Hi Staci, I'm a Indie Hand Dyer. Reds and Blues, especially pink and turquoise, are the hardest to get to fully set in yarn. It's a combo of temperature and the dye its self. Some dyers can get these colors to set without any run off. Other and most usually get some run off but with a light tint. If you're getting A LOT of run off of these colors then the yarn was no set properly. Also you can always take those yarns you soaked in the vinegar and water mix and leave it damp in a baggy and toss it in the microwave for a couple of minutes to steam to help set the color more. Also, non superwash or untreated yarns tend to bleed the most to from improper setting of dyes. I hope this was helpful to you.
I don't dye yarn but I do dye my hair colors like blue, red, etc. and red hair dye also fades faster than any other because red dye molecules are the largest of any color so it's harder to stay in, I assume it's the same with the dye used with yarns :-)
Perfect timing. I'm currently knitting a blue sweater for a 4yo boy. I switched from metal circ to bamboo strt needles during rhe raglan decrease and I was thinking it looked like the tip of the bamboo needle was looking a bit blueish! When I finish the sweater, I will definitely put it in a vinegar wash to set the dye. Ty, ty.
Synthrapol is really good for getting colors to stop running. The water will be very dark at first, but the Synthrapol won't allow the colors to bleed. Red bleeds the most because it is the largest pigment and therefore harder to get to soak all the way in the yarn. The pigment likes to sit on top of the fiber rather than soak in. If a yarn actually changes color when it's washed it was very poorly dyed.
+verypinkknits, a lady at the salon once told me, red washes out faster because the molecules are bigger so less of them attach to the hair (err.... Fiber in this case). I'm not sure that is correct, but it makes sense.
Hi!!! I really enjoy your videos... they are so motivating!!!! I actually started a cardigan and it has a very intricate Jacquard. Do you have any video, or will you post soon any video giving some tips how to knit jacquard in order not to knit it too tight or too loose?
Hi, this is my first comment on your site. Hope this is the right place to enter your giveaway of single pointed needles. I don't have a local yarn shop, so do my yarn shopping at chain stores such as Michaels, Joannes and Hobby Lobby. The one and only time I ordered yarn over the internet, my card number was stolen, so that won't be happening again! I enjoy your videos very much, although I am a 50 year+ knitter, I do enjoy learning new techniques!
If only I could go back in time to save the felted bag made from commercially available (but not evidently color safe) yarn, that, when I felted it, turned the ugliest mud color ever. Ah well, live and learn, and buy more yarn! Thanks for your channel!
Maybe you can answer this on dye issues. I have black and cream Malabrigo yarn that I wanted to use for a vest. In winding the black, black came off on my hands so I set all the black in vinegar water and had no dye in the water, etc. But, when I started to knit, there was just tinge of black on my hands and I noticed it was carrying over into the cream if I didn't wash my hands at every color change. I am too skeptical to knit this whole thing and then have that black tinge running through it. What would you suggest? At this point I have decided to change yarns! Thanks so much.
Barbara Matzat - I would change yarns, too! I'm sure it's a beautiful yarn, but not good for a project with multiple colors. I would either contact the yarn shop where you bought the yarn or Malabrigo directly, to ask them if this is normal for that yarn. If it isn't normal, I'm sure they would be happy to replace the yarn for you.
As for the red dye running more than other colors, I know that red hair dye has larger color particles and it fades notoriously fast, so I'm wondering if it's the same for yarn dye.
elizabethjunean - in all the times that I've run this test before knitting with multiple colors, I've never had colors run in the vinegar and water solution. So, even if the colors had run in the hot water and/or wool soap solution, the vinegar and cold water would have set the colors.
I have had yarn run in vinegar and water. If the yarn has more dye applied than it can absorb, no amount of setting will work: the extra dye adhering to the surface has to be rinsed away. Also, too much vinegar can damage yarn.
