The last thing you need is to spend money on a beautiful skein of hand dyed yarn, spend hours working it up into your project, and have the yarn bleed into surrounding light or white neighbors.
I've seen post after post and your photos attesting to this. It happens with hand dyed yarn and commercially dyed yarn. It's happened to me with yarn I've purchased from others and yarn I have dyed myself.
Thankfully, years ago I received one extremely kind message from a customer saying a dark blue/purple yarn's color transferred to her hands (crocking) while knitting fingerless gloves. She was writing to ask if I could recommend how to remove the dye from her hands.
Continue on to read how this one message prompted a lot of research AND some tweaks to my own dyeing process!
Please note that this post refers to Acid Dye and its application to Protein Fiber Yarn. Acid Dye is named such because it uses an acidic environment to change the color of the fiber. Protein Fiber is that which is animal based, i.e., wool, cashmere, alpaca, mohair, etc. Of course there are exceptions to every rule but we aren't going to get into those here.😉
Color escapes fiber in two ways.
1) Crocking - some color transfers to your hands from dry yarn, especially if you use hand lotion. Believe it or not, this is considered normal and happens quite frequently. Most experts say it's not a big deal and should not "bleed" onto your adjacent fiber.
Here are some ways to clean the dye from you hands. Use warm, soapy water, olive or coconut oil, and rub with a paper or cloth towel. Another method is to make a paste of baking soda or another skin exfoliante and "rub off" the dye. Finally, place rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and rub on your hands (this last one also removes dye from notions, needles, clothing and furniture.) If none of these work, repeat as needed, but be careful not to remove good skin! The dye will come off in a few days with regular hand hygiene.
2) Bleeding - color transfers from wet yarn to another fiber and the amount of transfer may range from a little to A LOT! You most likely have seen this with that one red or pink item that sneaks into the light laundry, or after placing a new pair of denim jeans in with your lights/whites.
Bleeding occurs for various reasons and it's not always the fault of the dyer, sometimes it is just good 'ole Mother Nature. The dye process is made up of steps and the dye manufacturers recommendations.
Each dye manufacturer specifies how much dye it takes to achieve the desired saturation of a particular color. Nearly every dye I use specifies one gram of dye per 100 grams of fiber. Most hand dyed yarn comes in 100 gram hanks, a full size skein. There are some exceptions, so be mindful of the WEIGHT of your yarn. If you want a deeper color than advertised, you use more dye. If you want a lighter color, you use less.
Dye manufacturers recommend soaking Protein fiber in water or a solution of water plus an acid or wash agent for at least 30 minutes prior to dyeing to help the individual fibers to absorb the dye. (FYI - natural and plant fiber dyeing follow a different process than discussed here.)
The protein fiber is then placed in a pan of water, a steam tray, or laid on plastic wrap (for placement in the microwave.} The protein fiber is slowly heated to a dye manufacturer's recommended temperature and acid, either citric acid or vinegar, added to assist the fiber to absorb ALL of the dye. (Of note here - each dyer has their own special way of preparing and dyeing their fiber. I've seen the dye, acids, and heat added at varying times to both wet and dry fiber.) Once the dye is fixed to the fiber, the fiber should be allowed to naturally cool to "lock in" the dye. Once cool, the fiber is rinsed and dried. It is then wound into a hank or cake - ready for your hands to make it into something amazing!
If any of the steps are altered or eliminated and the recommendations disregarded, crocking and/or bleeding may occur.
Why does fiber bleed?
1) Too much dye is added to the fiber. When striving for those deep, dark colors, sometimes the yarn is oversaturated with color and just can't absorb it all. Any dye not adhered to the fiber will release during the first few times your project gets wet - through blocking or washing.
2) Not rinsed properly. The yarn has to be rinsed with cool/cold water until the water is clear of dye. Sometimes a one time rinse is all that's needed and sometimes you have to rinse 2-3+ times.
3) Dye is not set properly. If the dye is not heat/steam bonded to the fiber, no amount of rinsing will stop the bleeding.
