Dyeing Pearl Cotton

When I mentioned dyeing pearl cotton before in this post, I had several questions asking how.  Since it is cotton, I use the same process I use for the direct dyeing technique in cotton fabrics.

The first step is to unroll all the skeins(balls) and make hanks, tied in a couple places so they don't get tangled. I use Presencia's  Finca pearl cotton, in white.  It is mercerized and takes the dye beautifully. Today I'm dyeing some size 8 and some size 5.

Next I soak the tied hanks in soda ash for at least 30 minutes. Mash them down so you know they are totally saturated with the soda solution. If you don't, the dyes won't take.  I use the same concentration I use for fabric...1/2cup soda ash to 1 gallon of warm water.



I use this time to get my dyes ready.  I use the same fiber reactive dyes I use on cotton( and sometimes silk) fabric. Same ratio of dye too.  I spread things out on one of my plastic covered foam insulation boards. After wringing the excess soda solution out,  I place each hank of thread on a piece of plastic wrap and just spoon on the dyes on.



You can apply the dyes in any pattern you like



Then I just wrap them up and let them batch overnight.  This is what 770 yards of size 8 and 440 yards of size 5 looks like batching.



There they will rest until tomorrow afternoon when it's time to wash them out.  Once they are washed out, I hang them to dry.  After that, they're ready to be used!  I'll be back to show you the finished product when they're done.

Now to  dye the wool and silk yarns I use acid dyes and that process is totally different, so we'll save that for another time :)