The Portion of my Inheritance

Growing up I loved to dye Easter eggs, and then later I remember the fun that my own children had in dyeing the eggs, and now my grandchildren love it.

I decided to see how the Easter egg dye would work on fiber, so I headed to the Dollar General and picked me up a couple of boxes.

I threw away everything except for the tiny little color pellets.

I used the dye in two different ways:

The first was to line my counter top with plastic wrap, then lay my presoaked fiber on top of it.  I diluted the color pellets in a bottle with warm water and added about 3-4 tablespoons of vinegar. The vinegar helps to set the color.

Then I just began squirting the colored water onto the fiber, making sure to soak it all the way through. You can use whatever color pattern you want. Since I was experimenting with this I wanted to make it as colorful as I could.

You might want to use gloves to protect your hands from turning color. I didn’t use them and this was the result.

After I was happy with the color I rolled the fiber up into a long snake using the plastic wrap.

I put the fiber into a colander that had been simmering on the stove over water. I covered it and let it steam for about 20-30 minutes to set the color.

You could also set it in the microwave.

Then I soaked it in warm water.

I let it dry on my front porch.

Next, I spun it into yarn.

The second way I used the Easter egg dye:

I used purchased yarn already rolled into a loose ball, or you could spin your own yarn and roll it into a loose ball. If it is too tight the color will not absorb as well.

I brought water on the stove almost to a boil, adding the same amount of vinegar. I dropped the color pellets into the water but did not stir it, then added my yarn.

For this yarn, I added one blue pellet and one purple. The yarn absorbs the color slowly, making the outside more colorful and the inside more subdued in color.

I also did one using just the blue pellets and another that I just used green.

I used 2-3 pellets, depending on how rich you want your color.

I loved this technique! I loved the variegated look that came from this process.

And by the way, after Easter I was able to pick up several boxes of the dye for 19 cents.

I will confess that the dye did not set as well as I would of liked. I will heat set it longer next time and probably use more vinegar, but I was still pleased with the end result.

One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Acts 16:14