How to Dye a Grunge Inspired Layered Yarn on Superwash Merino Wool

I’ve been enjoying listening to 90’s female artists during quarantine. There’s nothing like a little Bjork or Cranberries to brighten my day! My musical tastes of late inspired me to dye a grungy, faded black yarn with pops of bright neon. Learn how to dye it yourself below!

MATERIALS

1 skein of Knomad MARSHMALLOW DK yarn – 100% Superwash Merino Wool. We designed this project for MARSHMALLOW, but it would also work well on any of our yarns with superwash merino, like STEAM, MAGNOLIA, SNOWDRIFT, EGGSHELL, SALCANTAY, and SANDSTONE.
Dharma Trading co dye for silk and wool. I used the colors TONER BLACK, FLOURESCENT LEMON, TRUE TURQUOISE, and FLOURESCENT FUCHSIA.
Gram scale
4 cups to mix the dye in
Citric acid powder
Metal chafing pan at least 3 inches deep – We need to dye in something with a lot of surface area in order to get nice speckles.
A measuring spoon. Any size will work.
Your regular set up for heat setting yarn
Optional: a zip tie

SOAK THE YARN

Loop a zip tie around the skein of yarn, if you are using it. Soak the yarn in lukewarm water with a dash of citric acid for about 1 hour.

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! 1st CUP – 6 grams TONER BLACK + 1 gram citric acid + 3 cups hot water 2nd CUP – .5 gram FLOURESCENT FUCHSIA + 1 gram citric acid +1 cup hot water 3rd CUP – .5 gram FLOURESCENT LEMON + 1 gram citric acid +1 cup hot water 4th CUP – .25 gram TRUE TURQUOISE + 1 gram citric acid +1 cup hot water Mix each cup well.

DYE THE YARN

Remove the skein from the soaking liquid, gently squeezing the excess liquid out of the yarn. You want it to be damp, but not sopping wet. Place the three skeins side by side in the pan, pressing them down and spreading out the skeins so as much surface area as possible is exposed. Your yarn should look like the image above.

Working one at a time, pour the contents of each cup of turquoise, pink and yellow dye over the skein in a stripe formation. Use only as much dye as you need to make the stripes the width you want. It’s not necessary to use all the dye in the cups. Use the back of the spoon to work the color into the yarn. Cover the yarn and heat for 5 min.

Pour the black dye over the yarn all around the colored stripes. Use the back of the spoon to work the dye into the yarn. Cover the pan and heat the yarn for 5-10 minutes. Remove the cover 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.