your dying adventures! I don't dye yarn but I find the process super interesting, and I do really enjoy chemknits' videos. I am particularly interested in your idea of a dye garden that is suited to the australian climate but also conscious of not using invasive species. hopefully you can find some great resources! i am not a gardener myself so can't offer any advice. I have bought naturally dyed yarn from Nomad Farms in the past - they are south australian based and all of their yarns are naturally dyed.

The colour fastness of natural dyes vary greatly. Wild Colours has some info on this. The ones that are often quoted as having the best colour fastness are woad, weld and madder. Looking at the website it says woad is from the Middle East originally. Woad should work in Australia then, I would think. But woad also grows in northern Europe. Natural dyes are also sensitive to things like water PH and dye bath temperature.

I am not dyslexic, but for some reason I read the title as “I’m dyslexic yarn” and wondered how yarn may be dyslexic or how is a type of yarn used to help dyslexic people to knit and I was very confused. Luckily I took another look at the title and suddenly it made all so much more sense 😅

Apparently madder has been found in Tutankhamun's grave in Egypt. So maybe madder can also tolerate hot weather then. Alkanet (Alkanna tinctorium) gives nice purples. It seems Alkanet likes warm weather. It is from southern Europe. I saw some fabric samples, dye from Alkanet looks much better if it is extracted with alcohol.

There is a RU-vidr called Margaret Byrd who has lots of dye experiments on her channel Color Quest. Be aware that she doesn't care much about colour fastness on clothes or yarn. So some of the dyes wouldn't work well for that. But it is still interesting to see the experiments. In some recent videos she experimented with eucalyptus.