Not (Entirely) My Fault

When I first started spinning, I bought a pound of Cotswold wool because it was fairly inexpensive and I had no idea what I was doing. So I got it, I started spinning and everything was going well, for the first three ounces. Then I started watching dyeing videos on Youtube and I thought, "Hey, I can do that!" So I tried my hand at dyeing. Unfortunately, I had only a few ounces spun and so I dyed my roving...

After I let it dry, I noticed that it was not as fluffy as it had been when I started. My videos did mention the danger of felting, so I was careful (or so I thought), but my wool felted a bit anyway. Nothing too bad. I can still spin it, but it's not like it was.

 This is what I started with, lots of fluff and nice and open.

 This is what I was left with. You can see how my diameter was almost halved. Well according to Sarah Anderson in The Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs, "breeds like Cotswold felt if you carelessly allow them near a heavy breather."

So, my fault for not knowing the properties of the yarn before I messed with it, but really, it worked out because while it's not as easy to spin, I can still spin it. Which is good because I dyed 8 ounces at two separate times....

This is the first batch that I dyed as roving. I used the "Burrito Method" where you put the wool on cling wrap, apply dye to just the specific areas where you want it, wrap it all up and then microwave it in two minute intervals for about 6 minutes total.

Here is some of my wool that escaped felting before it was spun. Luckily, I had this on my spindle at the time when the other yarn was dyed. This yarn was then dyed after it was plied, just like Cotswold should be...apparently.

This was a fun process. I unwound my skein and kettle dyed the entire skein in yellow. When the dye was exhausted (read "the water was clear"), I removed the yarn and let it cool for a while, until I could handle it. In the meantime, I put green dye into the water. Then I knotted up the loop of yarn and let it soak in the green until that was exhausted. At this point, I removed the yarn, let it cool, and added blue to the water. When the yarn was cool, I retied it leaving new spots exposed and others covered and placed it in the blue. The result was a mix of yellow, green, and even some teal.

I had always planned on taking the finished pound of Cotswold and making a Market Bag, since it is far too rough to be used near the skin. Maybe now I will try felting it all the way through...