Unlike when I dye yardage (and don't care whether or not the colour takes evenly), with the clothing, I start off by putting the garment into a roomy pot with enough hot tap water and some Jet Dry, so that there is lots of room for it to move around in the water After it's good and wet, the pot goes onto the stove and I quickly mix up my dye. I pluck out the garment with my gloves (the water isn't that hot yet), mix the dissolved dye with the water in the pot, and then start stirring almost constantly, as the garment goes back in the water. Once most of the dye has been absorbed and the water starts to clear, I assess whether or not I'm 'finished'. If I'm happy with the colour, then I add some citric acid to the pot and let it simmer.....but if I want to tweak it some more, I add more dye until I'm satisfied, then finish off with the citric acid. As I do with yardage, if I get impatient about the rate of dye absorption, I add some citric acid to the pot -- stirring constantly and making sure that there is free movement of the garment in the water.
After the dyeing process is complete, I rinse the garment(s) and then give it/them a little bath in Eucalan or Soak (don't rinse), spin and block.
Here is the before....
And here is the after.....
On the grey cardigan, I used 1/4 tsp of 729 Forest, 1/4 tsp of Avocado, and 1/4 tsp of MC Turquoise. On the Noro striped vest, I used 1/2 tsp of MC Red Violet. On the ball of silk yarn (that was an ugly scarf), I used 1/4 tsp of 826 Deep Orchid.
Needless to say, I am so taken with the results that I have to stop myself from indulging in the urge to just overdye all of my winter sweaters. I still want to dye a couple more, but I want to be thoughtful about what colours I could add that will make the item more wearable. Now that the grey cardigan has dried more green (not 100% wool....lots of various fibres mixed together and the turquoise didn't seem to hold), I think I will give it another turn in the pots. But, for now, I need to focus on getting organized and packed for Vermont -- girls road trip starts early Thursday morning....
P.S. When I was in Southampton a few weeks ago, I added a new tool to my dye box - these silicone coated tongs. If you have dyed any amount of yarn with any other tongs, I'm sure you've been frustrated a time or ten with the strands getting caught and tangled around the clam-shells. No longer with these smooth blade tongs! IMHO they are worth every penny! :-D
