Dyeing Troubleshooting with instructor Mary Egbert from the Camaj School of Fiber Arts

TROUBLESHOOTING Why did it happen and how to fix it next time.

1.

Dark spots on part of the fiber or yarn that I did not intend to be dark High immersion dyeing Why did it happen? You need to move the fiber more frequently during the heating up process. Most likely, the bottom got hotter faster and the dye struck sooner on that area.

What should I do? Make sure the fiber has enough room to move aka more water. Move the fiber continuously for at least 15 minutes once it reaches max temperature to ensure even dyeing.

What else can I do? You can put marbles, a vegetable steamer or a fiber “barrier” to prevent from the bottom of the fiber heating up too fast.

Hand painting or applied with a squirt bottle Why did it happen? If hand painted and wrapped in plastic some of the dye can pool and cause dark spots.

What should I do? There are a few things you can do: • Sop up any excess dye with a paper towel.

• Poke tiny holes in the plastic so the excess dye drains into the steaming pot.

• Thicken the dye prior to application.

• Don’t overuse dye when painting.

• Spin as much water out of the fiber you are going to pain. A spin dryer is a fabulous tool to have.

2. The dye did not fully exhaust.

Why did it happen? There are a few things: a. You used too much dye and the fiber could not absorb it all. There are dye receptors on fiber and when all the receptors are full no more dye can attach. This can happen when you are trying to dye very deep colors or did not do the calculations of dye stock per WOG. What can I do? If this happens again, use a wool soaker, which is a length of wool put in the pot to soak up the excess dye. Keep your original fiber in the pot until all the dye is exhausted. b. The level of acid is not low enough for the dye you are using. What can I do? Add a bit more acid and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. c. The dye bath did not reach max temperature and was not kept at that level for the dyeing period.

What can I do? Use a thermometer for accuracy. d. If you are using salt, it can take longer for the dye to attach and sometimes the dye will not fully exhaust. However, it will fully exhaust during the cooling off period. What can I do? Cook longer and let it cool completely. Use a wool soaker if you feel you must. e. You used a soap in the soak water that was alkaline and did not rinse out the soap prior to dyeing and the acid was not able to drive the pH into the acidic range. What can I do? Rinse the pre-soaked wool completely prior to dyeing. If you feel you must keep the soap in, use a soap made for wool that is neutral pH such as Unicorn wash or Kookaburra wash.

3. The dye is rinsing out of the fiber Why did it happen?

• You used the wrong dye for the type of fiber. For instance, you may have used a dye made for cotton on wool.

• The fiber did not reach the max temperature for a given type of dye. For instance, if you solar dyed and it did not get hot enough for the dye to strike.

• You did not use enough acid or no acid at all. This caused the dye molecules to not attach to the wool.

• You rinsed the dyed fiber in hot water. Only use cold water for food grade dyes and leveling acid dyes. Do not wash dyed fiber for 24 hours to let it set.

4. The fiber felted Why did it happen?

• You handled the fiber too much and not dainty enough during the dyeing process.

• You did not let the fiber cool before rinsing and handling. Patience is a virtue.

• With high immersion use lots of water to give the fiber room to move.

• One reason could be you boiled the fiber causing agitation…bubbles.

• For direct application such as painting, do not brush back and forth on the fiber, rather pat up and down.

The Camaj School of Fiber Arts