Charlene Vickers - I've never had a yarn run in the vinegar and water solution, but if I ever saw what you're describing, I would probably not choose that yarn for a multi-colored knit! I'd probably also be tempted to send a note to the manufacturer about the colors not being set. Yes, I imagine that using an extraordinary amount of vinegar would damage yarn. I mention in the video about being bold with the vinegar/water solution, because other instructions I've seen recommend a fraction of a cup of vinegar in a sink full of cold water, and I believe a stronger ratio of vinegar is better.
Awesome video! I wouldn't have thought to do this. I love the fact you didn't recommend knitting a swatch to get this done (though I'm sure you could, just why waste the time?). I've read that with the vinegar trick, you should dry your yarn in the microwave. Is that true? Or is that over kill and putting you at risk for felting?
The Knitting Developer - I don't recommend soaking your unknit yarn in the vinegar solution, I recommend soaking the finished knit. This test will give you the info you need before you combine colors in a single knitted item, and help you avoid disasters. I have never dried yarn in a microwave, but I know that people who dye yarn use the microwave for part of the dyeing process, at least with superwash yarn. If you do, for some reason, get unknit yarn wet, I recommend air drying it.
MadCity Crankers Thanks so much for such a thorough response. :) You just saved me from jumping down the google rabbit hole. That makes a lot of sense, and it's great to know. I knew that acid was used in the process of dying, but I didn't know to what affect. I'm about to start on WEB's KAL and I chose the jewel tones. Though I'm sure a little bleeding wouldn't hurt, I'm definitely going to use the trick that VeryPink Knits mentioned in this video just to ensure I don't get too much bleeding.
I found a red, white and blue cotton yarn I wanted to use for washcloths for July 4th. Because red does tend to run I found instructions online on how to set to prevent bleeding. I unwound the entire skein and wrapped around my elbow and hand. Then used small pieces of yarn to tie in several places. Suggested solution was vinegar and salt in cold water. I soaked the yarn as instructed and wrapped around a kitchen chair to dry. I then made several washcloths and to my dismay all of them bled into the white. I see this yarn all the time and it looks lovely but I don't know what could be better than vinegar and salt in cold water. Maybe it's because it's cotton?
I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think this may be because you set with cold water and not hot/warm. MadCity Crankers mentioned that to exhaust the dye, you'd need to use heat.
Monteen Mulcahy Short answer: Vinegar will not work to set dyes on cotton. Cotton needs salt and something like soda ash or common baking soda (NOT baking powder) to set. Long answer: Different dyes are used for different types of fibers. The information in this video about setting colors with vinegar is appropriate to wool, silk and other protein (animal) fibers as well as Nylon that have been dyed with an acid dye. Acid dyes also require heat, as noted. Acid dyes do not work on plant-based fibers like cotton, rayon and linen (cellulosic fibers). The most common dye for those is a fiber-reactive dye. They use plain salt and something basic (the opposite of acidic) to set the dye. Soda ash is the most commonly used for home dyeing. Warm water is used to dissolve the chemicals but heat is not necessary to the process. When you have a mixed cotton-wool yarn it may have been dyed in two ways: with fiber reactive dyes, which will work on wool but give lighter shades than on cotton, or with dyes specialized to each fiber, used in succession. There is no universal dye, no matter what Rit tells you. There are also specialized dyes and dyes only for industrial use, as well as pigment dyes that only stick to the outside of the fiber and act more like paint. But this reply is long enough already.
The vinegar trick is not good advice in the (rare) case that the yarn you got is naturally dyed! Only synthetically dyed fibres can stain the neighboring yarns. Of course, naturally dyed yarn might bleed into the water as well but cannot stain another yarn. Make sure you check before you do this trick.
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Hi Staci,
I'm a Indie Hand Dyer. Reds and Blues, especially pink and turquoise, are the hardest to get to fully set in yarn. It's a combo of temperature and the dye its self. Some dyers can get these colors to set without any run off. Other and most usually get some run off but with a light tint. If you're getting A LOT of run off of these colors then the yarn was no set properly. Also you can always take those yarns you soaked in the vinegar and water mix and leave it damp in a baggy and toss it in the microwave for a couple of minutes to steam to help set the color more. Also, non superwash or untreated yarns tend to bleed the most to from improper setting of dyes. I hope this was helpful to you.
