Dyeing Silk

In general, our yarns are supplied ready for dyeing.

However, silk is more water resistant, and will need thorough soaking first. Yarns with a silk content of over 30% will need soaking to get them fully saturated.

Soaking the yarn

Use hand-hot, warm water to encourage the water to penetrate the fibres.

Gently squeeze the yarn, otherwise they can float to the top, and not get fully wet. In order to decrease the time further, put something on top of the yarns to keep them submerged and to stop them floating on the top.

Once the yarn is successfully submerged, leave the yarn to soak for a few hours or overnight for best results.

Silk can be quite water repellent, and in order to get a good even dye uptake you want to make sure the silk is fully saturated with water first. It will suck up colour very quickly therefore it is important to make sure it is fully wetted before it is put into the dye otherwise it can can be prone to patchy colour uptake.

Which dyes to use?

Silk takes acid dyes really well. You can also use reactive dyes, but we feel that acid dyes give best results on our yarns.

Make sure your acid is at the correct pH for your dye – over acidic baths can dull the lustre, and create super-quick dye uptake on silk which can also lead to patchiness.

Post-dyeing advice

Once your yarn is dyed, remove as much moisture as possible. A spinning machine is great for silk because it creates plenty of movement of the fibres whilst it's damp and reduces stiffness. The best way to keep the lustre is, when it's almost dry, to give the skeins a good crack to open up the fibres. This can be done by hand or even thwacking it on the back of a chair to shock the fibres.