Knitting on the road

 

Today I spent most of the day shuttling the boys here and there, with plenty of waiting time in between, so I brought a sock with me.  It's the Spey Valley sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road, and knit in Gems Pearl.  I bought several skeins for cheaps, thinking I could just dye them to whatever color I want later.  Of course the beautiful, already dyed yarns always get picked first, until now, when there isn't a mom-appropriate color in the stash, so I'll have to bite the bullet, and dye the socks afterwards.  Any idea how I can get a burgundy if I don't have burgundy dye?

Comments

[polly]

i know beets, red cabbage and wine can stain it pink but for a rich burgundy, I would think acid dyes

socks are lovely

[Rachel]

3 words:

Black Cherry Kool-aid. Knitty has a great tutorial about dying with food dyes.

I would get 2-3 packs of kool-aid and set up the slow cooker with enough water to cover the socks and dissolve the kool-aid with warm water and vinegar, then add the socks. Let 'em soak until the water gets clear, and let the whole mess cool, then rinse in warmish water.

I have had very good experiences with food dyes.

Good luck!

[Ingrid]

Or you can mix red dye with a tiny touch of black, or dark brown, or blue?

[Ingrid]

P.S. You can get acid dyes in Hong Kong from a food colouring retailer http://www.shiu-shing.com.hk/English/main_9.htm. They are cheap, and safe to use with your pots and pans. You can also get bulk citric acid there!

[nanaweb]

no waste of time , I do the same and I take my knitting work everywhere !
Lovely sock !

[Pat]

I'm not a dyer, but in my playing around with acid dyes, I got a burgundy by mixing red and a little black.

[Maryann]

Hi Joy, I just stumbled upon this and thought it might be useful... http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/procionMXdyemixing.shtml