Tips and Tricks: Tracking Over-dyed Wool

This month, Ania is sharing a tip on how to keep organized while dyeing wool. For Ania, it used to be a hassle to keep track of which wool was being over-dyed during marathon dye days. Then, she discovered Tyvek envelopes were a great solution to that problem!

To read about how Ania uses Tyvek envelopes while dyeing, take a look at the post below.

Here is a Tyvek envelope – note the box: “Tear and water resistant”!

How did keeping track of your wool while dyeing emerge as an issue for you?

I often dye in batch mode, where I spend an entire day getting as much dyeing done as I can. There have been a number of projects where I had to, or wanted to, use one color to dye a lot of different pieces of colored wool. However, if you’re dyeing five to ten different pieces of wool one color, it can be very difficult to keep track of which base wool resulted in which end result.

Here are a wide variety of different colored pieces of wool that you might want to over-dye.

Can you go through, step-by-step, how you solved this issue?  

What you will need are Tyvek envelopes (either new or used), scissors, safety pins (or a needle and thread), and a Sharpie. Tyvek envelopes are waterproof and tear proof, which makes them perfect for dyeing in the pot, or in jars.

Everything you need in one picture: safety pins, scissors, a Sharpie, and small Tyvek labels.

Take a Tyvek envelope, cut it up into small squares (I use 1″ x 2″ pieces). They just need to be large enough to write on them legibly. With a safety pin (if you need to dye in the microwave, use a needle and thread instead), attach a piece of Tyvek to each piece of wool you are planning on over-dyeing. Label each piece of wool appropriately, with the Sharpie. Dye as you usually would. The labels are safe to use throughout the entire process (including drying the wool in the dryer). If you dye frequently, you can save your labels and reuse them!

Here is a series of wool, labeled, and ready to be over-dyed.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below for Ania!