I was browsing through my inspiration photographs, and this one stood out as I realized I had Zebra Sock in the queue to dye. I had also just watched a few dyeing videos (there’s always more to learn) and wanted to try a technique I saw. Iridescence is the result, and I attempted to capture the effect by dyeing the two sides of both the yarn and fiber, one side in the purple gradient, the other in the blue.
Kent Romney is the fiber choice for October, I’ve had New Zealand Romney many times and I love how it will take color strongly. I dyed this in a back and forth mini-gradient, each layer has the blues on one side and the purples on the other. It was a bit of a juggling act to push the color through enough but not too much that it takes over the other side, so you’ll also have some lighter colors throughout. This is a great fiber to learn to spin, or to learn a new spinning technique (like long draw, perhaps), and is a nice medium sturdy fiber. If you spin it truly worsted and smooth in those ends you could maybe get away with it against the skin, but I’d suggest going for an outerwear project for this….lined mittens or hat or cowl, or something like boot toppers or a scarf/shawl to be worn over a top. And of course you can combine it with other things for a larger project. Here’s a great history about the Romney breed of sheep.
And here’s that Zebra Sock yarn, a 2 ply made of up SW Merino….one ply is dyed in shades of grey and black, which lends extra layers of tones and shades when overdyed. I dyed these in a hot mid-immersion pour, using a crowded pan to have the yarn itself provide a resist. One side has the three shades of blue, the other the three shades of purple. It’s controlled, yet random all at the same time, and I can’t wait to see how your projects turn out.
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