More Wonderful Dyeing with Majic Carpet Dyes

You know where to go to get your Majic on right? Click the link!
This is part of a continuing lesson on combining unlikely colours. Look in the posts previous to this for the method and many other gorgeous wool colours.

Let’s try a workout with brown and orange today. They are most neglected dyes in the world.

 PICKLED GINGER

1/128th tsp. Orange + 1/128th tsp. Reddish Brown

 Increase the amount of dye !

COPPER PENNY

1/16th tsp. Orange + 1/16th tsp. Reddish Brown

 What if you substitute browns in a recipe and then add less dye ?

SUMMER POLISH

1/128th tsp. Orange + 1/128th tsp. Chocolate Brown

 What’s a darker version look like ?

CARAMEL CORN

1/16th tsp. Orange + 1/16th tsp. Chocolate Brown 

Or try adding a different green to orange.

SWEET CORN

1/128th  tsp. Orange + 1/128th tsp. Moss Green

Isn't that amazing?

Even more amazing stuff on these formulas in The Majic Carpet Club.

Free for you to join in! We'd love to have you!

Method

I’ve dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool with Majic Carpet Dyes in a dye bath with citric acid added to it at the 5 minute point. Having the exact dyes are not important, just go for the colour family. What is important is to experiment, experimenting is key to being a great dyer.

Combine the two listed dyes in boiling water and pour into a dye  bath then add wool. Please note during this whole dye process I only added 1/8th tsp. citric acid three times.

I also used a wok for some of the colours, less water, small pot = lots of mottling on the wool. Lots of water, no squishing = smoothly coloured wool . 

Continuing Lesson on Dyeing With Wonder

All week we have been seeking the what if questions while exploring combining unlikely colours.

This is a valuable exercise and can really expand our use of colour in the dye pots and consequently in our rugs.

 SILVER LINING 

1/128th tsp. Blue + 1/128th Black 

Variation

VIKING GOOD LUCK

1/32 tsp. Blue + 1/128th Black

WALES

 1/128th tsp. Brilliant Green  + 1/128th tsp. Orange

Let’s have a look at what happens to these two colours when we add more dye.

DOUGLAS FIR

Medium Dark  1/16th  tsp. Brilliant Green  + 1/16 tsp. Orange

I’ve dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool with Majic Carpet Dyes in a dye bath with citric acid added to it at the 5 minute point. Having the exact dyes are not important, just go for the colour family. What is important is to experiment, experimenting is key to being a great dyer.

Combine the two listed dyes in boiling water and pour into a dye  bath then add wool. Please note during this whole dye process I only added 1/8th tsp. citric acid three times.

I also used a wok for some of the colours, less water, small pot = lots of mottling on the wool. Lots of water, no squishing = smoothly coloured wool . 

Shipping News and More Dyeing With Wonder for Majic Carpet Dyes

One of the very hardest things  about my new enterprise, Majic Carpet Dyes is shipping costs.
Although it can't be true, Canada Post seems to spin a roulette wheel to discern the charges, even when we carefully calculate the estimated cost online our dreams are often dashed at the counter.

We want you to have the best rate possible.
We also don't want to go in the hole each time we ship something.
Unlike enormous companies who can offer free shipping and everyone loves free shipping.... we cannot compete.

Also we are in situated in Canada, when we ship out of our country it becomes an internationally shipped package. It costs more, but surprisingly not much more than it costs Canadians. WHAT?!?
I know. Makes no sense.

Two things we have realized: if you are purchasing a kit, getting the large jar does not cost much more in shipping than the smaller jar kit. This will create a savings for you as you will have more dye, lasting longer decreasing shipping.
AND
If you are thinking of buying refills instead of jars of all 14 colours they have to boxed, they will not fit in our mailer and be flat and will end up costing you the same as the small kit to ship.

 

Note added Dec.6

It seems this photo might be scaring the be-dyes-us out of some of you and you are worried about the toxicity of our dyes.

Here's the explanation for this stunning outfit.

