When I first started learning how to be a tapestry weaver, I took a semester-long college class about dyeing protein fibers. I never questioned that there was any other way to get the colors I wanted for tapestry weaving. In the weaving curriculum we were using a commercially dyed yarn and only had about 20 colors available to us, most of which were not ones I wanted. I was so excited to learn how to dye my own yarn.
Hand-dyed Harrisville Highland for a workshop in Colorado in 2014. I used to dye all this yarn myself for every workshop I taught.
When I became the apprentice of James Koehler a few years later, I helped manage his dye pots as most of his apprentices did, and that further reinforced the need to dye my own colors. His yarn colors weren’t something you could purchase commercially either. In fact, I didn’t start purchasing commercially dyed yarn until about 5 years ago when I started experimenting with weaversbazaar. I was even dyeing all the yarn by hand for the workshops I teach for students to use.
As the years of teaching went on, I realized that not everyone wanted to dye their own yarn and that being a tapestry weaver did not mean you had to be a dyer. Yarns like weaversbazaar (UK) and Gist Yarn’s (USA) Array, both of which are made for tapestry weaving, are fantastic options. Both companies continue to curate and expand their color lines. I’m so grateful they exist and I now use both of these yarns (commercially dyed) myself.
But if I want a color they don’t make, you better believe I’ll purchase some white yarn from them and dye it to get what I want.
All of the yarn for my large-format tapestries with the exception of the last large piece I finished was dyed by me. I like it that way. Dyeing is a really engaging process and there is a huge reward when I pull the yarn out of the pots and watch it dry in the wind. I’m already imagining what I’ll weave with this or that color or that gradation that is not something that can be purchased anywhere. It is also sort of a secret club. I feel like I can make things that no one else can buy and that is really fun.
Blue-violet to green gradation.
I’ve dyed yarn in all kinds of places. I do use propane stoves to heat my pots and those are definitely best used in a well-ventilated space, ideally outside. I’ve had my pots going on porches, in carports, in various garages with the doors open, in the rain, in the snow, and in the wind which is ever-present some times of the year in the southwestern USA.*
I never get tired of the magic of making whatever color I want to. Oh, there have been colors I’ve struggled with and they’re usually some form of red or orange. But the more experience I get, the easier it is to find that magic formula more quickly.
Dyeing yarn for tapestry weaving
I dye wool and silk for tapestry weaving as well as fleece and roving for spinning yarn. I use Sabraset (Lanaset) acid wool dyes as these are the most light and colorfast dyes for protein fibers. They’re a combination of premetalized dye and a hot reactive dye and these characteristics mean I can be sure my tapestries won’t fade with time** and the colors won’t run if they get wet.
The process for dyeing with these dyes is relatively simple. You create a dye bath with some leveling compounds and dye, add water and then yarn. Drop the pH with acid and then heat the whole thing to a simmer and hold the temperature there for awhile.
Formulas can be passed down from teacher to student, some can be purchased, and some you just make up as you go along. Good records are important so you can make a color you liked again. And if you’re careful with weighing and with your math, you can replicate colors.
Lifelines tapestry
Some of the colors I dyed for the Lifelines tapestry. The woven sample for the piece is on the Mirrix loom on the table.
Some of my more ambitious tapestries have a lot of colors in them. I no longer remember how many colors Lifelines had, but it is probably in the neighborhood of 90. Ah yes, I found this blog post confirming that. Ninety colors. That is because it was so much about gradation for me. I wanted four different shades of blue-violet all in gradation for the piece. I also spent a lot of time messing around with oranges and reds for the round forms in the tapestry. I had a lot of fun changing the formulas and trying different things.
Rebecca Mezoff, Lifelines, 72 x 24 inches. Hand-dyed wool weft, cotton warp.
This gallery has more yarn images. If you love color, take a scroll through the images to see a small fraction of the dye projects I’ve completed over the last 18 years. Click to enlarge, hover for captions. If you’re getting this blog post via email, you will only see the captions if you visit the blog online at https://rebeccamezoff.com/blog/2022/7/7/color-finding-all-the-colors-for-fiber-fun-this-summer.
Are you interested in learning to dye your own protein fiber or yarn for whatever craft you love? After being asked for many years to teach dyeing, I now have an online class where you can learn to make your own colors. More information is on my website HERE. Registration is currently open.
*Though it is possible to dye yarn in your kitchen, I do not recommend it. The dye powders can become airborne and should not be ingested plus you’re releasing SO much moisture into the air from pots boiling for many hours. If you only dye small amounts infrequently, it is probably perfectly safe, but I recommend a dye set-up that is not in the same place you prepare food.
**ANY fiber put in direct sunlight will fade. Never hang a fiber piece anywhere it will get direct sun. Same thing goes for your couch.