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Summer is perfect for getting your dye on!
Materials List:
Black plastic garbage bags
Large mason jars (or gallon freezer Ziploc bags)
White vinegar
Acid dyes
Protein fibers, including silk
Adding heat to your kitchen in the summer doesn’t make a lot of sense but that doesn’t mean you have to abstain from dyeing. Summer sun, even on a mild day, is plenty hot for dyeing. If a glass jar isn’t getting the temps you want then a black garbage bag will assist, or even putting the dye containers in a closed car in the sun will get the job done. Some who use solar dyeing swear by leaving it out for a few days to get the maximum color possible.
I dye in bulk so my batches usually consist of 2 lbs of fiber per dye bath. It’s also the maximum fiber weight for a 1/2 ounce of Jacquard dyes, and most other dye sources. I co-mingle my fibers too, anything that will accept a dye with vinegar as the mordant can go in the same color dye. It’s much more efficient when you desire to dye multiple fibers.
As a test to see if the dye bath is done, I always check to see if the water is clear in the container with the fiber. If the fiber to dye ratio is appropriate, the dye bath will exhaust (meaning the dye absorbed completely into the fiber) and you will see clear water around the fiber.
A new selection of soft spinning fibers have arrived!
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BROWN JACOB WOOL TOP
Jacob Sheep have graced the large estates and country homes of England for many centuries. Their impressive horns, black and white faces and spotted bodies have no doubt contributed to their popularity and survival.
The Brown Select Jacob Wool has been hand picked from the fleece and processed to keep the rich brown color. The micron count ranges between 25-35. Jacob is easy to spin and produces a springy yarn.
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MASHAM WOOL TOP
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Masham sheep have been bred for over a century on the hill farms in the Northern Counties of England. The Masham sheep is produced by crossing a Teeswater or Wensleydale and Swaledale or Dalesbred.
This wool overdyes beautifully and is a great choice for rugs or projects that need a more robust wool. Masham wool is a beautiful silver grey color with a good degree of lustre. It is classified as a longwool. Micron count is between 31-36 microns.
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CHEVIOT WOOL TOP
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Cheviot is a main British wool breed. The modern Cheviot breed has been produced by selection rather than by crossing. It is a pure breed, one of a very few in this country. Cheviots produce generous fleeces of white wool which is preferred by mills because its fineness, crimp, and length of staple give it superior spinning and combing qualities, and its low grease content
Cheviot Wool Top is a beautiful natural white color. The micron count is between 27-33. The wool top is open without being slippery making it an excellent wool for beginner spinners. The wool practically spins itself. The yarn produced from Cheviot wool is a pleasure to knit, crochet or weave.
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Are you allergic to animal fibers?
Fear no more, this batt contains none of that!
Hand dyed nylon fibers with a hint of firestar for sparkle and shine.
You can spin this by itself to make a vegan yarn, or combine it with your animal fiber batts to add more memory to your yarn.
Here’s a few suggestions for spinning the vegan batt:
Spin it as a single and then ply it with another animal fiber based yarn,
or blend with an animal fiber batt as you spin.
Any way you choose to use this fiber, it’s all good!
See all of the colorways at sevenyaks.etsy.com
Valentine’s Day isn’t about blowing your budget on something outrageous, it’s all about the little things!
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Treat yourself to some fiber love.
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sevenyaks.etsy.com
Expires 2-15-2015
“Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,–
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”
This is the last sale of the year and just in time for all of your holiday projects!
Use the Coupon Code woolofbat to save 30% off your order at 7 Yaks Design.
Expires November 15, 2014
Angelina Spinning Fiber is terrific for blending with your favorite wool roving for added bling.
A little Angelina will go a long way! Angenlina is a great way to jazz up your handspun yarns or batts before you spin and add a little zing!
Elasticity can also be added to handspun yarns or batts with nylon fibers such as Snow Mountain or Starbright. Firestar will creates a shimmer in your yarn, similar to the addition of silk. You will find that adding nylon will create a yarn with more memory, which is especially important when knitting socks!
All 7 Yaks Design fibers are hand dyed with professional dyes that are both lightfast and washfast for long lasting, fade resistant color.
Merino is a fabulous fiber for spinning yarn, wet felting and needle felting!
The merino is one of the world’s most ancient breeds of sheep. Merino fibers are extremely fine, enabling them to bend far more than traditional, coarser wool fibers. This makes Merino wool feel soft and luxuriously gentle next to your skin. But the merino’s fleece is built for extremes – breathable in summer, insulating in winter, yet exceptionally soft and lightweight.
