Have you ever thought about hand painting fiber? Well we have and it's fun. We started with white roving. Roving is fiber that has been washed and then carded so that all the fibers are aligned. This prepares the fiber to go through the spinning wheel or to be felted.
Next we thought about what colors would be nice together. A color wheel can be very helpful because when you paint, the colors beside each other will mix and blend and you may not want those colors to be brown. Some people, like Linda here, just have a great sense of color. Some people need a resource, like the color wheel.
We picked Cushing Dyes in the colors: American Beauty, Turquoise, Violet, and Silver Gray. We mixed the colors with lots of white vinegar to set the color.
Next Linda made a plan as to how she was going to paint the roving. She could make the stripes go towards her or even dot the paint. Linda decided to make short stripes in a pattern. Then she started to paint.
Notice that we have laid out the plastic wrap under the roving. It will make it easier once the painting is completed. Watch this next video to see how she made a jelly roll of the plastic wrap. Roll the short sides in and then the roll the long sides over and then make the rest in thirds. Well it's just easier to watch.
After the roving is rolled up in the plastic wrap it is put into the steamer pot to set the color. A steamer pot has 2 parts, the big outer pot and then a smaller inner pot with holes for the steam to come through. The inner pot keeps the fiber and plastic wrap out of the water. With a little bit of water in the bottom of the pan, turn on the burner and let the water come to a boil and then turn off the burner. Let the roving steam for about 30 minutes.
There are different ways to steam the hand painted roving but this is the way I prefer.
After the 30 minutes has passed then rinse the fiber and let sit for another 30 minutes. We added a tablespoon of fabric softener to this big canning pot to make the fiber smell nice and to cut down on the static that may occur during spinning. It really is a step that you can choose to skip if you want.
We used the spin drain cycle on the washer machine to get most of the water and moisture out of the fiber. Linda put it on a hanger, took it home to hang it in her backyard to make sure it was fully dry. She will bring it back for Knitty Knotty Knight, our fiber fun night. She plans on spinning it then.
Knitty Knotty Knight is here. . . . . .
We always have so much fun.
Here is Linda spinning the roving that she handpainted. I wonder what she is going to make from the yarn? I will have to let you know. Stay tuned. . . . . . .
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