This is the chronicle of ongoing summer experiences dyeing my own embroidery threads for Wisconsin winter cross-stitching. I'm a retired teacher and have dyed my own woolen handspun yarn for some forty years; extending that experience to cotton floss and silk seemed like a natural next step. It's been an adventure!
I'd like to share with you what I've learned, what I buy to work with, what colossal mistakes I've made (complete with accompanying embarrassing pictures). It's all been great fun, and dreary winter hasn't been the same since. Stitching with your own dyed thread is like revisiting old friends.
What this blog isn't: a guide to setting up your own dyeing business. I don't keep elaborate logs of dyelots and dye recipes; I don't seek to reproduce anything I've done. I dye thirty-yard skeins: That's a suitable dyelot for my humble purposes. Everything I will show you and discuss addresses a single stitcher making her own stash. The methods I use have been designed for simplicity and fun, and bear no resemblance whatever to authentic commercial production. In fact, one of the results of these adventures is a profound respect for professionally-dyed products.
C'mon along, and let me share the story with you!
