Stovetop Dyeing

Ask Tara is a weekly-ish feature in which I attempt to answer your questions about spinning, dyeing or making videos in a tiny apartment. If you have a question, ask it in the comments and I’ll answer it here with either a post or a video!

When I posted my first video, on dyeing with Easter Egg dyes in the microwave, quite a few people asked: Can you dye on the stovetop?

Short answer: Yes!

Long answer: Here’s how:

Warning #1: You might want to wear gloves. I never do with these non-toxic dyes, but I don’t mind blue fingernails.

Warning #2: You probably don’t even want to use your hands! Get yourself a long poking stick (like a chopstick) and some tongs (so you can flip the fiber)

Warning #3: Don’t agitate the fiber! Add the dye, submerge the fiber and walk away! Let it cool completely before you move it and for goodness sake, don’t wring it while it’s wet! Messing the the hot, wet fiber will cause felting if you’re too rough!

Dyeing on the stove like this is usually called Kettle-dyeing and you can use a variety of dyes with this same basic method. You can also dye ANY animal fiber, in any form (locks, roving, yarn, finished piece) in this way.

When you feel more comfortable, try varying your dye to wool ratio or adding more than one color in each pot. My favorite way to get multi-color roving is to put one tablet in cold water, add the roving, drop another tablet on top, turn on the heat. Once the water and fiber is hot, I turn the roving over a little and drop in one more tablet.

Should you choose to use each of the dye tablets in one packet of Easter Egg dyes, you’ll get a pretty pile of fiber like this:

Don’t want to try dyeing yet? You can find that Rainbow Bright colorbox in the Boutique.

Let me know if you try it! If you dye another way,tell me about it in the comments!