Tag: Great 2020 Fade Test

The Great 2020 Dyeing Project (Fade Test Part 2)

Introduction

December 31, 2020 marked one year since I began the Great 2020 Dyeing Project Fade Test (which also had a small sidequest of the Madder Adventure), which meant it was time to take down the final fade swatches and process them! For the dyegoods, dyestuffs, dyeing combinations, fiber preparation, and dyeing methods that were involved in preparing for this year-long fade test, please see Part 1.

The final dates for the fade tests shifted only slightly from my original plan:

  • One week: June 19 – June 26 (originally planned June 13 – June 20 or June 20 – June 27; I split the difference due to the weather around that time)
  • One month: June 1 –  June 30 (no shift)
  • Three months: April 26 – July 26 (shifted by two days)
  • Six months: March 16 – September 16 (shifted by one day)
  • One year:  January 1 – December 31 (no shift)

My test of the canary-stained wool (using yarn spun from the yellow tips versus yarn spun from the white roots) lasted three months. I also kept a control swatch of each color and material in a dark place. All the swatches were faded in a south-east facing window for their duration.

Contents

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The Great 2020 Dyeing Project (Fade Test Part 1)

After taking a class on natural dyeing using different yellows and indigo in May 2019 at Maryland Sheep and Wool, I decided it was finally time to dye the Romney fleece I bought in 2017. However, I wanted to test sun-colorfastness first, as I had noticed some garments that I dyed with commercial dyes were fading significantly after 2 years of SCA wear and washing.

I decided I wanted to test weld, madder, and indigo (the great triumvirate of medieval dyes) plus cochineal; I also wanted to test these dyes in combination.

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Processing My First Fleece

In May 2017, right before I joined the SCA, I purchased my first-ever fleece at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I chose a pretty Romney with long locks and nice crimp, and decided to wash it lock-by-lock. However, when I washed it, I noticed that most of the locks had at least an inch of canary stains (yellowing that weakens the fibers starting at the tips). I decided that I should try dyeing it for tapestry, but because of that decision, it sat in storage for two years.

Fast-forward to May 2019, when I took a natural dyeing class at Maryland Sheep and Wool, and I decided it was time to finish processing that fleece (which gave me an excuse to buy another while I was there). With the help of some Dawn soap, tap-hot water, an assembly-line-style set-up, and a three-day weekend in the fall, I finally got the whole fleece washed and stored.

Individual locks on racks drying by the gas fire (this was round two of drying!).
Clean and crisp locks in a storage bin, with the fluff that escaped locks in a plastic bag. Note the canary stains on the otherwise sparkling-white fleece.

Thus the Great 2020 Dyeing Project was ready to begin.