Dyeing to Dye

All Things Greener Shades Dyes and my life at Still River Mill.

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Pygora

Pygora Goat “Peanut” of Harmony Homestead (Breed Association Link)

The pygora goat is a fiber goat that originated from crossing the pygmy goat and the white angora goat. 

Pygora goats will produce cashmere-like fleece (Classified as Type-C), a mohair-like fleece (Type-A), or a combination of the two fleeces (Type-B). Type-A fleece is composed of fibers averaging 6 or more inches in length that drape in ringlets. It may occur as a single coat, but a silky guard hair is usually present. The fibers are typically less than 28 micrometers in diameter. Type-B fleece fibers average between 3 to 6 inches (150 mm) in length with one, possibly two, guard hairs. The fibers are usually less than 24 µm in diameter. Type-C fleece is very fine, typically 1 to 3 inches (76 mm) in length and less than 18.5 µm in diameter. Pygoras come in a handful of colors: White, red, brown, black, gray or a mix of the colors.   Pygora wethers generally have higher quality fiber than the does and bucks because they do not spend all their energy producing young.

Four Pygora Clouds

Pygora guard hairs removed by the dehairing process.

Sage Pygora Yarn

Off white fiber dyed at a .5% Depth of Shade; 60% Amazon Green, 20% Sunshine Yellow, 15% Ruby Red, and 5% Amethyst Purple.

Berry Pygora Yarn

On off white fiber, dyed at a .5% Depth of Shade; 75% Ruby Red, 25% Amethyst Purple.

Orange Pygora Yarn

Dyed white and gray fiber at a 1% Depth of Shade; 95% Sunset Orange, 5% River Blue.

A note from a friend.

Hello Sarah!

Well Pygoras are the BEST fiber friends  The fleece on the animal is just wonderful to the touch. Since I was a child, I was intrigued with the spinning wheel. As an adult, I was excited  with the idea of making a product from start to finish. I found pygoras to be friendly, amusing, portable (to festivals,community events) and enjoy watching herd behavior! They were not overly expensive, and small enough for me to handle all of their routine care and sheering. The Pygora  Breeder Association was very helpful in sharing information with me, as was the breeder from whom I  bought my goats . If you have not visited  www.pba.com. you will find lots of information there about the breed. I still have my pygoras because I love them, they give me ample ooprtunities to spend time outdoors and find a peaceful place to hang out  I would tell others thinking about getting pygoras that I have two for sale now  And I would be sure that they had an understanding of what pygoras need every day of the year.

My most humorous goat episode involved driving in NYC through downtown Manhatten. I took a wrong turn, and somehow was driving through town with my mortified teenage daughter. The traffic was stopped,and my new Buck was rather vocal. It was fun to pretend we did not know we had a goat in the car. I hope that helps, Oh, and as far as using photos; as long as you reference Harmony Homestead Pygoras, I would be delighted to share. Please share your blog with me so I may subscribe:)

Elaine of Harmony Homestead

Dear Elaine,

I hope you see this post. I no longer have acess to your contact information.  Your story about your goat reminds me of my move to NY.  We had three young Gulf Coast Native Ewes in the back of our small 4 door.  We saw a young child parked in the car next to us at a gas station exclaim “Mommy!  There’s a sheep in that car!!!” The mothers responce was “No dear, sheep don’t travel in cars...” She trailed off as all three bleated in her ear in unison...

Sarah

Pygora Breeders Association:

The Pygora is a fiber goat bred purposely to produce a wonderful, lofty, soft, fiber that does not coarsen as the goat ages! Pygoras have an affectionate, engaging personality, a manageable size, good health and fleeces in a range of colors. Pygoras were developed by Katharine Jorgensen in Oregon. The Pygora Breeders Association (PBA) was formed in 1987 and maintains the registry herd book. All Pygoras come from registered parents and can trace their lineage back to two specific parent breeds: American Angora Goat Breeders Association (AAGBA)-registered goats and National Pygmy Goat Association (NPGA)- registered goats.

A Pygora goat can have one of three fleece types:

•       Type A—averages 6 inches in length, is long, lustrous, has ringlets and should have very few guard hairs. The fiber is very fine and feels silky, smooth and cool to the touch. The fibers typically are less than 28 micrometers in diameter.