Cordelia Hensley - I explain that in the video...you need to set the dyes with vinegar/cold water. I've never had colors run in the vinegar solution.
I don't dye yarn but I do dye my hair colors like blue, red, etc. and red hair dye also fades faster than any other because red dye molecules are the largest of any color so it's harder to stay in, I assume it's the same with the dye used with yarns :-)
I love that you're using a shaker dishcloth to try your hands! I need to make a few of those :)
Thanks for your suggestion. I will contact the yarn shop and possibly Malabrigo! Love your videos, I always learn something!
Perfect timing. I'm currently knitting a blue sweater for a 4yo boy. I switched from metal circ to bamboo strt needles during rhe raglan decrease and I was thinking it looked like the tip of the bamboo needle was looking a bit blueish! When I finish the sweater, I will definitely put it in a vinegar wash to set the dye. Ty, ty.
Thx for the tips. I didn't know about the white vinegar. 😊
Synthrapol is really good for getting colors to stop running. The water will be very dark at first, but the Synthrapol won't allow the colors to bleed.
Red bleeds the most because it is the largest pigment and therefore harder to get to soak all the way in the yarn. The pigment likes to sit on top of the fiber rather than soak in. If a yarn actually changes color when it's washed it was very poorly dyed.
+verypinkknits, a lady at the salon once told me, red washes out faster because the molecules are bigger so less of them attach to the hair (err.... Fiber in this case). I'm not sure that is correct, but it makes sense.
Never heard the vinegar use before. We were told salt water was the way to go. Hmm - must try this.
Thanks for the post!
I'm learning a lot from your video tutorial, that's why I make "add to my screen" icon to my iPad. Thanks for sharing
But what about if it DOES run in the water/wool soap glass? Should we wash the skeins like a regular hand knit to rinse out color?
Hi!!! I really enjoy your videos... they are so motivating!!!!
I actually started a cardigan and it has a very intricate Jacquard. Do you have any video, or will you post soon any video giving some tips how to knit jacquard in order not to knit it too tight or too loose?
thank you so much. Your videos answer so many questions for me -- thank you
Hi, this is my first comment on your site. Hope this is the right place to enter your giveaway of single pointed needles. I don't have a local yarn shop, so do my yarn shopping at chain stores such as Michaels, Joannes and Hobby Lobby. The one and only time I ordered yarn over the internet, my card number was stolen, so that won't be happening again!
I enjoy your videos very much, although I am a 50 year+ knitter, I do enjoy learning new techniques!
If only I could go back in time to save the felted bag made from commercially available (but not evidently color safe) yarn, that, when I felted it, turned the ugliest mud color ever. Ah well, live and learn, and buy more yarn! Thanks for your channel!
Maybe you can answer this on dye issues. I have black and cream Malabrigo yarn that I wanted to use for a vest. In winding the black, black came off on my hands so I set all the black in vinegar water and had no dye in the water, etc. But, when I started to knit, there was just tinge of black on my hands and I noticed it was carrying over into the cream if I didn't wash my hands at every color change. I am too skeptical to knit this whole thing and then have that black tinge running through it. What would you suggest? At this point I have decided to change yarns! Thanks so much.
Barbara Matzat - I would change yarns, too! I'm sure it's a beautiful yarn, but not good for a project with multiple colors. I would either contact the yarn shop where you bought the yarn or Malabrigo directly, to ask them if this is normal for that yarn. If it isn't normal, I'm sure they would be happy to replace the yarn for you.
As for the red dye running more than other colors, I know that red hair dye has larger color particles and it fades notoriously fast, so I'm wondering if it's the same for yarn dye.
Would love to see you do a video showing the same experiment with a yarn that is not color fast.
elizabethjunean - in all the times that I've run this test before knitting with multiple colors, I've never had colors run in the vinegar and water solution. So, even if the colors had run in the hot water and/or wool soap solution, the vinegar and cold water would have set the colors.
