These are recent experiments in dyeing combed wool top using acid dyes and the stovetop method I described earlier. The tops are all "Heinz 57"-type mixtures of sheep breeds from the Eastern U.S. The wool is medium-soft and springy.
Above, a mixture of blue dye modified by a little black and some yellow.
I dyed these colors using red, fuchsia, and a bit of yellow. I think I'm learning that red/pink dyes can be hard to handle. If you use too much vinegar too fast, the red clumps on the fiber a bit (it's called crocking). It also takes the last part of the pink or red dye a long time to fully strike onto the fiber, if it ever does. This is 8 ounces of wool top. I had more than this leftover in all pink shades, which I set aside to overdye later.
This is a gradient I dyed by gradually exhausting violet colored dye. Both this length of top and the pinkish one above are shown rolled rather than braided because they were still slightly wet when the photos were taken. After full drying, both were as fluffy as in the top photo.
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