Dye Day - wool floss

I've been doing a lot of embroidery lately and since I want to focus on wool embroidery, I decided to dye some floss of my own. I ordered some lace weight yarn from Catnip Yarns. I've ordered several kinds of natural yarns from them over the last few years and have never been disappointed.

I wound some small skeins in 15-yard lengths and one in a 30-yard length. In the future, I'll only do 30 yards or more.

Using the instructions from



I prepared the yarn by soaking in a vinegar/water solution for thirty minutes. (Click on the book image for more information.)

Next, I prepared the dyes as I would for dyeing wool fabric.

Then, onto the fun stuff -- applying the dye. Since I hadn't dyed such a small amount of yarn before, it was trial and error. After the dye was added, I microwaved the wool for 2 minutes turned the floss, and microwaved for two more minutes. Be sure you have enough water in the bowl you use and cover.

Here are the final results:

All in all, a fun experience!