A Tale of Two Skeins

I guess technically this is a tale of six skeins, but I only photographed two skeins as an example for this blog post.

Come sit a spell with me, and we'll chat about how a simple change can make a BIG difference in your dyepot.

As most of my close friends know (and are probably tired of hearing about 😂), I have been dyeing a lot of yarn lately. I am relatively new to the indie dyeing world and itching to learn all that I can.

Unfortunately (but also kind of fortunately?), learning to dye yarn by hand inevitably means having skeins that don't turn out quite how you expected them to.

This week, I was dyeing two batches of Speckled Ewe side by side, and they both turned out COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

See?? Totally different. These two batches are for myself for a sweater I am test knitting (Coeur de Mailles by Andréanne Pérusse), so I wasn't terribly concerned about them turning out exactly the same.

Each batch consisted of three skeins of 100% Superwash Merino DK, with each skein weighing approximately 100 g. I weighed out the dye precisely and applied it to each batch in the exact same way - measuring a second time as I painted the skeins. The heat was kept constant between the two batches. The speckling was applied in the exact same manner.

Both batches were then allowed to cool completely overnight before being rinsed and dried.

So how on earth did two batches that were treated so consistently end up with such dramatically different results?

The batch that produced the skein on the right had about a half inch more water in the dyepan than the batch that produced the skein on the left.

That's it.

A half inch of water.

The extra water in the batch on the right allowed the grays to really migrate and shine through instead of concentrating in one spot like they did in the batch on the left.

I'm definitely not mad about the results. (I can always alternate skeins every couple of rows to keep the color consistent across the sweater!) But it is pretty amazing to see how such a simple change can make such a drastic difference - even when all of the other factors are held constant.

And honestly, this is why I'm having so much fun learning to dye yarn.

There is always something new to discover!

Which batch do you prefer? Batch A (typical Speckled Ewe) or Batch B (the Soggy Ewe LOL)?

Thanks for joining me at the Gathering Table today for my ramblings! I hope to see you again soon.

Caroline