Oven Dyeing - Twin Willows Farm

Oven dyeing gives the fiber artists another avenue for making very colorful yarns, rovings or batts. It takes only a few inexpensive pieces of equipment and is suitable for even a beginning dyer. With just a pinch of this and a squirt of that, you can create beautiful designer yarns. Use two colors, or three or ten... the sky is the limit!

Equipment Needed:
Any large flat pan made of stainless still, glass, enamel ware, or disposable aluminum foil pans can be used. (Please note that using the disposable aluminum will affect the dye colors to some extent as the acidic vinegar interacts with the aluminum.) Large old turkey roasters, enamel coated, are perfect as they come with a lid and are pretty much indestructible.

Aluminum foil if your pan doesn’t have a lid

Acid dyes such as Jacquard or similar brand

White vinegar

Squirt bottles, not spray bottles, but something like a water bottle with a pull up spout

Rubber gloves

Eye protection

Mask

Old plastic tablecloth to protect your work surface from spills and stains

Old clothes

Small plastic measuring spoon, ź or 1/8 teaspoon is ideal

Preparing the Fibers:
Whether you are using yarn, roving or batts of fiber, you will need to pre-soak them in a vinegar solution to prepare them for dyeing. First lay the fibers out in your pan so that they are neatly arranged. For yarn, lay out smoothly so that the skein does not overlap itself and is not twisted up. For roving, lay in a serpentine continuous strip only one layer thick, or tear into equal length strips to fit the pan, making sure that no strips overlap. For batts, lay out flat with no wrinkles or creases.

Gently cover the fibers with lukewarm water just enough to reach the top of the fibers. Carefully pour 1 – 2 cups vinegar over the water and fibers. Do not stir! Allow this mixture to rest for at least half an hour.

After the fibers have soaked in this vinegar bath, carefully drain away most of the liquid, leaving just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Your fibers will be looking very wet and bedraggled at this point but try to keep them in a single layer in the pan.

Mixing the Dyes:
Don the rubber gloves and mask to protect yourself from stains and breathing in the dye powder. Cover the work surface to protect against stains. Fill the squirt bottles with about one cup of lukewarm water, one for each color desired. Using the small measuring spoon, add one or two spoonfuls of dye powder to the bottles. How much dye to use depends on how intense a color is desired. This is best learned by experimenting and experience with your chosen brand of dye. Cap the bottle and carefully swish the dye around in the bottles until completely dissolved. Do not shake!

Applying the Dyes:
Carefully squirt or drizzle your dyes over the wet fibers. How you apply them is totally up to your imagination! You can do stripes or spots or swirls, whatever takes your fancy. For best results, leave about ź” of undyed space between the colors. When all the colors have been applied, oh so gently, push the fibers down into the dye bath. This will allow the dye to move all through the skein, roving or batt. Be careful not to mix, just push down by color section. You may want to use some old wooden spoons to do this with, or just your fingers, but wash or wipe away any extra dye before moving from one color to another.

Into the Oven:
Cover your pan with a lid or aluminum foil. Make sure that it is completely covered, you want it to steam inside. Place it into a preheat oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When the time is up remove the pan from the oven but do not remove the lid or foil until the pan has reached room temperature! This will take at least an hour and probably longer, depending on how much fiber, how much liquid and what type of pan is used.

When the pan is completely cooled, remove the lid and carefully drain the liquid away. Rinse your fibers in lukewarm water until the rinse water is clear. Spread the fibers out to dry.

Using Your Dyed Creation:
If you dyed yarn, you are ready to use it! For roving, you can decide whether to spin ‘as is’ or tear it into thinner strips for spinning. For batts, you can decide whether to tear it into strips or pull it into roving. After spinning your fibers, you may want to spin singles or use the Navajo Plying technique to keep all your colors separate, or ply away as the colors fall and see what happens! However you choose to use your newly dyed fibers, they will be unique and exciting to work with.

Twin Willows Farm - Oven Dyeing