Hand-dyed wool by Wild Thymes Pattern Company
There have been some questions about hand-dyed wool lately that I am going to try to address. The word “colorfast” should not appear in a description of hand-dyed wool, cotton or any other fiber. Every hand-dyer will make their product as “colorfast” as they possibly can; however, they can never guarantee it. If you look at the fine print, there will be a disclaimer (or there should be one) which explains that the dyers’ have done their very best at making their wool colorfast.
We receive bolts of commercially dyed wool all the time from our professional distributors that bleeds or runs all over the place! Colorfastness simply can’t be guaranteed.
On the bright side, you shouldn’t be afraid of using the hand-dyed fiber products. If you are using a red floss on a white background – you should color test the red thread. Don’t color test it in hot water, (unless you are going to wash the finished piece in hot water) test it in lukewarm water. If you know a finished piece is going to be laundered frequently, then give washing instructions with it and never wash hand-dyed fibers in hot water, always in lukewarm.
In regards to Wild Thymes’ wool, we can’t guarantee that it is “colorfast”. There is also a multitude of dying products available on the market and each has it’s own formula for how the dye adheres to the fibers. The bottom line is how well the wool/fibers accept, absorb, and hold the dye. It’s all chemistry; my water may have more minerals in it than another dyer’s water or they may have city water with chlorine in it. All these factors play a role in providing the very best colorfast fibers that a hand-dyer can achieve.
There may be hand-dyers out there that will not agree with me on these points; however, I am leaning on the side of caution and why wouldn’t you? Our wool designs don’t need to be laundered unless something really nasty happens to them. We felt every piece of wool that goes into our kits or bundles and like all the other dyers out there, we provide colorfastness to the best of our ability.
To sum up my thoughts. Don’t be afraid of using hand-dyed fabrics or thread, just treat them carefully when you need to launder them.
