I’m participating in the Dye.no.mite swap (see the button in the right sidebar, under the webrings). I’m supposed to send my swapper a few gifts and a card or two. The point is to send things you’ve dyed. My swapper is a quilter (which I’m not), so I’m going to learn some new dyeing techniques. Specifically, I’m going to use fiber reactive dyes (as compared to acid dyes, which work for protein fibers–wool, silk and animal fibers). You need different additives for fiber reactive dyes, so, at this moment, there’s a pound of soda ash fixer being packed up and sent to me.

Like usual, I’ve ordered from Dharma Trading. They sell everything you need to dye anything. And, they sell tons of stuff *to* dye. I had a great person on the phone today and she completely understood that I was buying both acid and fiber reactive dyes. She even gave me some tips for FR when I told her I’ve never done it before. She said that the methods are very similar. Here’s a breakdown:

Acid dyes:
Use on wool, mohair, alpaca, silk, nylon
Use mild acid as fix (I usually use vinegar)
Need heat to set dyes
Fibers must be soaked in water and fix to get even dyeing

Fiber Reactive dyes:
Use on cotton, hemp, tencel, linen
Use soda ash as fix
Need time to fix (time while damp with fix and dyes)
Fibers must be soaked in water and fix to get even dyeing

My swap buddy likes reds and warm earth tones, so I bought two reds, an orange and a brown. Honestly, I chose by color name: Black Cherry, Red Wine, Tangerine and Chocolate brown. ‘Get the theme?

I bought some cotton/tencel yarn (Classic Elite’s Premier) and I need to track down some fabric to dye (or maybe I’ll buy some fat quarters). I’ve got some hand dyed Merino blend hand spun yarns that I’ll send. Oh, and a little, spring canvas bag, a Maine mug (”how to eat a lobster”), a lobster soap, and a bit of dark chocolate. I think that’ll make two nice surprise packages. Any other suggestions?