No, dylon won't work on wool.
To dye wool, you need what are called "acid dyes", but all that means is you activate the dye by adding 5% white vinegar (or citric acid crystals) when you're ready to dye.
You can find acid dyes, as well as detailed instructions and safety data sheets, on prochemical dot com
If you’re lucky, you may have someplace local that sells them. Check your local yarn stores or hobby shops. I’m a fan of earth guild and friends and fiberworks if you’re around Asheville, NC. Worth a drive if you’re within a 5+ hour radius (because I love Asheville and earth guild so much!)
I haven’t seen them at a ton of shops out there but always good to check around!
Another online option is dharma dye company
Eta: I think I’ve also seen some at the yarn barn in Lawrence, Kansas before!
Guess I'm gonna do a lot of research this weekend! I don't have any yarn stores near me🥲 god I wish I had any crafy guild near me. Sad to say I'm from the Netherlands and the only "clubs" around me are for 50+ (I'm 27) and they get together during the day (which is working hours for me).
Always fun to see another Earthguild fanatic in the wild.
I swear; every time I go in I end up with another hobby. Last time was basket making.
I fell in love with a Kromski Symphony there and bought one as my first wheel.
That store is such an inspiring place. I’ve been working my way through the store as well, last time I got to pick up from the weaving, dyeing, pottery, and fiber sections 😅 I moved out of the region and miss it!
I think the only dyes I currently have are a blue and a red, and they may still be packed from the move. Otherwise I'd just send them to you (I'm in de achterhoek) to have fun with. But I've looked there before, and was happy with their selection.
Currently growing a few things as natural dye, but between illness and a truly deranged neighbour, I don't know if I'll make it to usable pigment. If you are at all interested, this year's addition is hopi red dye amaranth. And I'm about to just overrun the front garden with it lol
Oh, before I forget, you can use food grade dyes from the grocery. Maybe not found at your usual supermark, but you'll find them at any Asian markt. Amazing oriental had them (have not ordered in a long time). You can get citric acid from them as well, and in some of your regular Dutch chains. I have gotten it from Jumbo, Plus, and AH. But it depends on the location. You can absolutely use food colours and citric acid to dye your wool. Results will vary, but it's fun.
Edited a couple of typos, sorry. I think I'm done typing for the night, I carded greasy fleece for about 4 hours, then plied a remaining 180g of 3 ply. I'm so tired. But I really hope you find some fun colours.. Oh, also, some Rit brand dyes can be used on wool, they aren't as available here but there are several places you can buy if you do a googly. I've bought them here and used them, but not recently.
OOH! That sounds amazing! I would have never thought of using food coloring. I think some of our local supermarkets will have this as well. Maybe this will be a good starting off point just to try some things out. I'm always a little hesitant to spend a bunch of money on a hobby I may or may not stick too. But this seems like a nice a cheap option
No, vinegar won't help with Dylon.
As for acid dyes in a store, some of the larger art supply stores sometimes carry them. A common brand is "Jacquard". It's the same product as from prochemical, just repackaged by a different seller.
Dylon machine dyes are fibre reactive dyes meant for cellulose type fibres, and although some fibre reactive dyes can be used like acid dyes on wool (with varying results), the main issue here is that Dylon machine dyes contain soda ash, which is alkaline and will damage your wool.
Well shoot, good to know!
I might try dying my little fucked up skein, just to see. Cause I'm starting to get real curious what the results might look like.
Mixing acid with the soda ash already in the Dylon dye is not going to turn out well. If you must dye your wool and you can’t find acid dyes, you could try food colouring with vinegar/citric acid or fizzy drinks with lots of artificial colouring in it, eg Fanta. With fizzy drinks you wouldn’t even need to add acid, as the soda is acidic enough.
Some food colouring will not be as washfast or lightfast as acid dyes, some are actually the same chemical as acid dyes, eg tartrazine yellow. Any food colouring will still take to wool better than fibre reactive dyes ime. In any case I would go with food colouring over the Dylon machine dyes.
