This year I was prepared for the leftover Easter egg dyes! I had two hanks of
Universal Yarn's Ready to Dye superwash Merino yarn waiting in the wings for the
annual Easter egg dyeing event at our house.
While my husband laid down newspaper on the kitchen table, mixed the Paas colors, and got the hard boiled eggs ready to be patterned and dyed, I filled the sink with water, a cup of vinegar, and set the timer for a 30-minute yarn soak. After the eggs were colored and on the drying rack, it was time for the yarn.
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| 2013 Easter egg and yarn dyeing event. |
I pressed out the excess water from the yarn and laid each hank on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap. There was enough leftover dye to paint both hanks. One was painted with the leftover cool colors—blue, green and purple—and the other with the warm colors—yellow, orange and red (which looks more like pink). If you don't want the pure, bright "Easter egg" hues, I recommend mixing the dye colors in the cups (to get blue-green, blue violet, etc.) rather than on the yarn. I also added more water to several of the cups and the color was still vibrant. This
superwash wool took the dye easily.
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| Painting the prepared yarn with leftover egg dyes. |
After painting, the yarn was wrapped in the plastic wrap and individually batched in the microwave. There was minimal residual dye when rinsed—just a tiny bit of pale red/pink—otherwise, the water ran clear from the first rinse.
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| 100% superwash merino wool dyed with Easter egg dyes. |
This yarn is soft and springy and I can't wait to see how the color variations knit up. Each hank of this #4 worsted weight yarn has 180 yards—an ample amount for something sweet and special.
Any suggestions for a project?