I have had yarn run in vinegar and water. If the yarn has more dye applied than it can absorb, no amount of setting will work: the extra dye adhering to the surface has to be rinsed away.
Also, too much vinegar can damage yarn.
Charlene Vickers - I've never had a yarn run in the vinegar and water solution, but if I ever saw what you're describing, I would probably not choose that yarn for a multi-colored knit! I'd probably also be tempted to send a note to the manufacturer about the colors not being set.
Yes, I imagine that using an extraordinary amount of vinegar would damage yarn. I mention in the video about being bold with the vinegar/water solution, because other instructions I've seen recommend a fraction of a cup of vinegar in a sink full of cold water, and I believe a stronger ratio of vinegar is better.
Awesome video! I wouldn't have thought to do this. I love the fact you didn't recommend knitting a swatch to get this done (though I'm sure you could, just why waste the time?).
I've read that with the vinegar trick, you should dry your yarn in the microwave. Is that true? Or is that over kill and putting you at risk for felting?
The Knitting Developer - I don't recommend soaking your unknit yarn in the vinegar solution, I recommend soaking the finished knit. This test will give you the info you need before you combine colors in a single knitted item, and help you avoid disasters. I have never dried yarn in a microwave, but I know that people who dye yarn use the microwave for part of the dyeing process, at least with superwash yarn. If you do, for some reason, get unknit yarn wet, I recommend air drying it.
MadCity Crankers Thanks so much for such a thorough response. :) You just saved me from jumping down the google rabbit hole. That makes a lot of sense, and it's great to know. I knew that acid was used in the process of dying, but I didn't know to what affect.
I'm about to start on WEB's KAL and I chose the jewel tones. Though I'm sure a little bleeding wouldn't hurt, I'm definitely going to use the trick that VeryPink Knits mentioned in this video just to ensure I don't get too much bleeding.
I found a red, white and blue cotton yarn I wanted to use for washcloths for July 4th. Because red does tend to run I found instructions online on how to set to prevent bleeding. I unwound the entire skein and wrapped around my elbow and hand. Then used small pieces of yarn to tie in several places. Suggested solution was vinegar and salt in cold water. I soaked the yarn as instructed and wrapped around a kitchen chair to dry. I then made several washcloths and to my dismay all of them bled into the white. I see this yarn all the time and it looks lovely but I don't know what could be better than vinegar and salt in cold water. Maybe it's because it's cotton?
I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think this may be because you set with cold water and not hot/warm. MadCity Crankers mentioned that to exhaust the dye, you'd need to use heat.
Monteen Mulcahy
Short answer: Vinegar will not work to set dyes on cotton. Cotton needs salt and something like soda ash or common baking soda (NOT baking powder) to set.
Long answer: Different dyes are used for different types of fibers. The information in this video about setting colors with vinegar is appropriate to wool, silk and other protein (animal) fibers as well as Nylon that have been dyed with an acid dye. Acid dyes also require heat, as noted.
Acid dyes do not work on plant-based fibers like cotton, rayon and linen (cellulosic fibers). The most common dye for those is a fiber-reactive dye. They use plain salt and something basic (the opposite of acidic) to set the dye. Soda ash is the most commonly used for home dyeing. Warm water is used to dissolve the chemicals but heat is not necessary to the process.
When you have a mixed cotton-wool yarn it may have been dyed in two ways: with fiber reactive dyes, which will work on wool but give lighter shades than on cotton, or with dyes specialized to each fiber, used in succession. There is no universal dye, no matter what Rit tells you.
There are also specialized dyes and dyes only for industrial use, as well as pigment dyes that only stick to the outside of the fiber and act more like paint. But this reply is long enough already.
Muy práctico!!!
This is a very informative video, thank you.
Thanks I never thord of that
The vinegar trick is not good advice in the (rare) case that the yarn you got is naturally dyed! Only synthetically dyed fibres can stain the neighboring yarns. Of course, naturally dyed yarn might bleed into the water as well but cannot stain another yarn. Make sure you check before you do this trick.
Thanks for the video very helpful, but the entire time you was talking about vinegar I was smelling it. :)