Preparation for Dyeing Pre-Soak Wool: Fill the sink 1/3 to 1/2 full of hot water. Then gently swirl 3 or 4 drops of Palmolive liquid in the water. Immerse your ounce of clean wool top, letting it soak for 15 minutes. (Placing a heavy plate or saucer on top of the wool helps keep it submerged.) Fixative Soak: While the wool is pre-soaking, make your fixative soak solution in the large plastic or glass bowl by dissolving 1 (generous) tablespoon of plain salt and 1/4 cup of white vinegar in 1 quart of hot water.* Stir till clear. When it's time to take your wet wool from the sink to the fixative bowl, "squoosh" the wool up against the front of the sink to press excess water out, then place it in the bowl of fixative solution. Gently press down to make sure all of the wool is submerged (again using a plate to keep it weighted down). Soak in this fixative bath for at least 15 minutes. (Use this time to prepare your work surface and get your materials together for the actual dyeing process.) * If you are dyeing more than one ounce of wool, remember to increase the amount of salt and vinegar in proportion; also use more hot water to ensure covering the wool. If you are dyeing already spun yarn, make sure you have tied the skeins in at least 2 or 3 places to prevent tangling while wet. Microwave Space/Rainbow Dyeing Wool Procedure for microwave dyeing 1 ounce of fiber: This method works very well for using food colors or Kool Aid (also for fiber reactive dyes). You may want to use one, two, or more colors*—but don’t be shy about leaving at least 3” of “white” space between drops of food coloring on the wool: the spots of intense colors will migrate and spread out as the dyeing process goes on. If you are using Kool Aid, you can sprinkle the colors closer together, even overlapping a bit in places, because the dry powder is less intense and slower to migrate. There is no "right way," but the tendency is to put too much color, too close together. Experimenting and experience will help you decide over time what is pleasing to you. * Using one color will give you shades of that color, from pastel to dark, depending on how much space you leave between colored areas, and how much dye you use. For example, one box of food coloring from the grocery store will space dye up to 8 ounces of wool, so one vial will easily dye one ounce of wool, probably much more heavily than you want. One packet of Kool Aid, spaced out in 4 or 5 spots on your ounce of wool, will give you a delicate range of white to pastel to medium color, but 5 packets of Kool Aid on one ounce of wool would give extremely saturated coloring to the wool-- probably "overkill"! Using two or more colors means you need to consider what will happen where they spread and overlap each other. For example, blue next to green will blend to some nice turquoise and aqua shades, while red next to green will create browns where they merge. Dye the Wool: I protect my counter (or tabletop) beforehand by covering it with big flat trash bags overlapping on the surface so that any color that might leak won’t stain the counter. I then roll out the plastic wrap in a long strip (longer than the piece of wool) on this surface, ready for the fixative-soaked wet wool. Put on your Gloves!! Remove wool from the fixative, squeeze excess solution out, then straighten and center wool lengthwise on the plastic wrap, leaving about 2 or 3 inches of plastic wrap on each side of the wool, and a few inches at each end. Open food color vial(s) and drop spots or streaks of color on the wool as you choose (spaced out in a pattern or randomly). Or open Kool Aid packet(s) and shake powder here and there on the wool. After you have added the color(s) you want, pull the plastic wrap up on each side, seal tightly, then fold under at both ends. Press down gently as you roll this long “tube” into a “cinnamon roll,” then place it flat on the baking dish/plate. (This pressing forces the colors outward and creates blends where two colors meet.) Setting the Dye: Place the dish/plate containing the wrapped, colored wool in the microwave. Heat in microwave on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, or just until you can see the plastic wrap swell up. Stop the microwave. Wait about 2 minutes, then repeat the heating process again. Let cool again, then repeat the heating process one last time -- for a total of three times. Let the dyed wool rest in the microwave for 30 minutes, then remove the plate of plastic-wrapped wool and let it cool undisturbed to room temperature (overnight works best). Final Rinse: Wear your gloves! Gently unwrap the wool into a sink of room temperature water (there will still be color in the liquid). Immediately discard the plastic wrap where it won’t stain anything. Now "squoosh" the wool up against the front of the sink, and let the water drain. **Continue holding the wool against the sink front as you refill the sink with same temperature water. Do not let the running water hit the wool directly. Turn off water when it looks deep enough to cover the wool. Release the wool and gently let it spread out in the water. "Squoosh" it up against the front of the sink again. Let the water out.** Repeat this last step until the water in the sink stays clear. Repeat again, but this time add a few drops of Palmolive to the water before you release the wool. Let the wool spread out and leave it soaking for a few minutes before "squooshing" it and letting the water out. Repeat the plain water rinse step 2 more times, adding 1/4 cup white vinegar to the last rinse. Let the wool soak for 2 or 3 minutes again, then let the water out. Leave wool in the sink for several more minutes to drain excess water. Dry the Wool: "Squoosh" the damp wool against the front of the sink a couple of times to make sure it's not overly wet, then carefully lift it (a laundry bag or colander is helpful here) and place it somewhere over towels, a tub, or other surface that can handle getting dripped on. Dry your wool out of direct sunlight where there is plenty of air. A sweater drying rack or similar equipment is useful here. It can take several days for the wool to dry, depending on the humidity. TIP: An optional drying method speeds up the process immensely. When you remove the wool from the sink, gently place it in a lingerie bag/mesh laundry bag and close the top tightly. Now turn off the water in your washing machine (both hot and cold) completely. Do this at the faucets connected to the water hoses. Place the bag of wool in the bottom of washing machine tub. Turn the dial to the LAST spin cycle of the regular wash cycle. Turn the washer on. When it's done, remove the bag and take out the wool. Centrifugal action has spun most of the water out! Now place your wool on the drying rack (no worry about drips!) and it will be dry enough to tease apart in a day or two. NOTE: Remember to turn the water back on again before trying to do your laundry!!! Steam Space/Rainbow Dyeing Wool Procedure for dyeing 1 ounce of clean wool. (This method works very well for Kool Aid, food colors, and even with commercial fiber reactive dyes.) Dyeing the Wool: Put on your Gloves!! Remove wool from the fixative solution and gently place in the sink. You can shape it gently into a spiral, zigzag it, or just leave it in a random mass. For Kool Aid, open the packet(s) and, one at a time, sprinkle contents in spaced out spots on top of the wool. You may want some areas to have only one color, and some areas to have overlapping colors, while leaving other areas white. After you have added the powder, press down gently a time or two to work the colors in a bit. If you are using liquid food colors, place a few drops of color in each spaced out spot on the wool, then press lightly a time or two to help the colors penetrate the wool. Setting the Dye: Place the steamer insert in the pot, making sure there is about a half inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot, below the steamer section.) Gently lift the wet wool from the sink and place it on the steamer insert in the pot. Put the lid on the pot, and put the pot on the stovetop. Turn the heat to medium low, and when the pot is hot enough to steam (after about 10 minutes) turn the heat down to low and set the timer to 45 minutes. Cooling the Wool: When the time is up, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool (still covered) to room temperature (overnight is best). Final Rinse: Put on your Gloves!! Gently empty the pot into the sink. Remove the steamer insert and let any liquid drain from the wool for several minutes. Now "squoosh" the wool up against the front of the sink. Follow the "rinse" instructions in the "Microwave" section above. (You should only have to rinse once, maybe twice, to have clear water with this method, depending on how much "dye" you used.) Dry the Wool: (See instructions in "Microwave Dyeing" section above.) Now your wool is ready for the next step -- preparing it for spinning.