I finally finished Bob's socks but decided to photograph before he wore them. These came from a pattern in Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. These are the Lithuanian Amber socks although not amber. Mine are made of handspun yarn predominately from our animals. The grey, main color is a natural colored grey mohair fleece that is extremely soft mixed with some of our grey Border Leicester wool. The stripes and spots are a dark brown woolen spun yarn. Click here for a closer look.
I used a continental cast-on but the Dutch heel was new for me. I loved the alternating color on the heel and hope this will be strong wearing. The size of the sock required modification of the original pattern but was worth it.
Some of you may know about my fascination with red dyes. Cochineal, madder and lac are all workhorse dyes for me and I need no excuse to play with them. I am currently working with a new batch of madder root extract which for me is producing a truer red than the extract I used in the past that produced a very orange red if not a true orange. I am experimenting with additions of calcium carbonate (chalk) in the dyepot. Madder likes hard water to produce its best colors. If your water is not hard enough, calcium carbonate will push the dye take up and insure strong red color. If your water is already hard the cal carb will push the color range to a darker more burgundy coloration. Jim Liles writes about the alkaline/acid issues associated with madder root dye in his book The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing. One teaspoon per pound is the usual recommendation.
Also keep in mind that madder is extremely sensitive to temperature. At lower temps the alizarin dominates, thus producing a good red color. At higher temperatures the browns in madder fix on the fiber. Some books recommend going no higher than 160°F while others say that 190°F is the upper limit for red. Monitor your dye bath carefully and stay focused. A few samples at both temperatures, as well as a higher temp will quickly illustrate this point. Additionally when mixing madder extract dissolve in warm, not boiling water. This may affect the final color.
Madder is extremely colorfast and benefits from careful mordanting. I use alum and cream of tarter premordant for my yarns. To prevent uneven take-up of the dye, it is suggested that the mordanted fiber or yarn be rinsed and wrung (carefully), and allowed to remain damp for several days. I typically put these yarns in an extra refrigerator I have, in plastic bags.
Perhaps my favorite way to dye is to mix two or more dyes for richer color ways. Cochineal and madder will produce a range of reds. Small amounts of madder mixed with fustic will produce beautiful oranges, warm golds, salmons and coral shades. These colors work well in color schemes that include natural sheep greys when knitting or weaving.
For more information on madder, including instructions for making Turkey Red see:
The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing by Jim Liles, The University of Tennessee Press. 1990. This book contains extensive information on dyeing with madder and includes instructions for wool, linen, cotton, and silk.
The Natural Dye Instruction Booklet, by Michele Wipplinger, Earthues. 2005. This book contains good basic information for dyeing with madder extract as well as extracting dye from madder roots. It includes formulas for combining madder with other dyes along with color pictures. It is the most complete book on working with extracts.
We see evidence of madder reds in Mideast carpets and rugs. Traditional ikats from Indonesia are often dyed with madder in combination with indigo as separate colors in the same textile. And South American textiles utilize madder along with cochineal bugs for a rich palette of oranges, reds and purples.
Currently we have madder extract in stock.
I finally finished Bob's socks but decided to photograph before he wore them. These came from a pattern in Folk Socks by Nancy Bush. These are the Lithuanian Amber socks although not amber. Mine are made of handspun yarn predominately from our animals. The grey, main color is a natural colored grey mohair fleece that is extremely soft mixed with some of our grey Border Leicester wool. The stripes and spots are a dark brown woolen spun yarn. Click here for a closer look.