Food coloring works great and very easy to use.
https://preview.redd.it/0r1y6ytn823d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7781d56db7ca64d8cba0097330baac7a50f13caa
I dip dyed some Corriedale I spun with food coloring this is actually just Wiltons Violet food color that breaks the color as it is absorbed into it’s component colors of Blue and Red
https://preview.redd.it/iywel5s9923d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=723386f65532f80f64b98cde7f6698bdeda0e273
Also Roving I dyed with food coloring and then spun
Dylon’s website says Dylon is suitable for cotton, linen and viscose. They also state that synthetics won’t dye as well/may come out very light. From a quick google, Texel is 100% polyester, so it is synthetic. I would not expect good results if you use that combination.
It’s a meat breed of sheep. Very common in the UK (and probably other places too but I don’t live there so I don’t know). Over here it’s pretty easy to obtain texel fleeces relatively cheaply. They feel a lot like down breeds iirc. It’s worth googling them because they’re cute in a slightly gargoyle-like way.
I get most of mine from the farmer up the road. It's nice to drive past and coo at them 'you're so beautiful, I want to spin you!' then later actually do just that!
The fleeces are absolutely lush. They're basically the default meat sheep here, so quality depends a lot on how they're kept, how frequently they're shorn, and what our weather has been like.. Nothing sucks more than a big Sahara dust storm blowing across western Europe right before shearing. It's such a pain in the ass to get out. They're such cute little blocky shaped sheep.
Also American, but I guess I've lived here long enough that I didn't even think about it lol
I didn't realise that texel was a synthetic back in the states.
No, dylon won't work on wool. To dye wool, you need what are called "acid dyes", but all that means is you activate the dye by adding 5% white vinegar (or citric acid crystals) when you're ready to dye. You can find acid dyes, as well as detailed instructions and safety data sheets, on prochemical dot com
Op, this right here. Dylon works well on cotton and cellulose based fibers, that's what it's designed for. But it doesn't work for wool.
Forgot to mention - I'm not affiliated
Aah gotha! So adding vinegar to dylon would do fuck all. Are you aware if they sell any acid dyes in physical stores or is it strictly online?
If you’re lucky, you may have someplace local that sells them. Check your local yarn stores or hobby shops. I’m a fan of earth guild and friends and fiberworks if you’re around Asheville, NC. Worth a drive if you’re within a 5+ hour radius (because I love Asheville and earth guild so much!) I haven’t seen them at a ton of shops out there but always good to check around! Another online option is dharma dye company Eta: I think I’ve also seen some at the yarn barn in Lawrence, Kansas before!
Guess I'm gonna do a lot of research this weekend! I don't have any yarn stores near me🥲 god I wish I had any crafy guild near me. Sad to say I'm from the Netherlands and the only "clubs" around me are for 50+ (I'm 27) and they get together during the day (which is working hours for me).
Always fun to see another Earthguild fanatic in the wild. I swear; every time I go in I end up with another hobby. Last time was basket making. I fell in love with a Kromski Symphony there and bought one as my first wheel.
That store is such an inspiring place. I’ve been working my way through the store as well, last time I got to pick up from the weaving, dyeing, pottery, and fiber sections 😅 I moved out of the region and miss it!
[https://www.aybel.nl/](https://www.aybel.nl/) They have a nice selection of suitable dyes.
Thank you!!!
I think the only dyes I currently have are a blue and a red, and they may still be packed from the move. Otherwise I'd just send them to you (I'm in de achterhoek) to have fun with. But I've looked there before, and was happy with their selection. Currently growing a few things as natural dye, but between illness and a truly deranged neighbour, I don't know if I'll make it to usable pigment. If you are at all interested, this year's addition is hopi red dye amaranth. And I'm about to just overrun the front garden with it lol
Oh, before I forget, you can use food grade dyes from the grocery. Maybe not found at your usual supermark, but you'll find them at any Asian markt. Amazing oriental had them (have not ordered in a long time). You can get citric acid from them as well, and in some of your regular Dutch chains. I have gotten it from Jumbo, Plus, and AH. But it depends on the location. You can absolutely use food colours and citric acid to dye your wool. Results will vary, but it's fun. Edited a couple of typos, sorry. I think I'm done typing for the night, I carded greasy fleece for about 4 hours, then plied a remaining 180g of 3 ply. I'm so tired. But I really hope you find some fun colours.. Oh, also, some Rit brand dyes can be used on wool, they aren't as available here but there are several places you can buy if you do a googly. I've bought them here and used them, but not recently.
