I spent some time with the yarns that needed to be dyed for towel wefts. Because both cones had been in the stash for a long time, I decided I really ought to scour the yarns thoroughly so they'd take the color evenly and deeply. That meant simmering the skeins in Synthrapol plus a splash of soda ash to raise the pH. And am I glad I scoured them! Here's what was left in the pot after pulling the skeins out and rinsing them:
Some of the color might have bled out of the darker cone (the one on the left in the photo below) but most of it is just plain dirt and spinning oils.
The brown unmercerized 16/2 spent some time in a red dye-bath - a blend of fuchsia and scarlet - and the natural hemp/cotton (also 16/2) went into a bright blue dye-bath. There will be some colorful towels coming off the loom after the skeins dry and are re-coned.
2 comments:
Yes, I just love newbies who say their cloth isn't 'dirty' so why do they have to 'wash' (wet finish it)? :^) I try to explain about spin oil and the dust of ages, but a picture is worth a 1000 words!
cheers,
Laura
Laura, you and I both know that wet finishing isn't about the dirt, it's about the quality of the cloth. Plus, for me, the separate step of pre-scouring yarn means getting better color in the dyepot, so it's well worth it - especially for cellulose fibers.
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