We are dressed up this way because we deal with lbs of dye at a time and it must be stirred up as we have recipes of combined colours to create our wonderful palette. Dye gets on us no matter how careful we are. We wear barrier suits so we can strip them off and not be spreading dye dust from our hair and clothing around my house and studio. It is a bit like being a drywaller or a worker in a flour mill, the dye stuff can get air borne pretty quick. These fashionable outfits keep that under control.

My acid reactive dyes have a 0 rating on the WHMIS scale. Some of them are often used in the production of food. They are less toxic than alum.
We use acid in the form of vinegar or citric acid crystals to process them. If used correctly you have a coloured exhausted and close to neutral Ph dye bath when you are done.

We are proud to say we create our colours by hand, yes by hand. Just the two of us. We get the raw ingredients and we formulate our beautiful colours. We also offer unprecedented support and knowledge and formulas for these dyes unlike other dye companies. We think our great dyes are well worth the shipping cost. Don't I look attractive? But I'm perfectly safe handling these large amounts of dye. You don't need to do this to dye at home! We will talk about handling safety in a future post.

Shipping costs are a irritating fact for consumers and businesses. Go ring up some purchases to see how you fare in our store. If the costs are over estimated we refund money. If they are underestimated
and the difference is less than $2 we eat it.
Even though added up it is hard to swallow.... we have mayonnaise.
We hope you find our shipping practises honourable.

And now for our formulas in our Dyeing With Wonder lesson trip. Go here for directions

CANDY COATED

1/128th tsp Yellow + 1/128th tsp. Red Violet

 Variation

ORIOLE

1/32 tsp Yellow + 1/128th tsp. Red Violet

 HUNGRY FLAMINGO 

1/128th tsp. Red + 1/128th tsp. Brilliant Green

Variation 

CINNAMON COCOA

1/128th tsp. Red + 2/32 tsp. Brilliant Green

Happy Dyeing! 

 Join The Majic Carpet Club for even more tips on these recipes.

Dyeing with Wonder - A Lesson on Formula Freedom

This week we will be asking some what if questions.
I had noticed there are some dyes I don't apply often and truthfully my palette/stash was lacking because of this. Are there some colours you don't use as often?
I decided to go on a little "what if " tour to play with these lonely little dyes a bit.

I’ve dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool with Majic Carpet Dyes in a dye bath with citric acid added to it at the 5 minute point. Having the exact dyes are not important, just go for the colour family. What is important is to experiment, experimenting is key to being a great dyer.

Combine the two listed dyes in boiling water and pour into a dye  bath then add wool. Please note during this whole dye process I only added 1/8th tsp. citric acid three times.

I also used a wok for some of the colours, less water, small pot = lots of mottling on the wool. Lots of water, no squishing = smoothly coloured wool . 

 First let’s have a look at some formulas of equal ratio, then the variation by increasing the amount of one dye. (You would get a very different result if you increased the other dye instead of the one suggested.)

 OYSTER

 1/128th tsp Black + 1/128th Yellow

 Variation 

SUMMER RESORT

1/128th tsp Black + 2/32 Yellow

 BERRY STAIN

1/128th tsp. Blue Violet + 1/128th tsp. Orange 

Variation

PEACH BLUSH

1/128th tsp. Blue Violet +1/32 tsp. Orange

If you are a practitioner of The Majic you might want to join my Majic Carpet Club, it's free and I'm there to help you use my dyes more effectively. Today's tip there is about Turquoise.

It's A Pro Chem Wandering with a Majic Carpet Translation

Talker Tile

It is exquisite.

 Using Pro Chem Dyes

Translated into Magic Carpet Dyes 

   1/32 tsp.Orange 233 = 1/64 tsp. Majic Carpet Orange

1/64 tsp. Violet 818 = 1/64 tsp Majic Carpet Blue Violet + 1/4 " Damp Round Toothpick Black ( when there is a plus sign mix these together and add as one.)

1/128th tsp Turquoise + 1/256th tsp. Black =  1/64 tsp Majic Carpet Turquoise

Method:

 To create these samples I dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool in the wandering method.

