Crafters genuinely committed to their passion create not only with their hands. Part of their heart and soul is put into every piece they make. The artisans of knitting, crocheting, weaving, or macramé make magic, beginning with their materials. And amongst this community of artists, hand-dyed yarns are becoming popular.
Such lavish yarns are made from responsibly sourced wool and plant dyes. The rich and complex colors are applied in various methods, producing numerous yarn types. If you are curious or a budding enthusiast, you can also explore the materials to make remarkable pieces.
What hand-dyed yarns to use?
Dyers prefer to use the highest quality yarn. It takes time to produce new colorways, mix and apply the dyes, and heat-setting. After that, quality wools with interesting colors are washed and packaged in hanks or skeins. With so much time and effort involved in the process, the makers use top-grade basic materials such as dyes and fiber blends. Dyers then produce these yarns that are both special and distinct. Here are the different yarns to explore.
Speckled or Spattered Yarn
Yarns dyed in this method have been splashed with speckles, sprinkles, or random spots of different or a single color. Yarn skeins may differ greatly because of the randomness of the splatters. This yarn type is playful and fun, with no way to duplicate the pattern.
Variegated Yarn
This type means dyed with more than one color. Sometimes, the colors are of low contrast and flow into each other. On the other hand, some variegated yarn is of high contrast, and colors just pop out. This type usually has three or more colors in a sequence. You may learn more about variegated yarn from the websites of the awesome dyers.
Tonal Yarn
A tonal yarn is simply dyed with lighter and darker variations of the same color in one colorway. This gives it a watercolor effect because the yarn is not the same shade throughout. Projects will have a similar overall color without pooling or striping.
Hand-Painted Yarn
As the name suggests, the skeins are painted by hand and not dipped for dyeing. Hand-painted yarn repeats colors but hardly combines with each other.
Kettle-Dyed Yarn
This is done by immersing the yarn in a shallow pot of water and then applying the colors. If one color is used, a semi-solid is produced. When multiple colors are used, the blending in between them is softer because of the water. This yarn has more subtle color changes than the other types.
Ombre Yarn
Ombre yarn is dyed with the color gradually going from lightest to darkest. Ombre yarns can be one dye color throughout the whole skein. It can likewise be one color that softly shifts to another color. Why not check out makers like Nerds with Needles and more to see their online galleries for awesome ombre collections?
Learning More About Yarns
There is more to yarn than coloring techniques. There is the element of weight and the fibers that are used. Using these can differ depending on the project, whether the crafter wishes to make lace, gloves, mittens, cardigans, etc. These factors can affect the drape, stitch definition, and overall feel of the yarn. The best way to familiarize yourself with all the yarns is to use them, and getting all the essential knowledge can help you in your next project.
