EXPERIMENTING TIME! - The Pesky Yellows

While showing people to dye the last few years I began to hear the complaints of yellow that will never take up and clear the dye bath, and what to do?

At the time this wasn't happening to me and I didn't know what to say!

Well, it is happening now!!!

Yesterday I was making some co-ordin8s.

These are 8 1/8ths of differently colour or textured wool. I use one dye or recipe over all the wools.

I made a red, golden brown, a blue and a yellow one.

6 years later the yellow and the golden brown were not completely taken up.

And the day before I was doing another yellow, same thing.

Okay ... so I had done some research and saw there are dyes that require various levels of acidity to work. So I added more acid as I'm sure we are all inclined to do.

No help!

The water was salty from doing a wandering earlier. Was that the trouble? But the golden brown wasn't in salty water....

I added a lid.

Slightly improved....

It never did clear even close to completely.

I was up most of the night thinking about this..... WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?

I thought I might be in the twilight zone, maybe the victim of gas lighting....

And then I thought, I'm gonna dye yellow with no acid and see how it likes that!

So this morning here I sit typing to you AS THE YELLOW DYE IS ALMOST COMPLETELY ABSORBED WITHOUT ANY ACID. There is just the faintest hint of yellow in the water.

Now I'm going to add 1/64 of acid and think about this for awhile.

For further experiment I think I'll try seeing if making another co-ordin8 will work this way.

OHMYDYESPOON !!! I went to add acid and the water is clear!

Tell me what you know or think on the matter my friends, are you willing to try out your troublesome yellows and report in?