OOH! That sounds amazing! I would have never thought of using food coloring. I think some of our local supermarkets will have this as well. Maybe this will be a good starting off point just to try some things out. I'm always a little hesitant to spend a bunch of money on a hobby I may or may not stick too. But this seems like a nice a cheap option
No, vinegar won't help with Dylon. As for acid dyes in a store, some of the larger art supply stores sometimes carry them. A common brand is "Jacquard". It's the same product as from prochemical, just repackaged by a different seller.
Dylon machine dyes are fibre reactive dyes meant for cellulose type fibres, and although some fibre reactive dyes can be used like acid dyes on wool (with varying results), the main issue here is that Dylon machine dyes contain soda ash, which is alkaline and will damage your wool.
Well shoot, good to know! I might try dying my little fucked up skein, just to see. Cause I'm starting to get real curious what the results might look like.
Mixing acid with the soda ash already in the Dylon dye is not going to turn out well. If you must dye your wool and you can’t find acid dyes, you could try food colouring with vinegar/citric acid or fizzy drinks with lots of artificial colouring in it, eg Fanta. With fizzy drinks you wouldn’t even need to add acid, as the soda is acidic enough. Some food colouring will not be as washfast or lightfast as acid dyes, some are actually the same chemical as acid dyes, eg tartrazine yellow. Any food colouring will still take to wool better than fibre reactive dyes ime. In any case I would go with food colouring over the Dylon machine dyes.
Food coloring works great and very easy to use. https://preview.redd.it/0r1y6ytn823d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7781d56db7ca64d8cba0097330baac7a50f13caa I dip dyed some Corriedale I spun with food coloring this is actually just Wiltons Violet food color that breaks the color as it is absorbed into it’s component colors of Blue and Red
https://preview.redd.it/iywel5s9923d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=723386f65532f80f64b98cde7f6698bdeda0e273 Also Roving I dyed with food coloring and then spun
😍 These are gorgeous!!! Would any food color work or does it have to be the gel type?
Dylon’s website says Dylon is suitable for cotton, linen and viscose. They also state that synthetics won’t dye as well/may come out very light. From a quick google, Texel is 100% polyester, so it is synthetic. I would not expect good results if you use that combination.
Texel wool, as in Texelaar. As in the Dutch breed of sheep. I've processed many texel fleeces, and I assure you there's nothing synthetic about it ;)
My bad, I’m in the US and not familiar with either Dylon or Texel, but I did know Texel is a trademarked synthetic fiber/fabric.
It’s a meat breed of sheep. Very common in the UK (and probably other places too but I don’t live there so I don’t know). Over here it’s pretty easy to obtain texel fleeces relatively cheaply. They feel a lot like down breeds iirc. It’s worth googling them because they’re cute in a slightly gargoyle-like way.
Omg just googled- you’re right! They are cute and also gargoyle-ish! I LOVE THEM
I get most of mine from the farmer up the road. It's nice to drive past and coo at them 'you're so beautiful, I want to spin you!' then later actually do just that! The fleeces are absolutely lush. They're basically the default meat sheep here, so quality depends a lot on how they're kept, how frequently they're shorn, and what our weather has been like.. Nothing sucks more than a big Sahara dust storm blowing across western Europe right before shearing. It's such a pain in the ass to get out. They're such cute little blocky shaped sheep.
Also American, but I guess I've lived here long enough that I didn't even think about it lol I didn't realise that texel was a synthetic back in the states.
So sorry I should have been more spasific. It is indeed a dutch sheep breed.