I am never one to shy away from a challenge. So, having figured out my warping board, I decided to have a play.
Most people would have started on say:
- Sock yarn
- In a superwash base
- Certainly without silk, alpaca, cashmere etc
- A simple co-ordinating colourway.
You know, what with it being their first attempt and all…
Would anyone like to have a guess at what I did?
Anyone?
- Worsted weight.
- Non superwash
- 80:20 alpaca silk
- Teal and a self made orange (1/4 tsp each of Jacquard Cherry Red and Sun Yellow). I think I might have gone too heavy on the red but we shall see.
So yeah, not the usual starter probably. But see, I’m knitting these glorious bed socks in 100% baby alpaca. I’m not going to try and sell my first striping attempt, so why not play on a base I can turn into more comfy bed socks for me?
Sister in law – see what you have inspired.
The skein all dyed up and ready for wrapping and steaming.
Okay so it’s a completely clumsy job, but here it is all wrapped and rolled:
Steaming away quite contentedly:
The rinsing process begins:
And now to the drying:
All I will say is that, though fun, and highly creative (since I can definitely see pretty much endless possibilities here)
I CAN SEE WHY THIS TYPE OF YARN IS EXPENSIVE TO BUY
Not counting drying time (which I can speed with the aid of the gas fire) this single skein has taken over four hours to produce.
Oh and it does this to hands:
I did wear gloves while actively dyeing. I just didn’t for the rinsing of the foam brushes… or the skein…
*hides from Na, her nail tech*