dying fiber and what percentage

I am going to dye some sheep wool .. what should I use.. I was going to use kool aid. ... and I have another project I want to do... what is the percentage I should use in blending .. example... alpaca to rabbit and if I should put any wool I that.. and lama and rabbit ect.

Most people only add about 10% angora to a project when they blend it. Seems to give enough softness without too much halo. Not sure exactly since I rarely blend mine.

As far as using Koolaid to dye fiber, I had a friend that used it, and I believe she just played with it. She seemed to do a pack of Koolaid with approx. 4oz of wool, and then used about a cup of vinegar to help set it. I use acid dyes with vinegar or citric acid to set, or natural twig and berry dyes with food grade alum to mordant, so again, not entirely sure on this, just trying to tell you what I know of it!

We don't have Koolaid here so most of the time we use food colouring, soak the fibre beforehand in a water/vinegar (or citric acid) before adding to the dye pot. I found it can be a bit hit and miss but it's fun trying it out.

I thought about food coloring.. just wasn't sure on it.<br /><br />__________ Sun Dec 01, 2013 7:25 am __________<br /><br />

PSFAngoras":1e0ocg3w said:

Most people only add about 10% angora to a project when they blend it. Seems to give enough softness without too much halo. Not sure exactly since I rarely blend mine.

As far as using Koolaid to dye fiber, I had a friend that used it, and I believe she just played with it. She seemed to do a pack of Koolaid with approx. 4oz of wool, and then used about a cup of vinegar to help set it. I use acid dyes with vinegar or citric acid to set, or natural twig and berry dyes with food grade alum to mordant, so again, not entirely sure on this, just trying to tell you what I know of it!

Click to expand...

where would you get the acid dyes?....So only 10 percent rabbit blend.. good I don't want to use to much of my rabbit fur at a time. lol

There's a really fun brand of acid dyes that you can find online (and more specifically on Etsy.com) that are called Greener Shades. It's what I use. They only come in 9 colors, but with a little patience you can create many more colors. It's a bit of work to get anything but bright, vibrant jewel tones, but if you dilute the powder in water before adding it to the dye bath you can achieve pastels.

They come in kits depending on the quantity you want. I bought the kit with 1/4 oz of dye powder per jar, it's supposed to dye 13 pounds of fiber, but I can guarantee I've dyed more than then and still have loads left. It was $35 dollars before shipping and handling. The dyes are heavy metal free, so you don't have to worry about dumping the remainder of the dye bath out in the sink or watering plants with it, but they never send enough citric acid for the whole kit. You can order more through a bulk food supply company or find it at a health food or wine making store though.

Thy do include fairly specific instructions too, but I never use them. I'm much more of the mind set of just eyeballing things, I never measure. If you want to know how I dye, pm me and I'll be happy to email you how, just don't want to put that whole long post down in words at this particular moment, I haven't even finished my morning coffee yet!

thanks PSF... I am going into town to see what I can find first.. I will get back to you on the details if i need them.. I don't want you to type it out if i am not going to use it.

I have used koolaid with wool. Usually 1 packet per ounce. This is actually more expensive than commercial dyes when you add it up. The last blend I made was 75/25, and that was enough Angora to make it feel like Angora and not Alpaca. The next one will be 15% Angora.

Good advice on the percentage... I will remember that .. thanks.. I found some dye .. I have to wait till next week to go get as it is 45 min from here..