Garment dyeing is the process where a garment is dyed after it is finished. This is handy if you want to knit or crochet something in undyed yarn and want to dye it when you are done. This can also be used to over dye something that is already finished if you want to shift the color. Today on the blog we will go over the process to garment dye a large knit swatch in LATTE 100% baby alpaca yarn...

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Steam setting your hand dyed yarn is a great, easy way to finish your freshly dyed fibre. Heat setting dyed yarn ensures the dye pigment fully bonds to the wool fibres. Any of the Knomad yarns will steam set beautifully, but today we are using MARSHMALLOW DK which is wonderfully soft and squishy.

SUPPLIES:

• Undyed yarn like MARSHMALLOW DK 100% superwash merino wool, or any other Knomad yarn
• Steamer rack or basket
...

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I fell in love with textiles at a young age. I learned to sew, knit, and crochet before I was ten. Over the years, I’ve tried out a lot of different kinds of yarns. When I was a poor college student, I was working with whatever yarn I could get my hands on. This was primarily a mix of scratchy acrylic yarn in flat colors. Once I started investing in higher quality yarn made of natural fibres and blends, it was a whole new...

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Food coloring is a fun, versatile, and kitchen-safe option for yarn dyeing. My first skeins were dyed with food coloring and I was hooked instantly! I loved that I could try out yarn dyeing without having to commit to having completely separate tools for my entire dye setup. Today, I am going to show you how I dyed a custom shade of bright coral using food coloring. For dyeing, I prefer to use gel food coloring as it results in bright colors and a little...

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Logwood is a family of trees also known as “bloodwood” in some parts of the world. Found in Mexico, Belize, Central America and Australia, logwood can be found in extract, powdered, sawdust and wood chip form from many natural dye sources.  I had avoided logwood for some time because I am just not a huge fan of purple! However, as I worked my way through so many natural, wood-based...

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Purple is one of my favorite colors to work with! I primarily use my dyed yarn for embroidery work, but I do crochet and knit for fun on occasion too. When I am making things just for fun, I always find myself drawn towards shades of purple. Figuring out which purple is best can sometimes be a challenge. Some shades of purple lean more red or warm-toned and others are more blue or cool-toned. Purple can also be a tough color to...

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  Today, I’m going to share one of my absolute favorite natural dyes with you: Sequoia, and we’re going to apply it to some really luxurious, 100% Baby Alpaca undyed yarn from Knomad, for the ultimate in knitting, crocheting or weaving luxury.   If you live in the Pacific Northwestern USA, Sequoia pinecones are the source of this dye--if you happen to live near redwoods that are not protected within a national park, you...

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  Better for the Earth, and better for you — we know you care about choosing sustainable yarns. Knomad is an independent brand, but our strong relationship with our partner mill in Arequipa, Perú gives us the ability to create a collection of bare yarn with an eye on sustainability.    READ MORE

Continuing with our loose theme of exploring the world’s fascinating, dyeable materials from trees and branches, in this blog we’ll be applying Cutch, a dye that comes from the heartwood of the acacia catechu tree. This tree grows in India, Burma, Indonesia and Peru, and my cutch dye comes from the Indian variety and is able to achieve a range of soft, golden-brown tones into medium cinnamon tones. While generally...

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With the advent of medical marijuana and CBD legalization sweeping the world, I’ve been seeing more opportunities to work with one of the oldest natural dyes: hemp. Hemp has long been used as a fabric and material base, but did you know that it’s also possible to dye soft yellows with the stems, stalks and leaves of the hemp plant? When I moved into my home last year, I was surprised to find...

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