•      Type B—a strong, lustrous fiber that is curly and very soft. A type-B fleece averages 3-6 inches long, and may have two types of guard hairs: an obvious, stiff guard hair and a silky guard hair. It is the uniquely Pygora fleece - very versatile, warm to the touch and soft. The fibers typically are less than 24 micrometers in diameter.

•      Type C—a matte fiber with crimp and a very short staple length (usually 1-3 inches). It has a very obvious coarse guard hair and is warm to the touch. Type C has the finest diameter of the three fleece types and can be as soft as fine cashmere. The fibers typically are less than 18 micrometers in diameter. Q: Why did you start raising pygoras? A: I started our Pygora herd out of the desire spin and weave my own fiber, teach animal husbandry to our children and enhance our country life with some unique, fun loving animals. When researching different animals and breeds, I was drawn to the Pygoras, for not only their fiber, but for their size and potential for being a multipurpose goat.

Q: Why do you still have pygoras?

A: Why, simply, because I love them and the fiber they produce. I enjoy the process of raising them. They provide a continual learning experience, from breeding and raising the kids, to shearing, processing and working with their fiber, the learning never ends. There really is never a dull moment on the farm or in the fiber studio. I continually have new ideas that I want to explore, research and create. Right now, I am pouring over the micron test that just came back from the lab and learning more about each of my goats fiber. In conjunction to the facts & numbers on paper, I have taken one ounce of dehaired cloud from each animal and am working on spinning and crocheting a block for comparison samples. All this will help in selecting breeding pairs to improve the future generations of Pygoras that we produce, and providing the best fiber possible to fiber artist.

Pygora Breeder:

Q: What would you tell others thinking about getting into pygoras? A: Three things....First, Make sure that they are truly Pygoras. Meaning that they are registered with the PBA. I learned this the hard way. The first goats that we purchased were not registered, they were great fiber goats, but not Pygoras as I was told that they were, they were simply a cross. As Pygoras were what I wanted to raise, this was quite the disappointment and it set us back a couple years before we could establish a true Pygora herd. Starting out with quality stock that you can trace bloodlines and lineage is very important when you are wanting to raise and improve any breed. Second, It will take time, love and dedication. Yarn farming isn't always as romantic as it sounds, the vet may need to be called or a fleece may be too far matted to be saved, and it seems the barn more often than not needs to be mucked out. In the long run, it is all worth it. Third, find your support network. Join the PBA and get to know others with Pygoras, they can be an amazing help!

Q: What is the most mind blowing experience you've had with your pygoras? A: This is a hard question to answer. There really isn't one experience that comes to mind. Maybe it is because for me it has been the whole experience, a daily experience. Right now, it is the twins that greet me every morning out in the barn. They are only a week old and take a little bit of my heart every time I see them. We have had 10 kids born this season, they have all been special, but these two are by far the sweetest. They come out from behind their mother or from their hiding place just to say "hello" and nibble on my fingers or pant leg. Okay, so I think that covers your questions. If you have more, please let me know, I would be happy to answer them with long run on sentences. =) A friend of mine recently asked me if I think about goats all the time, and I had to honestly answer her, "Yes, pretty much."  She recently purchase Pygoras from me, and is finding them in her thoughts often, too. You can find more photos and recent updates on my FaceBook Farm page, too. https://www.facebook.com/LittleHawkFarmPygoras Please, send me a link to your blog post about Pygoras, I don't want to miss it! Ruth Hawkins Little Hawk Farm Pygoras 

Thank you:

Ruth Hawkins of Little Hawk Farm Pygoras

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygora_goat

http://www.pygoragoats.org/index.html

http://www.harmonyhomesteadpygoras.com/our_pygoras.htm

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Classic Color

Qiviut Silk

Two Step Original 2250ypp

AlloAllo 1300Ypp 

SlubBlime Aran 747 ypp

Knitters Delight 40ypp

My applologies IndigoKiwi, I no longer have a way to find your contact information.

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Benefits of Greener ShadesTM

Conforms to Organic Processing Standards

In 2014 the Global Organic Standard published their Global Organic Textile Standard which considers dyes as 'heavy metal free' if they do not contain heavy metals that exceed the set limit values.