4) Fiber is not cooled properly. After heat-setting, the yarn has to be left alone to cool on it's own. This allows the fibers to naturally close and hold the dye particles in place. (This step is where I was falling short. At the start of my yarn dyeing journey, I was sometimes so excited about a new color, I was removing the warm yarn and rinsing with cold water before the fiber fingers had a chance to close all the way around the dye particles. This resulted in the crocking my customer wrote me about! I am happy to say, with this research and a little patience, I have successfully been able to change my behavior! Sometimes though, I am still so eager to see the outcome, I have to force myself to turn out the lights and walk away!)
4) Varying water chemistry. The dyer may use hard water but you may have a water softener. Any variation in pH can also affect color bleeding. This is the one step that is not the fault of the dyer and a fairly common occurance.
What can the BUYER do about bleeding?
1) Swatch and wet block your swatch to see if there is any bleeding before beginning your project - if bleeding occurs, go to step number 2.
2) Rinse each skein of yarn in cold water until clear (this may take several tries), roll in a clean dry bath towel to remove excess water (be sure it is not your very best towel in case of color transfer), and hang the yarn to dry (be sure to add a tie to your hank/skein to prevent it from getting tangled.)
If you purchased a sweater quantity of this colorway, chances are the other skeins will be ok. Sometimes it is just a fluke with one or two of your skeins but ALWAYS rinse each and every skein to be sure. If still bleeding after several rinses, go to step number 3.
3) Add 1/4 cup white vinegar for each 100g of fiber and let soak overnight, then rinse with plain water until the bath is clear. Roll your fiber in a towel to remove extra water and hang to dry. Do not wring or twist your fiber. Still bleeding? Contact the dyer and ask for a replacement. IF YOU ARE TRYING TO SAVE YOUR FINISHED GARMENT, go to step number 4.
4) Add Synthrapol detergent to a cool bath and soak overnight. This works well to remove colors that have bled in your project! Synthrapol suspends any loose dye particles, helping to remove excess color. It can be purchased online at a number of retailers and may be available at Walmart or your local yarn shop. Check first before you make the trip.
5) Place a Shout (or another manufacturer's) color catcher sheet in the wash bath.
If 4 & 5 do not work for your finished garment, reach out to the dyer for a replacement or a refund. There is not a lot to be done once the garment is damaged. Soaking in Synthropol is the best advice I can give. If anyone has better advice, please let me know and I will add it to this post.
Be sure to notify the manufacturer or dyer if you get past number 3 above. Dyers DO want to hear from you for anything that goes wrong with their yarn! We strive to make you happy and it hurts to read that something went wrong through a review or a social media post without ever having the chance to make amends. Please keep in mind that you, me - WE are only human and prone to making mistakes. For instance, there are probably many errors in this post, even though I've read and re-read it many times!😒 It's how we fix those mistakes that really matters.
Important piece of Advice: I always recommend Steam Blocking your creations, especially if you haven't tested your swatch for colorfastness and use a dark color next to a lighter/white color. I follow this advice myself and it really works.
Steam Blocking prevents or minimizes any transfer of color. You may use a hand steamer or an iron on the steam setting. Do not place your iron directly onto your fabric but hold the iron a few inches away and allow the steam to penetrate the fiber. Steam Blocking does not create a lot of moisture AND the steam helps to "set" any loose dye particles.
If you have any further questions or comments, please send me a message on Instagram, Etsy, or Facebook. I do not get immediate alerts if you comment here and sometimes don't see the message for many weeks! You can get to any of these at linktr.ee/kelliinthemiddle
Thanks for reading and hope this helps!
Kelli
References and Additional reading:
https://www.darngoodyarn.com/blogs/darn-good-blog/why-dye-bleeds-what-to-do-about-it
https://twistedyarnshop.com/blogs/news/help-my-yarn-is-bleeding
https://www.knomadyarn.com/blog/the-basic-science-of-yarn-dyeing/
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/aciddyes.shtml
https://www.thespruce.com/set-and-stop-fabric-dye-bleeding-2146657
