Discoloured knitting wool - what to do?

I started knitting a matinee set months and months ago, because I really liked the pattern - who needs a baby? The wool was white. (And the Innuit are right, there are so many different colours of white!)

Nearly at the end of the jacket, after doing the bootees and bonnet, I discovered that my wool was no good in the middle of the last ball, with breaks all through it.

Discouraged, I put it down because I had other things to do and not enough patience to continue under the circumstances. The whole lot sat in a clear plastic bag, clean, but then often in the sun - didn't notice it for many weeks. Much of the knitting is now discoloured yellow to almost light brown.

I have a feeling one can soak it in milk or something to rectify the situation, but don't really know. Any ideas? I may just have to dye it all.

I've ended up with a different colour of white in the top of the back, since there just wasn't enough wool for the whole thing by the time I eliminated all the breaks.

Now there is a baby, I want to finish it and send it off - the knitting, not the baby. [}]

Nappysan?

Failing any other useful advise, if the napisan doesn't work, what about dying the whole thing blue or yellow or green or purple......

I have thought of that. I might just go and boil up some onion skins!

I would give the napisan a go. But even better is ecostore oxygen bleach. Its not a bleach at all, has no nasty chemicals and is very gentle. I reckon it works even better than napisan and is available at most New Worlds I think. ( and no I'm not related to the eco store people!)

Thanks, Jeannielea. There's no such store within an hour of me, so I guess it'll be the bleach, onion skins or the jacket can be "2nd best" wear. []

You can e-mail or phone the Eco store in Auckland, website: ecostore.co.nz They are usually pretty prompt and would probably oblige if you tell them you want it urgently. And I got the name wrong. Its called Pure Oxygen Whitener.

A pot of black tea dyes a nice antique-y shade... []

Ragwort makes a nice yellow dye[}][}]

for a very solid black... simmer some oak bark in water with a pinch of salt, and in a separate pot a big spoonful of iron filings or shavings from the garage in a pot of vinegar.

cool the bark tan and soak the fabric in that, then soak in the iron/vinegar mix.

The tannic acid from the tanning solution reacts with the iron dissolved by the vinegar (acetic acid) to form a chelatd iron solution that is a VERY solid dye! Wear gloves!

What happened Isla? Have you done anything with the set or has the shawl taken all your time?

I did finish the set, but it's back in the too-hard basket for the time being, until I have time to sort out some colouration method. The shawl is now in possession of its baby, but I haven't heard if anyone likes it or not, yet...

Attached files

are you sure you can dye items that have been bleached???? (actually, I'm not sure if you are serious about the bleach or the dye.. ...but just in case).. I'd be careful about what you put on it in the way of bleach etc... hope you manage to get it sorted.... if it's anything like your shawl it's worth saving...

Nappysan says not for wool. I don't think bleaching wool is a good idea. I tried dying some with some boiled lichen, and it came out a lovely yellowy green. I'm waiting for Ronnie to rediscover a book she told me about, which contains lots of natural dye information. Maybe I'll have to try the library.

Have you tried just washing it? If you put it in lukewarm water which had sunlight or sard soap grated into it and left it for a short while before squeezing gently and then rinsing, it might work. If that gets the yellow out, you may then be able to see just how much different the 'other' white is.