If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options
repairing moth damage & wool dye
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I have been given some hand-me-down cashmere jumpers which are gorgeous but do have some tiny little holes - has anyone had any experience of repairing them? Do I just have to felt it?
I also want to dye them because they're not a very nice colour (light charcol brown) which is really not me. I was thinking teal or something a bit brighter (the inner goth has be sated with enough black jumpers for a life time). But where do I find a good dye?
On the dye note - are there good dyes for wool mix items? I have a really cool funnel neck wrap cardi but its a viscose elastine wool mix and is still a tad patchy after dying for the second time. Any suggestions on that front?
I also want to dye them because they're not a very nice colour (light charcol brown) which is really not me. I was thinking teal or something a bit brighter (the inner goth has be sated with enough black jumpers for a life time). But where do I find a good dye?
On the dye note - are there good dyes for wool mix items? I have a really cool funnel neck wrap cardi but its a viscose elastine wool mix and is still a tad patchy after dying for the second time. Any suggestions on that front?
0
Comments
I recently dyed using the dylon hand dyes, I did a cushion that is man made fibres and a vest top that is silk and wool or similar I think and it worked well on both although the man made fibre is a lot lighter than the natural fibres. Other than that I haven't dyed fabric since textiles at school.
To repair the moth holes I don't know. You could try to "fill them in" by stitching across the area in a matching yarn. I do this when items I knit have holes in them by accident like if I get a yarn over by mistake although thankfully this rarely happens now but in my early days of knitting I'd get loads of holes by accident.
To dye wool, you either need a special dye for animal fibres, or, weirdly, you can use food colouring. Google 'dying wool with kool aid'. There are loads of tutorials, just substitute food colouring for the kool aid. Most fabric dye you buy in the shops is intended for use on plant fibres. It might work a bit, but the colours won't take as well as acid wool dyes, and if you're trying to dye over a colir rather than over white, that might be a problem.
With the dylon dyes you can't use the washing machine version on animal fibres, only the hand dye version and you have to add lots of salt.
You can get kool aid on eBay for reasonably cheap, but the colours can be pretty lurid! There's a colour chart on the Internet somewhere that can help you see what you'll end up with.
Kaff, you are amazing.
How would I go about making a variegated?
I vote this as your next experiment.
This might work for you, too, Miss R., but I would suggest (as RG did) that you darn over any holes with pure wool before attempting felting.