Morning Glories for Rapture

Over the weekend, I decided it was time I dyed more wool for my Rapture rug.  Although I have been loving working on the hydrangeas, it is time to get started on another flower.  The easiest seemed to be the Morning Glory.  I did a search on Google for images so I could see a wide variety of Morning Glory blooms and decide what dyes I should use to achieve the colors I liked the best.

I decided I liked the ones that were blue/purple with white centers.  It seemed to me a casserole dye job was in order.  I folded the wool in 4ths across the narrow edge, to see how long a piece of wool I would need to go from the center of the bloom to the outer edge.  I think I will be able to get across the flower twice, so I decided to dye the center of the wool the color I wanted at the edge (Pro Chem Sky Blue), with the color I wanted moving toward the middle on either side (Violet), and then leaving both edges undyed for the white centers.

After soaking the wool and dissolving the desired dyes in boiling water, I spread about 1/4 of a quarter-yard piece of natural wool in the tray (leaving 3/4 of the wet piece sitting on the counter.  I poured a little water mixed with vinegar over the wool because I wanted the colors to start drawing up into the wool right away.  I spooned color over the flattened piece of wool in the bottom the tray and then  I used the back of the spoon to spread the color over the wool as far as I wanted it to go.  As I added the Violet color, I purposely mixed the edges where the colors met as well as sloshing a bit of color over the Sky Blue.  



When I was satisfied with the color I got, I folded over another bit of wool, adding a little more dye and spreading the colors around with the spoon.  I repeated this two more times until the whole quarter-yard of wool was dyed.  Some of the layers got more dye than others.  This will work out great because I will want a variety of values to work with as I move from bloom to bloom.  



I thought I might want some more solid pieces to use around the edges of the flowers, so I dyed another piece of wool with that in mind.  Again, I made an effort to make different values, but with the same value running in vertical bands. 

I only dyed 2 quarter-yard pieces because I have no clue whether I will like them until I start working with the wool on my rug.  I can’t wait for it to dry so I can see how it works up!

Pro Chem Sky Blue – 1/8 tsp. in 1/2 CBW
Pro Chem Violet – 1/8 tsp. in 1/2 CBW
(I also used some Pro Chem Brilliant Blue I had left over from another project on the edge piece—just adding what I thought it needed.  Why?  Just to make my life more difficult if I want to replicate it in the future).

Mmm... the wool is fresh from the dryer

A yard and a half of yumminess in the form of 6 quarter yard pieces of newly dyed wool fresh from the dryer.  I was very pleased with my success in replicating the colors in this painting of hydrangeas I found on the internet.  The color swatch is one I created by uploading the image to the Kuhlerhere. website.  You can find it and other hydrangea themes by using the search option or go directly to my by clicking


I know I will need to dye more wool for the hydrangeas, so next time I will focus on the darker purple tones and maybe a bit more yellows and greens.  My notes for dying the wool are on yesterday's post.   I'm so excited--I may have to cut some and dip my hook into that virgin linen backing...

Dying for Hydrangeas

I have to say, Hydrangeas are my favorite flower without a doubt.  They play a major role in this rug--14 large clusters of them.  I played around with the colors on my favorite photo and pulled out some of the major colors on Adobe's Kuhler website.  It pulls out the major colors in a photo and is a great jumping off place for deciding which dyes to use.


From that, I realized I needed something rosy, tan, green, lavender and pinkish-purple.  I started out with Pro-Chem WashFast Acid dyes and mixed up 1/4 tsp in 1 cup boiling water of each:  Pink Sand (509), Mauve (313), Lobster Bisque (339), and Lavender (812).


I scrunched up the wool and then sprinkled out with tablespoon rows of each color, starting with Pink Sand and ending with a row of Lavender.  I smooshed it with a potato masher to spread the colors and then picked through the wool looking for any areas left undyed, adding dye as necessary.

Rows of color I put down -- before tweaking -- Doesn't look like Hydrangeas does it?

Again, I felt it was missing something, so I put spoonfuls of each color randomly around pan, smashing with masher again to spread color. Again feeling it was missing something, I spooned randomly a bit of very weak solution of Cushing's Forest Green I had left over from a previous rug.  It was getting close, but still missing something.


One of my daughters examined the pot and my photo and said -- blue.  She was right.  I rummaged around in my box and came up with only one pot of blue dye, Brilliant Blue (490).  I thinned it way down and then very carefully added a few spoonfuls here and there until it pleased my eye.  I liked it so well, I scrunched everything to one side and then,  threw in a couple more quarter yards of natural wool and dyed more purple/blue right alongside what was simmering.


Unfortunately, this is very much how I end up dying for my rugs.  I dye like I'm making a pot of spaghetti sauce--I start with a basic recipe and then add bits of this and that until I am happy with the results.  The unfortunate part is that it is difficult to replicate.  I figure with the Hydrangeas that shouldn't be a problem.  At least with the bread crumbs of knowledge I have stored here on this blog I might come close.

Overdying Antique Black

I used to have a formula for overdying Antique Black, but it is filed somewhere and I can't put my hands on it.  Another member of the Yahoo Rughooking Group posted this formula and it sounds very similar.  I'm sure it wouldn't matter what formula I use as long as I settle on something and be consistent in using it.  I'll try this one next go round.  I am curious to see what the result of the salt will be.  Does anyone know how the salt affects the process?




1 yard Dorr #44, presoaked



In three separate containers prepare dye solution:


1 tsp. Cushing Bright Green, dissolve in 1 1/2 cbw (cup boiling water), add 1/4 cup white vinegar


1/2 tsp. Cushing Cardinal, dissolve in 1 1/2 cbw, add 1/4 cup white vinegar


1/4 tsp. Cushing Chartreuse, dissolve in 1 1/2 cbw, add 1/4 cup white vinegar






Scrunch presoaked wool yardage in developer pan. Sprinkle salt over wool.


Spot wool with each of the three colors in a tic-tac-toe manner.


Something like this: + + + +






On dark colors the salt will show where you have areas without dye solution.


Press down on the wool to blend the dye colors


Add boiling water to the pan lifting up the corners of the wool and pouring the water under. Add as much water as the pan will allow.


Cover with aluminum foil, venting at least one of the corners. Bake in a 300°F oven for 1 hour.


Cool wool. Rinse. Dry.





She indicated the process has also been successful on Dorr #1042 (Forest Green), but she prefers the looks of Dorr #44

Why Overdye?

2009-01-25 - Dyed Wool for Welcome Rug, originally uploaded by Sharlene W.

This is why I overdye. It gives the finished product so much more interest than a flat, solid color. This wool will be used in background of Welcome rug.  I started with Light Green (#101), Medium Green (#102), Olive Green (#104) and Antique Black. The formulas were outlined in a previous post.

The magic is nearly done

269, originally uploaded by Sharlene W.

I actually wrote down the formula when I dyed the first batch of background for this rug because I knew I would be needing more. I only dyed 1 1/2 yards initially because I wanted to see it hooked in before I committed to more.


I used 1/4 yard each of the 3 lighter colors (Dorr light green, medium green and olive green) and three 1/4 yard pieces of antique black. After soaking them, I scrunched up on the diagonal and then twisted each before placing them in a circular fashion around my pan. I added water until it was filled about 2/3 the height of the wool.


Dyes used: Forest Green, Old Rose, and Old Gold (all mixed 1/4 tsp to 1CBW)


Using a tablespoon-sized measuring spoon, I dribbled over the top:


3 Tbsp Forest Green (Pro Chem)
3 Tbsp Old Gold (Cushing)
2 Tbsp Old Rose (Cushing)


I then added the vinegar (about 1/4 cup) and mashed it all once with potato masher.


After letting the dye absorb for about 10 minutes, I added enough additional water to cover the wool and dribbled over the top:


7 Tbsp Old Gold (Cushing) (over all)
2 Tbsp Old Rose (Cushing) (mostly over the darks)


I mashed again and let steep over heat until most of the dye was absorbed.


IMPORTANT NOTE: The first time through I took the wool out and put it on a rinse/spin cycle. When it came out, I thought it needed more dye so I scrunched it up, twisted it and put it back in the pan. I think it benefited from this extra manipulation. This second batch was more heavily spotted in the areas that were on top and the bottom barely got any dye. The second batch was usable, but the first batch was LOVE-LOVE-LOVE. I know what to do next time for sure. Well, as we all know, practice makes perfect.

Coiled and ready to spot dye

265, originally uploaded by Sharlene W.

Wool dyed for the new rug (Welcome)

2009-10-13 - Wool dyed for a new rug, originally uploaded by Sharlene W.

As it turned out, the green at the far left turned out to be acrylic, so it got tossed. The darker orange in the middle was too bright, so I used a minimal amount of it and later tossed it in the pot to pull out some of the dye. It is back in the mix now, but not as bright. All of the background wool was dyed separately.