Tag Archives: yarn

Such a bother

Posted on by
9

I cut the tip of my index finger on my right hand last week and I can’t seem to get anything done…well, stuff that I want to do.

It’s not a deep cut or a long cut just the sort that gets in the way because it needs covered.  

I’m an English style knitter where the yarn is held in my right hand as opposed to a continental style where the yarn is held in the left hand.  I “can” knit continental but it’s not that intuitive for me.  Or fun.  Plus I have one more fingerless mitt to finish and my gauge would definitely be off if I changed styles now.  And bandages just get in the way.  So no knitting for me.

But I could dye some yarn…

Knitted gifts

Posted on by
4

You remember the 1898 knitted cap I made for Mr. Aitch with overdyed yarn?  Well, it needed some fingerless gloves for company.

I didn’t have enough yarn leftover and I knew I’d never get the same color to match.  That’s why it’s important to get enough of the same dye lot when knitting (or crocheting) any yarny project.  So I overdyed another skein of yarn but starting out with a totally different color.

Using the same brand of yarn and the same food dye colors, I wanted to get something that would coordinate with the original overdye.

I added some leftover Rit dye, a mixture of blue and black, from another project.  The blue and green food coloring just wasn’t covering that bright coral color.

Close enough for a contrast but still in the same family.

Original overdye

The new overdye

The fingerless glove pattern is the Don’t skid, honey! by Justyna Lorkowska.  The zigzags reminded me of smoke and Mr. Aitch needed a new pair to keep his hands warm when he smokes a cigar (in the garage in the winter). 

You can see the two colors on the palm.

Both together.

We’ve had some bitter cold temperature here lately and Mr. Aitch has worn the gloves inside to keep his hands warm while at the computer.

 

 

1898 finished

Posted on by
11

Another finished project – the 1898 cap is off the needles and ready for gifting.

As you may recall I overdyed some purple yarn with food coloring and vinegar because the color was too bright and I could change it.

Loving these colors!

I used a bright green one the back part of the headband so the recipient could tell the front from the back.  The back is smaller than the front by design but it’s just easier to tell the difference with a bright, visual clue.

Mr. Aitch (reluctantly) modeled for me.  He will find this under the Christmas tree next month.

The doubled headband was easy to knit and will really keep the ears warm.

Now should I add a pompom to the top?

Another overdye

Posted on by
5

I started with this yarn: Cleckheaton Country 8-ply 100% washable wool in a very beautiful purple color.  But not for a man or at least not the men I know and would knit for.

Enter food coloring, vinegar, squirt bottles and a microwave.

I decided to dye all three of the full skeins that I had because I didn’t think I would use the yarn as it was.  And because I wanted to.

I used basically the same process as I did here.  You can do an internet search for other methods.  After soaking the yarn in a vinegar bath for about 30 minutes, I alternated squirting the dye between shades of blue, shades of green, and a mixture of both. (Sorry no pictures of the process.)  I didn’t want a solid color so I squirted some parts with just the green, some with the blue, and some with a combo of both.

Once completely saturated the yarn was wrapped in plastic, placed in a glass casserole dish and nuked for two minutes, rested for two minutes and so on for about four sessions total.

The yarn was rinsed after it cooled until the water ran clear and colorless.

Here it is after it dried. This reminds me of the ocean…blues, greens and a bit of the purple shows through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t wait to begin another project.  This time it’s the 1898 hat by Kristin Byrnes as posted on the Christmas at Sea|The Seamen’s Church Institute website.  Scroll down on the linked page for many free patterns.  I should be able to knit two hats with the amount of yarn that I overdyed.

Most of my wool yarn is not machine washable but I might need to change that…