To wander you need a bigger kettle, 1/4 cup of salt and a stove top. I don't wander elsewhere for good reasons. I like clear colour patches with blurry overlapped edges.

 Each colour listed is added one at a time until the water clears.

You can go here on The Welcome Mat to read how to make your own formulas and  how to  do Wandering wool or read about it in my Colours to Dye for Column in RHM.

Because I used less wool I used half the water stated in the directions, this is important.

Also you wool will not look exactly as mine does, this is a very individualistic dye method because of the layering. Do not stir, let some wool rise above the waterline, this will help them look more like what I get. Have fun!!!!

I think it's you

Wanda's Stacks - a Dyeing Method

Stacks After 

 Stacks before

Stacks

I like to do a bit of organizing when making stacks. Please make them any way you wish.

I used a variety of textures that ran from dark to light in the same colour family. It is hard to tell the value of textures sometimes but I choose my dyes carefully to influence my choices. I dyed them laying the dark wool on the bottom and working through the values to the light. This way I can have a variety of values to work with that relate.

You Need:

flat pan long enough to lay your wool almost flat ( wrinkles are GOOD !) Try an 8x8"cake pan!

6 Dyes or combos of  Majic Carpet Dyes, one each for each layer

Citric Acid

6 pieces of wet wool 1/16th yd. each 

Directions

Lay the darkest piece of wool, Value 6, in your pan. 

Prepare 1/32 tsp. Turquoise in 1/2 cup of very hot water with a sprinkle of citric acid.

Pour this dye over layer one. Try to spread it around fairly evenly.

 Place the next wool layer  ( Value 5 ) straight onto the first one.

Prepare 1/32 tsp. Bottle Green  as directed above and pour over this layer.

Continue laying on the values of wool and the dyes:

Value 4  is dyed with 1/64 tsp Bottle Green +1/64 tsp. Moss Green

Value 3  is dyed with 1/32 tsp. Moss Green

Value 2 is dyed with 1/128th tsp. Moss Green  1/32 tsp. Yellow

Value 1 is dyed with 1/128th tsp. Turquoise + 1/32 tsp. Yellow

Place in oven uncovered at 350˚F until the water clears.

Don’t forget to use really hot water while mixing the dyes, it makes the dye take up quickly.

I encourage you to try this any way you want to over any wool and dyes you have.

Try using different colours of dye and the same colour of wool.

I have variations with this great quick method that will make even more majic for us coming soon!

Surprise!!! Let's Finish Our One Step Old Fashioned Colours Collection

I just added quick links to my dyeing videos - look to the right!

Enjoy!

Remember these great beauts?

Here are the rest of them:

Go here for the dyeing directions

And the rest of the colours....

 Sumac

2/32 tsp. Reddish Brown

 Parsley

4/32 tsp. Brilliant Green

 Plum

2/32 tsp. Red Violet + 2/32 tsp. Black

 Brown Sugar

2/32 tsp. Seal Brown

 Hooker’s Best Friend

5/32 tsp. Blue

 Cherry Jam

2/32 tsp. Red + 1/32 tsp. Seal Brown

Look how close in value these are, so look out for making a rug of them together... ok?

Spot Dyeing - I know you love it!

The trouble with spot dyeing is the formulas provided create all the same values.

That's not good for hooking, it is like eating too much sugar, everything tastes the same soon.

Time to get making spots in value ranges my friends.

Method:

These recipes have all been dyed using ¼ yd. of natural wool in a 9"x13" cake pan with Majic Carpet Dyes.  Citric Acid is added each time to every colour.  The light colours only contain a sprinkle of acid, the medium have 1/128^th per colour and the darks and brights contain 1/64 tsp with each colour. A little note on the practice of pouring vinegar over your spots, this will dissipate your colour’s saturation as sure as water does, making the tops of your scrunches lighter than you might wish and your valleys darker because the dye gets pushed down by the dousing.

