Wool blanket dyeing course in Tauranga

Noooo not a course for dying!! A course for dyeing! Remember the blankets I have been buying at the Opp Shops? Well this is the next installment.

I went with a couple of the ladies I meet for craft on Thursdays, also with us was a friend of one of those ladies, to Tauranga on Saturday. It was an early start and we drove most of the way through thick fog, this cleared once we started to climb the Kaimais and once above it we could look down and see the fog lying over the Waikato.

The course was run by a very clever lady which she held in her garage. In preparation we had had to cut our blankets into approximately a fat quarter size, preferably a bit smaller, so that five pieces could be dyed at a time, anything bigger and they wouldn't have fitted into the large pan. The following photos will take you through the whole process.....

ETA: The blankets used were wool blankets, and the dyes used were specifically for dyeing animal fibres.

Blankets cut and layed out in our individual piles

First they are soaked in a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water

Table full of the dyes we could choose from

More of the dyes

Next 5 pieces of the blanket were quickly placed into a hot pan of water containing our chosen colour. The pieces needed to be moved around in the pan until the colour had been absorbed.

Once absorbed the pieces were removed, placed in a plastic bowl and then placed in a microwave oven for around 5 minutes.

Once removed from the microwave the pieces were allowed to cool for a short time and then rinsed in cold water. If the colour runs then the whole process needs to be repeated. Other than that they are rinsed to remove some of the vinegar smell.

Hanging the dyed blankets on the line to dry, don't I look all domesticated!!

Here they are all finished and sorted into our individual batches, such awesome colours

And mine, aren't they gorgeous?

The next installment coming soon on a blog near you!