dying wool ??

[david32cal]

anybody have any experience dying wool. i picked up a small point blanket at a garage sale cheap, but it is the brightest lime green you've ever seen, dam neer glows in the dark. would like to dy it a darker color, i figure brown is about my only choice.

[jasontn]

theres a lady here in memphis,susan wallace, she posts a lot on frontier folk. she really knows her stuff about dying wools with natural dyes. ill see if i can get her contact info.

[Uncle Russ]

Good question David.........I am also interested in dying some wool blankets, and my big concern is;
If I have a blanket that is color A, to start with, and I want to use color B, will my blanket turn out to be color B? Or, will I actually get color X?....In other words, what color(s) will I end up with??  :rotf

[david32cal]

was wondering that myself Russ.  lime green and brown, what'd ya think i'll get, puke yellow maybe. might turn out worse than the lime green.

[Minnesota Mike]

Got a red one that is good color - but seems determined to put bits and pieces of red fluff on everyone and everything it can . . . Can our blessed lady of the fabric save me too?

r/
MM

[jasontn]

she may be able too she really knows her stuff about period fabrics and dyeing. i m awaiting her answer to a pm, cant find her contact info. i have had a lot of the same problems with colors too. tried to dye a shirt tan this weekend nad, well it kinda looks orange/green

[Uncle Russ]

was wondering that myself Russ.  lime green and brown, what'd ya think i'll get, puke yellow maybe. might turn out worse than the lime green.

I couldn't even begin to guess what color you might end up with.

Here is another example, from my list of bad experiences, and tells you in a nut shell everything I KNOW about dying blankets....

A couple of years back, I had a Gray blanket and wanted it Red. The only "Red" color I could find was "Red Cherry", I was hesitant to try it, but try it I did, and it turned out to be the nicest Red of anything I had at the time.

Now, here is something else to consider. A couple of years back Hawkeye, one of our own,  found this outstanding sale at Harbor Freight on Red blankets....I immediately jumped in and ordered five of them, because, at the time , I somehow thought Red was the only color I would, or could, ever want.
These particular blankets are properly called "Shop blankets, or Fire Blankets", and I have been told by those who know a little bit about such things that "Fire Blankets", by law, must contain some kind of fire retardant......now my question is, was this the reason for the gawd awful color??  :evil:

Then, to add insult to injury, and from out of the blue, my wife calmly asks me what did I expect, with the Red being much darker or bolder than the Brown?
So we had a long discussion on the proper "mixin", along with some do's and dont's on doing every day laundry...about this time some of this witchcraft started to come into perspective....well kinda.

Bottom line, IMO, is this.... The chances of getting close to the desired color is always easier if you start with a lighter shade color, ie, white, or gray.
Then, if the moon is in the proper phase, four of any of the planets are in alignment, and the Tides are listed as 'out' for your area, you have a 50/50 chance of getting a good color.

Now, if the "blessed lady of fabrics", or anyone else, would kindly step up and show us the error in our ways, I feel confident it would be most appreciated ny many.

Uncle Russ...

[jasontn]

i did find this

http://www.wyomingagclassroom.org/_pdf/ ... ngWool.pdf

[Uncle Russ]

Wow Jason, that's a good one for sure. I ear marked that puppy!

Now, if you can just get your blessed lady of the fabric over here, I think she just might be an over-night sensation.

Sooooo much to learn, sooooo little time!

Uncle Russ...

[Mitch]

to dye a lime green blanket-best thing I've used is nut hulls-walnut,hickory or pecan...use a mordant on the fabric first for best results. this is my way and the way I was taught by some top notch dyers in Arkansas-mix up 1 pound of salt, one gallon of vinegar, and one gallon of water. I use a 5gal bucket for this. Put the fabric in the bucket, let it soak good, wring it out(back into the bucket). then the fabric goes in the dyebath for "awhile"....works good and with nut hulls, you'll get a nice brownish blanket...good luck

[david32cal]

wonder how Rit dye would do. is that what you used on the Harber Frieght blankets Russ.

[david32cal]

wonder if i might have better results going a darker green instead of trying to go to a compleatly different color.

[jasontn]

rit dye is a funny thing. i use it a lot but sometimes get some goofs on it. if you use it you may try some of the coco brown. i used tan on the knife sheath i just sent you a picture of, it was originally white. i never thought of kool aid till i seen that site. only thing is i have never seen a brown color of it. still waiting to hear from susan. sent her an invite here too.

[BEAVERMAN]

One thing you might try guys is to use the rit color remover on the blanket first then try the dye, the wife did that with some curtains we had and they went from brown, to a real nice ecru color with the remover then died with a navy blue, turned out great!

[jasontn]

how did she get the rit to set? i been having trouble with it bleeding out