Gina Rockenwagner

Posted on: Acid dyes Alpaca yarn AsperitasMay 27, 2022

How to Dye Asperitas a Spring Lilac Shade

Earlier this week I drove from my home on the west side of Los Angeles, California to Central Los Angeles. The 12 mile long trek took me on a zig zag maze of surface streets. As I traversed the city, the strikingly beautiful flashes of purple from each blooming jacaranda tree completely transfixed and inspired me. I immediately wanted to dye a shade of purple just like the beautiful jacaranda trees I admired on my drive. This color ebulliently announces the arrival of Spring. The punch of purple is so cheerful you can almost smell the lilacs it resembles. Asperitas is a natural choice for this project because it contains Tencel, which gives the yarn a slightly heathered appearance. Any of our yarns would work well for this project, so grab some skeins of your favorite Knomad yarn and let’s get to it!

MATERIALS

• 4 skeins of Knomad Asperitas  yarn – 50% wool, 50% tencel. The dyes used in this project will work well on any of our yarns, but keep in mind non superwash wool absorbs dye differently from superwash wool. For more information the differences between superwash and non superwash wool, check out this article.
• Dharma Trading co dye for silk and wool. I used the color LILAC
• Gram scale
• A cup to mix the dye in
• Citric acid powder
• Metal chafing pan
• Your regular set up for heat setting yarn
• Optional: 4 zip ties

SOAK THE YARN

Loop a zip tie around each skein of yarn, if you are using them.

Soak the yarn in room temperature water for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

MIX AND MEASURE THE DYE

Make sure to always protect yourself with gloves and a respirator whenever you work with dye in its powder form. A dust mask is not enough protection to safely work with dye powder!

We’re going to mix the dye to 1% concentration of the fibre weight. Since our 4 skeins weigh 400 grams, we want to measure out 4 grams for 1% concentration. Add 4 grams of citric acid to the cup. Top the cup with hot water.

Mix well and set aside.

DYE THE YARN

Pour the entire contents of the cup of dye into the pan. Add water to the pan until you have about 3-4 inches of liquid in the pan. Stir gently.

Remove one skein from the soaking liquid, gently squeezing the excess liquid out of the yarn. You want the skein to be damp, but not sopping wet. 

Place the skein in the pan, pressing it down so the skein is fully submerged in the dye. Use the back of a spoon or your gloved hands to work the dye into the yarn for even color.  

Cover the pan and heat the yarn for 30 minutes or until the dye is completely absorbed by the yarn. Leave the cover on and allow the yarn to cool completely.

RINSE AND DRY

Rinse and dry the yarn as you normally would.

Enjoy your finished yarn! Make sure to tag us using #Knomadyarn so we can see all your fabulous projects.