Safer for the Dyer 

Not only does Greener Shades Dyes post their organic processing standard results right on the website, as well as all the colors MSDS sheets. This way you can make your own informed decision.

Safer for the Environment

All heavy metals exist naturally in the soils, however high concentrations in the environment can find their way into our bodies, accumulating in our soft tissues and cause a huge range of health complications.   With traditional commercial dyes the high levels of heavy metals would accumulate in waste water and wash into the environment when dye baths are not completely exhausted.  Greener Shades Dyes have been formulated for excellent Washfastness and exhaustibility, attaching what little heavy metals that do exist directly to the fibers where they belong.

Vibrant colors at 1% Depth of Shade 

100% Wool 2 ply Yarn

100% Wool 3ply yarn

River Blue & Amethyst Purple on Alpaca Blend yarns.

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American Romney

For a step by step on how to dye this fiber using the immersion method, check out my January 22nd Blog post.

This was an interesting creation.  As you can see there are three colors in each yarn.  All different amounts of fiber for each color.  These are the colors I used for the different yarns.

Red:  100% Amethyst Purple @ 1% Depth of Shade, 100% Sunshine Yellow @ 1% DOS, 100% Sunset Orange @ 1% Depth of Shade

Blue:  100% Amethyst Purple @ 1% DOS, 100% Amazon Green @ 1% DOS< 100% River Blue @ 2% DOS

Green:  100% Flame Red @ 1% DOS, 50% River Blue/50% Sunshine Yellow @ 1% DOS, 100% River Blue @ .5% DOS... unfortunately this did not turn out very nice at all so I over dyed the whole yarn with a .5% DOS of Amazon Green.

240yards / 4oz skein, with evidence of long staple in top right corner.

Light Gray Romney Roving Bump

Romneys tend to have longer staple fleeces which can create slubs in the processing of fibers into yarn.  Sheering can be done twice a year to prevent this.

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Gotland Sheep

http://thegraybrier.net/gotland-sheep.html

http://gsbana.org/

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Three new colorways.

Each colorway was created with three color formulas. 

I no longer have acess to the color formulas... you can contact Still River Mill by calling 860-974-9918 if you really want the color formulas. 

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Llama

Dehaired Llama Fiber

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Bison

100% Lace weight Bison Yarn

Fingering Weight Bison/Suri Alpaca/Bamboo Yarn

Add these yarns during Bison Week to the Facebook page

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Teeswater

Ovelha Acres Melissa Arata Dyed 1% and .2% Amethyst Purple

http://www.ovelhaacres.com/

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River Blue VS. Coral Reef Aqua

Join our conversation on Ravelry.

River Blue @ 1% Depth of Shade on Wool Yarn

Coral Reef Aqua @ 1% Depth of Shade on Wool Yarn

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Cormo

Cormo Yarns!

Lace weight Cormo on a cone.

Sport weight Cormo as a skein/hank.

80% Cormo, 20% Alpaca Roving in bump form.

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Cellulose Fibers Part One “Magic Elixir”

July 1, 2016

Now that it’s summer time, I’ve been thinking a lot more about cellulose fibers and how much I wish the Greener Shades Dyes actually dyed them instead of just staining them.  You see Greener Shades are acid dyes, which are meant to dye protein fibers.  Where as cellulose fiber are dyed with reactive dyes. 

This past winter we were given a sample of a magic elixir (aka I’m not allowed to share it’s name yet); that allows the acid dyes to actually dye cellulose fibers. So we spend a couple days experimenting. :D

From left to right: 

Top, uncarded Stinging Nettle fibers.  Bottom, carded Stinging Nettle fibers.

Bamboo Top (which had to be washed twice due to processing chemicals).

Cotton yarn.

Step One:  Weigh all the fibers before wetting.  I had a total of 1.8lb of cellulose fibers or 28.8 ounces.  {1.8lb x 16oz = 28.8oz}

Step Two:  All were washed first in order to remove any processing oils or chemicals by soaking in warm soapy water for 30 minutes.  This allows our new “magic elixir” to circulate freely.

Step Three:  Drain soapy water and put cellulose fibers in a pot of clean water.

