Trying Hand Painting

Hello All!

I've been comissioned to dye some of our Beavertail Line DK weight yarn by this delightful woman.  This stuff is great 80/20 Polwarth and Tussah Silk. 

Well when she approached me we talked colors and shading the first step fun stuff.  Then she asked me to make ther repeats only about 3 inches in length.

Can't, no...... won't,  do this project as a dip dye.  OMG.  So I pulled out a old paint brush and wet my yarn and set to work.  It was difficult gage how much water was left in the skein as it was on the table.  I had left alot and had to abandon my mixed (water to dilute) dyes and go straight to the stocks.  Once I got the concentrations correct with was alot of fun. 

I've kept the repeats about 3-4 inches in length varying each colors size.  I wrapped it all up in plastic wrap just after it was sprinkled with white vinegar and set it into the steamer for 30 minutes. 

The colors, as you can see, stayed put and did minor mixing.  I'll need to be careful of that when working on the custom order, she wasn't interested in any white/pale spots.  I also want the colors richer and deeper.  Not super dark just more opaque/saturated.   

The test run came out pretty and I think that with the modifications to the dye strengths and limiting the amount of water still residing the the yarn, I'll get the results I'm hoping for.

Happy Knitting

DD