The Wilton Dye Trials: Scientific Method + Craftiness Part 1

Over the past few weeks, I've embarked on an exhausting internet search for some miraculous tutorial that will walk me, in baby steps, through the endeavor of yarn/roving dying with very little success. Most places, though helpful, might say " a dab of this, about a cup of that" and there is much debate on how much vinegar to use, if you should use vinegar at all with kool-aid...yadayadayada. Though experienced dyers might tell you to just jump in and experiment...There is just something DARN SCARY about doing this for the first time. It reminds me of that scene in Old School when the pledges are standing 2 stories up w/ ropes and cinder blocks tied to their you-know-whats. Even though it's going to be OK, the risk obviously strikes fear in one's heart. Luckily my friends, we are not gambling our appendages. Without further ado, I offer up The Wilton Dye Trials ala scientific method. First off, I've never done this before, but proceed with my accumulated research. I gladly take pictures and notes along the way, which for my own geeky pleasure, have organized as if this were my 6th grade science fair project...BTW yarn dying is much cooler than "Where Does Coal Come From?"

Disclaimer: This is not a tutorial! I am documenting an experiment. Changes based on outcomes will likely be made to the initial materials list and procedures for experiments. If you decide to use this as a guide, please read it thoroughly. When I have enough data to make a final conclusion, I will post recommended procedures for the most desirable outcomes! Consume mass quantities!


Question: What will the initial results be of mixing dye solutions intended for yarn and roving using Wilton's Icing Dye?

Row 1 = Violet, Rose, Rose Petal, Red Red,Golden Yellow, Leaf Green
Row 2 = Kelly Green, Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Delphinium Blue, Brown , Moss Green

Hypothesis: Colors will mix and separate differently, due to pigment contents.

Experiment Materials List:
1 dollar store table cloth
12 plastic spoons
4 cup measuring cup
12 different colors of Wilton's Icing Dyes
12 Canning Jars w/ Lids, 32 oz. size
1 Bottle of Vinegar, 32 oz.
24 -8 oz. cups of hot tap water (130*F)

Procedure:
-Worked 2 colors at a time....
-In 2 canning jars, pour 1/2 cup vinegar into each



-Run tap water till very hot(therm read 130*F, fill measuring cup to 4-cup mark
-Pour 2 cups water into each jar
-add dye and stir, attempting to break up any chunks as much as possible, amounts varied from color to color to get a boldly colored solution, here is a picture of what I scooped up approximately when I dipped the spoon into the dye:



Amounts for each color are as follows (in spoon globs):
Violet: 1 + 1/2
Rose: 2
Rose Petal: 2
RedRed: 2 +1/2
Golden Yellow 1 +1/2
Leaf Green: 1
Kelly Green: 1
Sky Blue: 1 + 1/2
Royal Blue: 1 + 1/2
Delphinium Blue:1 + 1/2
Brown: 2
Moss Green: 1 + 1/2

-Caps were then screwed on tightly, and each jar was labeled and given a good shaking (scary! but no leaks!)
- Jars were left to sit overnight, as suggested in my research, to help dissolve any other chunks before attempting to use the dye



Overall Observations:

-Spoons stink for this, spring for popsicle sticks
-I like the smell of vinegar, it reminds me of Easter
-Procedure for all 12 colors took approximately 1 + 1/2 hours, including set-up and clean-up.
-The shaking helped dissolve chunks pretty well with most colors
-Quart Jars? What was I thinking? However, I think having them filled halfway allowed me to stir vigorously without any splashes.

Color Observations:
Violet - Dark opaque solution , good dissolve, color separated to blue
Royal Blue - Dark opaque solution, good dissolve, no color separation
Sky Blue - Dark opaque solution, good dissolve, no separation, color very close to primary cyan
Delphinium Blue - Dark opaque solution, good dissolve, color separated to purple
Moss Green - Dark opaque solution, fair dissolve, color separated to magenta
Kelly Green - Dark opaque solution, good dissolve, color separated to magenta, most teal-y green
Leaf Green - Dark Opaque solution, good dissolve, color separated to brownish magenta, primary green tone
Golden Yellow - Transparent golden/orange solution, excellent dissolve,no separation
Brown - Transparent solution, poor dissolve,
Rose - Transparent solution, poor dissolve, no separation, more orange-y than pink
Rose Petal - Transparent solution, poor dissolve, separated to orange/pink, solution appears brown
RedRed - Transparent solution, poor dissolve, no separation

Here is an example of how I observed the color separation, by holding the jars up to the light you see the separation color with a halo of the actual color:


This is Kelly Green, the magenta separation turned out purple in the photo...Hey, you try taking good pictures with your camera pointing straight at a light bulb!

Color Concerns:
-Very skeptical of the red/pink/brown colors. Solutions do not appear strong enough to achieve bold color on fiber
-After letting sit overnight, all the RedRed chunks had dissolved. Brown and Rose Petal remained the same, small chunks still visible. Dye particles in Rose appeared to separate completely from the solution and settle to the bottom.


Conclusion:
Blue, green, and yellow colored icing dyes were easy to mix and yielded intensely bright colored solutions. Separation of colors were interesting and strange looking in the jar. Red/Pink/Brown tones were far more difficult to mix . These colors yielded dull, diluted looking solutions, even when adding twice as much dye as in other colors. The process was notably enjoyable, and not as messy as expected.


So, that's it for Part 1 kids...as is for any reference text, I'd never expect you to read the whole thing, but now it's all down in writing, and hopefully will help you cross bridges as you come to them. Stay tuned for Part 2 when I test dye small amounts of wool roving with each color, and remember...We come from France....