How to Dye Bamboo Yarn
- 1). Wind the bamboo yarn into a loose hank by winding it around the back of a chair or around your hand and elbow.
Loosely tie the hank together in three or four places with short strands of yarn or string to prevent the hank from tangling. - 2). Wearing protective gloves and a dust mask, mix the soda ash in warm water in the plastic basin following the instructions on the package, or around 1 cup to 1 gallon of water.
Submerge the bamboo yarn hank in the soda ash solution and leave it to soak for at least 30 minutes. The yarn will swell in size considerably. - 3). Meanwhile, prepare the dye solution. You will need at least 3 cups of dye solution for an average-sized hank of bamboo yarn. Use the instructions on the dye package as a guide, but use more dye for more intense, darker shades and less dye for paler, pastel shades of the finished color. If using powdered dye, add warm water by the teaspoon at first to make a paste before adding the rest of the warm water to make up the amount of dye you need. You can always prepare more if you find you don't have enough.
- 4). Remove the yarn from the soda ash solution and gently squeeze out the liquid. You can either pour the solution safely down the drain, or save it to be used again later.
- 5). Place the damp bamboo yarn hank in your large plastic tub. Pour the dye solution over the yarn and ruffle the strands with your fingers to ensure the liquid will penetrate all the yarn fully.
Place the lid on your tub and leave it in a warm place, close to a heater or somewhere sunny for at least 12 hours, longer for a more intense finished color. - 6). Remove the yarn from the dye and rinse thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear, then rinse a little more to be on the safe side.
Wash the yarn in warm water with a little dish detergent, then rinse and gently squeeze it. - 7). Drape the hank over the back of a chair or on a washing line to dry, then wind into balls.
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