Because Merino can absorb moisture vapor, it tends not to create static electricity, helping it to drape beautifully and be less likely to cling uncomfortably to your body than other fabrics.
• Softest and fineness of all the wool types
• Fine crimp
• Good elasticity
• Excellent loft
Staple length for merino is 70mm or 2.75”
23 to 25 micron wool
$2.00 per ounce at 7 Yaks Design
Elasticity can also be added to merino with nylon fibers such as Snow Mountain or Starbright. Firestar will creates a shimmer in your yarn, similar to the addition of silk. You will find that adding nylon will create a yarn with more memory which is especially important when knitting socks!
All 7 Yaks Design fibers are hand dyed with professional dyes that are both lightfast and washfast for long lasting, fade resistant color.
The spiral is a spiritualized circle. In the spiral form, the circle, uncoiled, has ceased to be vicious; it has been set free.
― Vladimir Nabokov
The design of the swirl pattern is based on the symbolism of the spiral pattern. This swirl pattern has long been used as the representation of constants, movement and change. On a personal level, it can represent the internal growth of a person throughout life, and the gain of new perspectives.
A person is constantly changing; spiraling down life’s many roads. It has also been used to describe the movement of the universe, and archaeologists think this was its original meaning. Ancients Celts used it to map the progress of the stars during an eclipse. We find it remains constant in our modern lives as well, perhaps a hold over of ancient memories used to remind us of our need to adapt constantly and not remain stagnant.
I think ancient Celtic artists used the spiral symbol as a mind-altering creative process in which the act of creating a spiral in their work released their minds into a creative splendor. Perhaps that’s why we see them dominate the Celtic world, out of a strong desire to step outside the physical and enter a gossamer domain, where dreams and intuition take hold of awareness.
7 Yaks Design drop spindles are cut acrylic and oak. It’s as much fun to watch the spindle as it is to create yarn… and it spins like a dream!
With back to school on the horizon, it’s time to stock up on your fall and Holiday knitting & spinning stash at 7 Yaks Design !
Experience the delight of spinning alpaca! Luxuriously soft, long, and available in a range of beautiful natural colors, discover why spinners love this fiber. Alpaca is a long fiber with no crimp, so it doesn’t stretch and bounce the way wool does. Sheep’s wool contains a lot of lanolin (grease) and most spinners like to scour the wool to remove excess lanolin before they spin it. Alpaca doesn’t have the same grease content, and it is also hypo-allergenic.
Alpaca is…
Lightweight
Soft Luxurious
Very durable
Hand-washable or dry-cleaned
Little static
No pilling
Dyes well
Blends extremely well with other fibers
Suri Alpaca locks can be long and curly or straight fibers that are silky, very fine and very soft. There is a wide variety in the color of the fiber such as, white, fawn, reddish brown, gray, dark brown, and black. Suri Alpaca fiber is ideal for making soft loftier yarns for knitting. It can also be used for felting.
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Huacaya Alpaca (pronounced wuh-kai-ya) wool is denser than the Suri Alpaca. It is soft and very easy to spin and felt.
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– ALPACA FOR HANDSPINNING –
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Hardcarders:
Alpaca can be handcarded, using handcarders with fine teeth to create rolags. Handcarded alpaca will spin into a soft lofty woollen yarn for knitting.
Drumcarders:
A drumcarder with fine teeth will create large batts for spinning.
Blending With Other Fibers:
Adding 20%-50% wool to alpaca gives the yarn more elasticity. You can either spin a single of alpaca and one of wool then ply the two together to make a nice woollen yarn, or wool can be added to alpaca before spinning using handcarders or a drumcarder.
Blending 10%-30% mohair will make a fluffy yarn and give it a fuzzy look. Silk lightly carded into the alpaca will add sparkle to your yarn. Angora rabbit wool with alpaca makes a luxury yarn. This yarn will be extremely soft and very warm.
You can use a drumcarder or handcarders to create various shades of alpaca, such as blending black alpaca with white alpaca will produce gray, or any number of colorful blends with dyed alpaca.
Elasticity can also be added to alpaca with nylon fibers such as Snow Mountain or Starbright. Firestar will creates a shimmer in your yarn, similar to the addition of silk. Since alpaca fiber does not have much elasticity on its own, you will find adding wool or nylon – or some of both, will create a yarn with memory which is especially important when knitting socks!
Uses For Alpaca Yarn:
Alpaca yarn can be used for knitting, weaving, and felting projects – including wet felting and needle felting.
All 7 Yaks Design fibers are hand dyed with professional dyes that are both lightfast and washfast for long lasting, fade resistant color.
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