Today was all about experimenting with Blue faced Leicester combed top, organic Superwash merino/nylon (yes there is such a thing) yarn, and pomegranate extract (from Maiwa). I used alum as my mordant. My modifiers were cream of tarter, iron, and ammonia.
Biggest tip I can pass on to you when working with combed top is to use a low heat. You can’t rush this process either or you will end up with a felted mess; ask me how I know. Ph strips come in very handy when taking notes to replicate a colour. I used one when I used the ammonia. The other modifiers were all weighed in grams; most were at 2-5% weight of fibre.
Here are some early peeks at the dye baths. So far it looks like a greyish green and a butter yellow. However, after sitting over nite and then rinsing I may end up with some variations. These bundles of combed top may not catch your eye as is but in a gradient batt I’m sure they will catch your eye.
Make sure to tap on the Follow button to see the end result of this experiment and follow me on Etsy to see the batts I produce with these combed tops.
Happy Spinning!
Keli