Snow and Ice 

is cooler than it appears here, downright chilly in fact

Snow and Ice - Poured on wool in lines

1/8^th inch damp toothpick  Blue

1/8^th inch damp toothpick  into Black

1/8^th inch dry toothpick Blue Violet + the point of a damp tooth pick Blue

1/8^th inch damp toothpick Turquoise

Little Brown Thing 

is a most useful wool to have in your stash

Little Brown Thing - Poured in Spots

2/64 tsp Blue + 1 inch damp toothpick Black

1/64 tsp. Seal Brown

1/64 tsp. Orange + 1/8^th inch toothpick Chocolate Brown

Mash these together

Then pour over all 1/64 tsp. Black + 1/64 tsp. Chocolate Brown 

The Beet Goes On

Simply Gorgeous

The Beet Goes On - Poured in Spots

2/32 tsp. Red Violet

3/32 tsp. Bottle Green

Mash

----------------------------------- 

It is as pretty as a picture if you stop here

1/32 tsp. Seal Brown Add overall

2/32 tsp. Yellow Add overall

So I'm not for dribbling on with a spoon right? We are already cutting this stuff up, let the colour be big, pour it on in spots or lines, be bold for more useful wool in hooking!

Make something beautiful this weekend! 

Quick and Old Fashioned Colours With Majic Carpet dyes

Using Majic Carpet Dyes as is - right out of the jars, can seem too bright for some of you.
Especially if you are fearful of mixing colours unguided.
The beautiful true colours and strengths of these dyes allow you to apply them over already coloured wool for gorgeous results and an easy dyeing day!

Dyeing over tan wool for a warm underlay or gray for a cool one is a great place to start.
Later when you are accomplished at discerning what will happen you can try this over other medium to light colours.

With these samples I've dyed over Dorr Camel #46 You can see in their collection plenty of other colours you can over dye or use recycled or dye your own "tan" with Chocolate Brown ( 1/16th over 1/4 yd) to do these colours.


Method: All the recipes are dyed over this material using 1/4 yd of wool and Majic Carpet dyes. I dyed them using a generous dye bath with lots of room for floating around. I added the dye to the dye bath, then the wool and stirred occasionally. I added 1/32 tsp. of citric acid once to the dye bath and dyed half the samples before I needed to add it again. I'll be talking about why I only use a small amount of Citric Acid when dyeing in The Majic Carpet Club soon.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb

2/32 tsp. Bottle Green

Kumquat 

Kumquat

2/32 tsp. Yellow

Hawthorne

 Hawthorn

2/32 tsp. Turquoise +2/32 tsp. Black

Bird's Nest

 Bird’s Nest

2/32 tsp. Black

Fig

Fig

2/32 tsp. Moss Green

I'll send you the rest of these Old Fashioned colours soon! Happy Dyeing!

WandaWorks Has New Products for You + Today's Formula for The Majic

Do you like to employ a painterly effect while hooking? 

Then a quarter yd. of wool is too much for you.

What you need are my curated collections of like minded colours from the wandaworks.ca store.

Look in the Wool Category.

They are sold by the pound and are splendidly diverse yet united.

The amounts of wool vary in each group and everything in my store is One of a Kind, unique just as you are.

Here is 121 Watery Way

You should move right in!

Here we see Graydle let it rock you

Put some new painterly style into your rugs by varying your resources.

And of course my Juicy Big Beautys, there are 4 right now on offer for you of varying moodways.

I also have WandaWear there for you to consider for adoption and you don't have to feed it!!

Each piece is made entirely by me!

Here is your formula for today for Majic Carpet Dyes from my Norman Rockwell Series Inspired by 

this painting, County Agent. 

Jeanside

1/32 tsp. + 1/64 tsp. Blue

1/64 tsp. Black

It is a great denim blue.

Method:

Dyed over 1/8th yd of natural wool. I wet the wool. I dissolved the Majic Carpet dyes together in boiling water, poured them into the barely heated dye bath, added the wool and waited until the water almost cleared to add 1/32 tsp citric acid or 1 tbsp vinegar.

Wait until water clears or as long as you see fit.

Rinse well.