Step Four:  The cellulose fibers need to soak in a solution that has 2% of the fibers weight in “magic elixir”.  {28.8oz x .02 = .576oz by weight}  I put a small cup on a scale and zeroed the scale.  .586oz was as close as I could get so I mixed this into the water the cellulose fibers were soaking in.

Step Five: I added 4.4g of citric acid,  but I don’t know why or how we came to the conclusion to use this amount of citric acid.  We were supposed to use industrial citric acid, but we do not have the certification.  So we had to calculate how much to use at a lesser strength and did not know if we were dropping ph or if there was some other reason for using the citric acid.  I am left to wonder if the 4.4g is in relation to the weight of the fiber or something else.

Step Six:  After the citric acid is added, the pot is left at 120 degrees for 20 minutes.  I had trouble dropping the pot below 130 degrees.

Step Seven:  Allow the pot to cool overnight and leave the fibers suspended in the solution.

Step Eight:  I then poured off the water, spun it out in my washer and allowed the fibers to dry.

Part Two Dyeing Cellulose Fibers

The first fiber I chose to dye was the Bamboo.  Please remember this bamboo was special, it had been treated with a “magic elixir” that allowed the acid dyes to attach to the fibers instead of just stain them and in turn stain the fingers of anyone touching the fiber.

I had .9lb of treated Bamboo that I wanted to dye a 1% Depth of Shade in Amazon Green.

I dyed this bamboo just like I would any protein fiber. 

Water in pot. 

Dye in pot [.9lb x 16oz = 14.4oz fiber x .01 = .144oz Amazon Green]

Add fiber.

Heat for 20 minutes.

Add Citric Acid to drop ph to 4.5 by removing a cup of dye bath and dissolving a tablespoon of citric acid into it, then recirculating the solution into the main dye pot.

Keep heat at 210 for another 20 minutes.

Drain water or cool then drain, spin out and dry.

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Jacob

The Jacob sheep is a rare breed of small, piebald (colored with white spots), polycerate (multi-horned) sheep.

4ply 185 yards/4oz & Slub 115 yards/4oz all 80% Jacob, 20% Alpaca

“While other British and Northern European multi-horned sheep have a fine inner coat and a coarse, longer outer coat,[8] Jacobs have a medium grade fleece and no outer coat.[2][22] The grade of Jacob wool is of a spinning count (S number or Bradford count) of 46–54,[22] which corresponds to an average fiber diameter of about 32.7–27.9 micrometers, or Low 1/4 Blood–1/4 Blood on the American or Blood grading system.[24] Lambs of the more primitive lines are born with a coat of guard hair that is protective against rain and cold; this birth coat is shed at 3–6 months.[22]

In general, the fleece is light, soft, springy and open, with little lanolin (grease). The fleece generally weighs 1.4 to 2.7 kg (3 to 6 lb) and varies in crimp and fineness. Staple length is generally 8 to 13 cm (3 to 5 in) and may be up to 18 cm (7 in).[22] Similar to other unimproved breeds, most Jacobs have some white, kinky, kemp (coarse wool) in their fleece, though excessive kemp is undesirable. In some sheep (particularly British Jacobs, which have denser fleeces), the black wool will grow longer or shorter than the white wool. This is called "quilted fleece" and is an undesirable trait.[25]

Jacobs are shorn once a year, most often in the springtime. Some individual sheep may develop a natural "break," or marked thinning, of the fleece in springtime, which can lead to a natural shedding of the fleece, particularly around the neck and shoulders. The medium-fine grade wool has a high luster, and is highly sought after by handspinners if it is free of kemp.[3] The colors may be separated or blended after shearing and before spinning to produce various shades of yarn from a single fleece, from nearly white to nearly black.[22] Tanned pelts also command high market prices.[10]”

Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_sheep

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Hello, I have never dyed wool before. But I am trying to learn about it. What brand dye do you use? Could you please give me the top 5 brands for wool dyes? Thank you very much. Saeid my email is

I used Greener Shades Dyes, they are very easy to use.  I did like that they had lower levels of heavy metals. Except for the Coral Reef Aqua.  If you get the PDF version of Still River Mill’s color formula book (it’s only about $5 instead of $100) you can find some aqua colors that don’t use the Coral Reef Aqua or check out RAvelry.com’s group Greener Shades Dyes, you might find an aqua formula there.

