handmade by stefanie

I’m not really a ‘summer’ person, but I finally found a reason to get excited about 90 degree weather: solar dyeing!  I’ve always wanted to try this technique, but usually don’t think about it till summer is long gone. Lucky for me, a box of undyed yarns from  Kraemer Yarns showed up on my doorstep not too long ago, prompting me to make some plans for dyeing experiments which I can share on this blog. Obviously, solar dyeing was my top priority, since I assume that there will be very few 90-degree days this fall (here’s hoping!).  It’s funny how, once you are actually looking forward to the next really hot day, they don’t show up! It took a few weeks of anxiously watching the weather forecasts, but there was finally a good day in August wherein I could give this a try. The upside of having to wait a few weeks? I could amass all of the supplies I needed! Here’s what I used to get the job done:  2-3 skeins of undyed yarn (I used 2 skeins of Jane ,...

Over the weekend, I decided to put some of our expired coffee to good use overdyeing some of my handspun yarn. After doing a little research* into the specifics of coffee dyeing, I combined this reconnaissance with my general dye knowledge from the 4 years I was a dyer with Lorna's Laces and dove headfirst into the Great Experiment. First, I added extra ties on the skeins to keep them neat and tidy during the dye process, then soaked them in a tub of tepid water and vinegar for 30 minutes.  While the skeins were soaking, I prepared my dye. I'd been collecting small quantities of coffee beans over the last several months; my husband works at a local coffee roaster, so we always have an overabundance of coffee beans in the house. Since they are no longer considered "brew-worthy" a few weeks after their roast date, I decided to use them for dyestuffs before sending them to their ultimate resting place, the compost heap.  I can't say I was terribly scienti...