Well, I’d already started my experiments in the basement… just because the hair project wasn’t going well, no need to abandon my mess! I mixed up 5 more small batches of the colors to see what they looked like on white wool yarn. I also had some blue yarn that I was thinking about over-dyeing…

so I tried some bits of that also. After my tests were done, I was left with 5 jars that had about one and a half inches of dye in them. What the heck- the ball of blue yarn was sitting right there. I wet it thoroughly and stuffed it into one of the jars- aqualon yellow.

I put it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. The yarn soaked up all the color- the water was clear. Then I pulled the yarn out of the jar, turned it over and stuck it into another batch of dye- this one was bronze. Again, 2 minutes in the microwave. The result was good enough that I did the rest of the skeins (total 7).
These are the samples I dyed and the first overdyed skein-

Here is half way done-

and here they are, wet-

They are a bit too blue still. When they are dry, I will decide if I want to give them one more dye bath. I will probably knit up a swatch first though, just to see what it looks like. This is really fun- who knows how much of the ugly yarn up in my attic I can rescue!

Lots of projects going on in the basement these days. Check out what Eleanor’s been working on.
This morning I’ve been working on my dye project. I started with 5 Cushing colors. Mixed up small batches- powdered dye, add boiling water, splash of vinegar. Let cool for 5 minutes or so. Add wetted and slightly soapy samples. I tried 3 samples in each jar- 2 furs and some wool yarn. I let them sit in the jars for about 45 minutes. Rinse in cool water. This is what I’ve got-

They are still wet, but this is my observation so far. The yarn all came out beautifully. The furs… well, not so great. The pearl lamb was the worst. It is a very washed out, greyish version of any of the colors. Actually, looking closer, I can see that none of the furs dyed well close to the skin. The longer the hair, the better they look because more of the hair picked up the color. I would have to say that this first batch was not a success.
The other question is how they will dry- will the back (leather part) get wrinkled or hard. I’ll report on that later, but I might not know for several days.

I need to do some work to figure out how to dye the fur plates I bought for doll hair. I have enough – they come 2 feet x 4 ft-so I can experiment. I have cut up a bunch of samples. I will try Cushing Dyes first. I bought a bunch of dye packets in the colors that might be like hair. I haven’t been able to find any real information on the best way to do this… the only other time I tried to dye some tibetan lamb, the leather part turned into rock and the only way I could use the wool was to cut it off. I know that I can’t use hot water. I am concerned about color-fastness. Lots of the dyes people suggest on doll sites, such as Kool-aid or Rit, are not likely to keep their color. Messy work ahead.

My other project is to clean some of the stuff out of my workspace. Get rid of the books I don’t need anymore, clean out some of the supplies I’ll never use again. I am filling up a bag of stuff for Eleanor to bring back to school for her puppetry class. Another bag of fabric scraps will go to a local elementary school. I’m thinking of having a “yard sale” link on here…

I need to do some work to figure out how to dye the fur plates I bought for doll hair. I have enough – they come 2 feet x 4 ft-so I can experiment. I have cut up a bunch of samples. I will try Cushing Dyes first. I bought a bunch of dye packets in the colors that might be like hair. I haven’t been able to find any real information on the best way to do this… the only other time I tried to dye some tibetan lamb, the leather part turned into rock and the only way I could use the wool was to cut it off. I know that I can’t use hot water. I am concerned about color-fastness. Lots of the dyes people suggest on doll sites, such as Kool-aid or Rit, are not likely to keep their color. Messy work ahead.

My other project is to clean some of the stuff out of my workspace. Get rid of the books I don’t need anymore, clean out some of the supplies I’ll never use again. I am filling up a bag of stuff for Eleanor to bring back to school for her puppetry class. Another bag of fabric scraps will go to a local elementary school. I’m thinking of having a “yard sale” link on here…

I need to do some work to figure out how to dye the fur plates I bought for doll hair. I have enough – they come 2 feet x 4 ft-so I can experiment. I have cut up a bunch of samples. I will try Cushing Dyes first. I bought a bunch of dye packets in the colors that might be like hair. I haven’t been able to find any real information on the best way to do this… the only other time I tried to dye some tibetan lamb, the leather part turned into rock and the only way I could use the wool was to cut it off. I know that I can’t use hot water. I am concerned about color-fastness. Lots of the dyes people suggest on doll sites, such as Kool-aid or Rit, are not likely to keep their color. Messy work ahead.

My other project is to clean some of the stuff out of my workspace. Get rid of the books I don’t need anymore, clean out some of the supplies I’ll never use again. I am filling up a bag of stuff for Eleanor to bring back to school for her puppetry class. Another bag of fabric scraps will go to a local elementary school. I’m thinking of having a “yard sale” link on here…

I had some slides done of the dolls and also got some images for the computer- great job David Caras.

Here are some of the doll related stuff I got for Christmas… some great books! About costuming, wig-making and hats.

… and this is what I bought for myself, that day at Gilda’s-

It is a reproduction Bleuette doll. Now I can pull out all those patterns that have been in Doll Costuming magazine and start getting her dressed!