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Can you use these dyes on wool fabric- like for rug hooking projects?? thank you, I would be interested in learning how to use them for that purpose.

absolutely.  you would want to speak with Nancy.  Her Ravelry.com name is Hooker Nancy.  She wrote a book with common color formulas for rug hooking .

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Consistency Issues... I like to call it Variegated

Sunpuddle:  Something weird happened yesterday.

I wanted to dye my white merino/suri roving a pale sea blue. I’m a hobbyist, not a pro, so I tend to weigh the fiber, go a smidge heavy on the citric acid (just to be sure), measure dye by volume (rarely have interest in repeating a result), and see what happens.

I got out my gear and started. I soaked the roving in warm water with citric acid. And put the big pot on to heat.

Prepped two test cups, one each with River Blue and Coral Reef Aqua. Swatched, didn’t like either color. Made a mix of 50% River Blue and 50% Coral Reef Aqua and swatched again. Yes! At a pale DOS, it was quite close to what I wanted.

Measured the full amount of dye (50/50) and put it and the citric acid in the big pot and gave it a good stir. Swatched again. Too Blue, so I added a pinch of Aqua. Swatched and was pleased.

Turned off the heat (it was about 185F), stirred again for good measure, hauled the roving out of the pre-soak, and lowered it in the big pot. Poked to submerge, but didn’t bother it much after that for fear of felting.

Dye quickly exhausted. I let the water cool further to about 120-130F, and hauled the roving out. Spread it on the sweater dryers.

Take a look at the photos. Some of the roving matches the initial River Blue swatch, and some matches the initial Coral Reef Swatch. None matches the 50/50 swatch. It looks like I didn’t stir, which I did several times.

http://www.ravelry.com/attached/Sunpuddle/57707449

The preliminary swatches of 100% Coral Reef Aqua and River Blue are top left and right. The 50/50 swatch of the target color is bottom.

http://www.ravelry.com/people/Sunpuddle/stash/ocean-waves-roving

Any ideas what happened?

To be clear, I think it will spin up nicely. No need to “fix” it. But what if next time I want a consistent kettle dye color? Or, for that matter, I want to repeat this effect? What caused the color separation? What am I missing?

Appletree Knits:  Coral Reef Aqua strikes more slowly than other GS colors, so when you added the fiber in the River Blue struck immediately and then the Coral Reef Aqua filled in the areas that the River Blue didn’t. You can take advantage of this property to create some interesting effects, but it’s a pain when it’s not what you want! In general, for the most level dyeing you want to add dye and fiber together first, then add heat, then add acid last. The most variation will be created by doing the opposite - adding the fiber with heat, acid, and dye already present. With most color blends they’ll still strike at the same time and the effect will just be tonal, but with Coral Reef Aqua it will strike later and you’ll get a two-tone effect.

S:  That’s fascinating, thanks. And since I was doing such a light DOS, there was so little River Blue floating around that it left lots of space for the Coral Reef Aqua. Now I want to try this with Amethyst Purple and Coral Reef Aqua! 

SMG:  To create a yarn that is even more consistent, you may want to dye locks or pieces of fleece; before it is made into roving.Or you could recard the roving this will blend the fibers nicely.

Your roving may of also had some processing oils or chemical on it if you didn’t wash it before dyeing.

I recently dyed some yarn a .2% River Blue with a very similar technique to yours Sunpuddle, and this is what I came out with.  The request was for a variegated pastel blue.

I’ve also begun dyeing roving as a continuous strand because when I break it up it turns into little balls that don’t want to card.  However again you’ll see a variation in the colors.  This is due to the fact that I didn’t wash the roving before dyeing it.  I had to redye most of the batch.  I found the most success when I let the roving cool in the pot overnight.

The above picture is white fiber dyed Midnight Black, when it is carded.  It will look Black!

Check Ravelry for responces from AppleTreeKnits.

Thank you:

Colleen aka Sunpuddle:  http://www.minimologist.com/

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To Whom It May Concern: I’ve been writting this blog as an employee of Still River Mill.  I am no longer employed there and will not be posting much more on this blog.  I will be starting some new blogs that I hope you will enjoy.  I have been working on a few posts that I was previously working on and they will be posted in the coming days.  Thanks for following me and please check out my new blogs.