Wool Dyeing Project

Several weeks ago we went to Old Sturbridge Village, an historical colonial New England village, for a field trip. One of the things that was most interesting to the kids was the wool dyeing. Noah asked all sorts of questions about the different materials used to make the dyes and the colors that they produced and I got to thinking that this might make an interesting handicraft for us to do at home. So, I searched around on-line and found some instructions for using food stuffs to dye yarn. I decided to try coffee and blueberries since we had both on hand (I still had some blueberries in the freezer from our picking expedition).

Preparing the wool in a warm water and vinegar bath

Placing the yarn into the hot coffee

Washing the dyed wool

the finished product

Preparing the blueberry dye

I figured that because blueberries stain clothes so easily they would make a great dye so I was very surprised that the wool took up so little of the color. When it was done, I decided that we should try re-dyeing it with the left over coffee. It definitely took up more color but is not nearly as dark as the first skein of wool.
It was a long process that took most of the afternoon. There was a lot of waiting around so the kids listened to a book on CD and played outside in-between steps. All in all it was an interesting experience and since I still have one skein left, I think we will try it again soon using a different dye agent such as turmeric or curry, which should make a more vibrant color.

I plan on using this yarn for a knitting project for the kids. I'm not sure if Noah is quite ready for it yet but I think I will at least attempt to teach him a basic knit stitch using the wool that he dyed himself to make something simple like a pot holder or maybe even a blanket for one of his stuffed animals. We shall see how ambitious I get.