Gina Rockenwagner

Posted on: Dyeing techniques How to dye yarn Marshmallow WorstedOctober 1, 2021

How To Dye Halloween Orange on MARSHMALLOW WORSTED

Fall is here! Time for pumpkin spice lattes, spooky haunted houses, apple cider donuts, fibre festivals, and most importantly, the start of sweater knitting season! With limited time to complete this sweater, I need to pick something quick to knit up. Luckily, Knomad just released the perfect yarn for this project, MARSHMALLOW WORSTED.

I’m casting on a sweater ASAP for my husband to wear to our favorite fibre festival, Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool festival in Dutchess County, NY. The main requirement is it must be festive, fitting the season and the weather.

Made from 100% superwash merino wool, Marshmallow Worsted screams “knit me into a sweater!” This easy to care for yarn soaks up color like a dream. Its round, 4 ply construction provides excellent stitch definition.

Marshmallow worsted has a nice, dry hand that is not too warm, which makes it great for transitional weather and layering. At a typical worsted weight, finding a pattern for this yarn will be easy and breezy.

My husband’s favorite color is orange, so I wanted to dye up a sweater quantity of Knomad’s newest yarn, MARSHMALLOW WORSTED, to make him a sweater to wear this season! Learn how to dye this spicy and bright color yourself. I’ll show you how in my step by step tutorial below.

MATERIALS

• 3 skeins of Knomad MARSHMALLOW WORSTED yarn – 100% superwash merino wool. We designed this project for STRATUS, but it would work well on any of our yarns.
• Dharma Trading co dye for silk and wool. I used the color FLOURESCENT SAFETY ORANGE.
• Gram scale
• 1 cup to mix the dye in
• Citric acid powder
• Metal chafing pan or a dye pot
• A tablespoon
• Tongs
• Your regular set up for heat setting yarn
• Optional: 3 zip ties

SOAK THE YARN

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

Soak the yarn in lukewarm water with a dash of citric acid for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare your dye.

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 or surgical mask is not enough protection to safely work with dye powder!

For 3 skeins of yarn I used 3 grams of dye + 3 grams of citric acid powder. This equals one gram per skein, so you can multiply accordingly if you’re dyeing more or fewer skeins

Fill the cup with hot water and stir to dissolve.

DYE THE YARN

Pour the dye mix into the pan you are using to dye your yarn.

Add about 6 cups of water to the pan and stir gently.

Remove the skeins from the soaking liquid, gently squeezing the excess liquid out of the yarn. You want them to be damp, but not sopping wet. Place the three skeins side by side in the pan, using the tongs or the back of a spoon to press the yarn down into the dye for even color. You might need to work the yarn a bit to make sure the color is even.

Cover the pan and heat for 15-20 minutes. I noticed this color did take significantly longer to set versus the other dyes I am used to.

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.