Lanaset/Sabraset dyes are super easy to use. They are also very safe, assuming you follow a few basic safety precautions:
1. When working with dye powder (this goes for all dyes) you don't want to inhale the dust. Wear a dust mask (you can get them cheap at hardware stores). To keep the dust from contaminating my house, I always mix my dye stock outside.
2. Dye pots and utensils are for dye only. Never use pots, measuring spoons, cups, etc. for food once they have been used for dye.
3. Work with your dyes in a well ventilated area. The dye pot vapors are acidic (and sometimes smelly) and can irritate your nasal passageways.
3. Wear gloves. This isn't really so much a safety thing, more of a "I don't want purple hands" thing
4. Clean up after yourself. Preparing food on a dye covered counter is bad news.
Preparing Dye Stock
I always work with dye stock for two reasons:
1. Powdered dye is a pain
2. It allows me to easily reproduce colors, if I so choose
I use an approximately 1% dye stock, which I store in mason jars. It is not essential that your dye stock is exactly 1%. It's more important that you mix it the same way every time. This will allow you to reproduce your colors easily.
Instructions from the late Julie Owens of Sheep Hollow Farm:
I mix 2 level teaspoons of most Lanaset dyes in a quart of water. For Sun Yellow, I use 4 teaspoons per quart. For Scarlet, I use 3. This was suggested in Lynne Vogel's Twisted Sisters Yarn Book. I'm not sure how much this actually affects the results. It's just the way I've always done it since these colors are a bit weaker. You may want to increase the amount of dye for black dye stock as well.
1. Add the dye to a quart sized mason jar
2. Pour in a little bit of nearly boiling water (like 1/4 jar)
3. Put on the cap and shake like a mad woman
4. Add more water, put on the cap, shake like a mad woman
5. Repeat step 4 until you have added a full quart of water and the dye is fully dissolved.
Store your dye stock in a cool, dark place. Make sure and mix it up before using. Even properly dissolved dye will separate after sitting for a while. According to most sources, dye stock is good for 6 months.
1. When working with dye powder (this goes for all dyes) you don't want to inhale the dust. Wear a dust mask (you can get them cheap at hardware stores). To keep the dust from contaminating my house, I always mix my dye stock outside.
2. Dye pots and utensils are for dye only. Never use pots, measuring spoons, cups, etc. for food once they have been used for dye.
3. Work with your dyes in a well ventilated area. The dye pot vapors are acidic (and sometimes smelly) and can irritate your nasal passageways.
3. Wear gloves. This isn't really so much a safety thing, more of a "I don't want purple hands" thing
4. Clean up after yourself. Preparing food on a dye covered counter is bad news.
Preparing Dye Stock
I always work with dye stock for two reasons:
1. Powdered dye is a pain
2. It allows me to easily reproduce colors, if I so choose
I use an approximately 1% dye stock, which I store in mason jars. It is not essential that your dye stock is exactly 1%. It's more important that you mix it the same way every time. This will allow you to reproduce your colors easily.
Instructions from the late Julie Owens of Sheep Hollow Farm:
To make 1% stock solutions (which make later arithmetic easier), weigh out the amount of dye you want (depending on how many pounds of fiber you want to dye to what depth of shade). Do this for each color you need (the amounts need not be the same). The object now is to dissolve each pile in exactly 100 times its weight of water. Multiply the weight of each pile, in grams, by 100 to get the weight of water you need—which is also the volume of water in cubic centimeters or in milliliters (thanks to the metric system)
How I mix my dye stock (less technical):Paste the dye with hot (boiling) water, a known amount, in a small cup or beaker. Thin with 2-3 times the first volume of water to get a liquid, pour into a larger container (be sure no powder is left behind, pour back and forth if necessary) then add the rest of the water (warm is okay), stir thoroughly. Your stock solutions are ready. Each cc of solution holds .01 gram of dye. If you want half a gram of dye, you just dispense 50 cc of stock solution. 1% solutions are fairly standard, but you can make a 1.5% or 3% or 5% if you wish to: 20 times the weight of water, for instance, gives a 5% solution.
I mix 2 level teaspoons of most Lanaset dyes in a quart of water. For Sun Yellow, I use 4 teaspoons per quart. For Scarlet, I use 3. This was suggested in Lynne Vogel's Twisted Sisters Yarn Book. I'm not sure how much this actually affects the results. It's just the way I've always done it since these colors are a bit weaker. You may want to increase the amount of dye for black dye stock as well.
1. Add the dye to a quart sized mason jar
2. Pour in a little bit of nearly boiling water (like 1/4 jar)
3. Put on the cap and shake like a mad woman
4. Add more water, put on the cap, shake like a mad woman
5. Repeat step 4 until you have added a full quart of water and the dye is fully dissolved.
Store your dye stock in a cool, dark place. Make sure and mix it up before using. Even properly dissolved dye will separate after sitting for a while. According to most sources, dye stock is good for 6 months.
