Dyeing with Acid Wool Dye
Simple Procedures. Reliable Results.
Would you like to dye your own yarn or fiber for your creative pursuits? This online course, Dyeing with Acid Wool Dye, teaches you how to use acid wool dyes to make solid colors using an immersion dye method.
About the class
Dyeing your own yarn or fiber is not difficult and is a lot of fun. Acid wool dyes are the most light and colorfast dyes available for protein fibers and so they are a great choice for any fiber craft.
Rebecca will be demonstrating with Sabraset acid wool dyes (this is a trade name and is the same dye as Lanaset). There are other acid wool dyes out there and the same procedures will apply for these dyes though the color names and formulas won’t match.
You can dye anything that is a protein fiber with acid wool dyes. That means something that came from an animal like wool, alpaca, llama, mohair, or silk. You can dye yarn, fleece, roving, spinning top, or fabric with these methods.
In this course Rebecca will show you…
what materials and equipment you need
how to prepare your yarn or other fiber
provide you with formulas to get you started
help you understand why certain procedures are important with acid wool dyes
provide starting dye projects to ease you into dyeing your own yarn with confidence
In the process you'll discover the magic of dyeing your own colors for yourself.
Pricing
The course is $229.
supply list
There is extensive information about what tools and materials you need to dye your own yarn in the course. However it is nice to know what you’re getting into ahead of time. You’ll need things like:
yarn, fiber, or fabric to dye
Sabraset or Lanaset acid wool dye (or other acid wool dye)
A few leveling chemicals (salts) and citric acid
At least one stainless steel or enamel pot and a way of heating it
Containers of various sizes, some with good lids
Measuring devices
Personal protective equipment to include gloves and lung protection
About Rebecca and her dyeing history
Dyeing small skeins of yarn with acid wool dyes. Join the online course, Dyeing with Acid Wool Dyes with Rebecca Mezoff.
Rebecca Mezoff is a tapestry artist, author, and teacher who dyes her own yarn for her large and small-format tapestries. While Rebecca dyes most often for tapestry weaving, she also loves to create custom yarns for knitting and has spent a lot of time dyeing fiber for spinning in the pursuit of the perfect yarn. Join her to learn how to make your own fiber palette. Rebecca learned acid wool dyeing in a college course in 2005 and has been dyeing her own colors ever since. She further honed her skills as an apprentice of master tapestry artist James Koehler.
“This class is a must for anyone interested in acid dyeing protein fibers. Rebecca does an excellent job showing how easy it is to get repeatable colors using math formulas. I have dyed wool and other protein fibers for years but never with this much control. Really happy with this course. Thanks, Rebecca!”
The images in the gallery below give you some of a feel for my dye process, various dye “studios”. I’ve worked in, and some finished yarn. Right now I dye yarn in my garage. I’ve dyed yarn on back patios, in car ports, on a patch of patio outside my back door, and in state-of-the art dye “kitchens” which unfortunately weren’t mine! I don’t recommend dyeing yarn in your kitchen as it isn’t the safest dye set up for acid wool dyes. I talk about alternative places to dye yarn in the course.
Click the images to enlarge, hover for captions, arrows to scroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see you doing some dyeing?
I did a whole Change the Shed episode from the dye studio on 7/20/22 which you can watch on YouTube HERE. I also made a shortened version of this which is 14 minutes that you can see HERE.
Having technological or other issues?
Please visit my general FAQ pages for answers to questions about logging in, registration, using discount codes, and basic orientation questions: https://rebeccamezoff.com/faq
The gallery below is full of photos of dye work by students. Some are brand new to dyeing, some have done some form of dyeing before. Click to enlarge, hover for captions.
“I just want to make a plug for Rebecca’s “Dyeing with Acid Wool Dye” class. I have done some dyeing on my own (following instructions from the manufacturer and some books), but this class makes it all so clear in that great way Rebecca explains and demonstrates things in videos. I didn’t realize how simple the math is for making repeatable colors with stock solutions and dye formulas. (She goes through the math with several examples and it really is not complicated in the least!) . . . . Despite the fact that I usually learn easily from books, I still recommend this class because there is something about the videos going through every single step with very clear explanations, that makes it much easier to learn. And you know from Rebecca’s other classes that she is very good at this method of teaching. If you plan to do your own dyeing (it isn’t all that complicated and you can get the colors you want!), take this course!”
“I have done a lot of dyeing but I have learned so much in this class! Understanding depth of shade (to be able to repeat colors), making dye stock solutions, learning the math based on weight of goods and amounts of dye to use, understanding how to add black or brown, it just goes on. As in all of Rebecca’s classes I’ve already gone back and re-watched her demonstrations. I’m really glad I signed up for this class and can highly recommend it.”
Want to go beyond immersion dyeing?
Rebecca is working on a supplemental dye class with some additional techniques such as:
dyeing in gradation
painting fiber and yarn so the color changes within a skein
low-water immersion dyeing
using other methods to create creative yarns such as knit blank dyeing
Make sure to sign up for my newsletter for all the information about this exciting class HERE. (Check “Dyeing Yarn/Fiber” when you sign up.)