Sunday, February 2, 2014

PEN'S DIRECTIONS FOR MARBLING WOOL

Pen, who is now our Women Matters' icon of marbling, has provided us with the following directions.


"Take three 1/4 yd pieces of dry wool, one dark, one light and one medium in value in a variety of colours. ( you can use smaller pieces if you choose, but you must be able to roll them in with your larger pieces).

Layer the pieces so that the light is in the centre and the medium and dark are on the outside. (the wool should not have  been previously dyed ).

Roll the pieces lengthwise so that you have a long tight sausage shape. Then twist the sausage as tightly as you can and tie it in a knot if you can.

Then take the whole thing and put in a pot large enough to hold the wool and some water. Pour some water over the sausage until it is about 1/3rd of the way up the wool. Add a tablespoon of laundry detergent (usually Tide without bleach) and bring the heat under the pan to a gentle boil/simmer.

Gently simmer the whole mess, keeping an eye on it so that it doesn't run dry. You will notice that the water begins to look muddy, coloured with the dye running out of the wool. You can gently turn it over every once in a while. This will take about a half hour.

 When you see that the water is quite murky, throw in a couple of glugs of vinegar and watch to see the water gradually clear, about a half hour. Again keep an eye on it so that it doesn't run dry. When the dye appears to have been reabsorbed, let it all sit on the heat or about another 15 minutes, then let it cool, rinse the vinegar out in the sink and have a look. It aught to be marvellously marbleized!,

Good luck, have fun and let me know how it turns out"

No comments: