Overdyed Gray Alpaca Fiber

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had pictures of the different results when dyeing white and gray fiber, but I didn't have a blog. Back in December I also wrote about gray alpaca fiber.

To be honest, gray alpaca fiber is one of my favorite topics and today I am attempting to write the blog to go along with the pictures.

The first picture shows the differences between gray and white fiber when they are dyed.

Above on the left is natural gray alpaca fiber that has been dyed. On the right is white alpaca fiber that has been dyed. Both fiber samples are carded batts and both are slightly washed out by the photographic conditions. The sample on the left is actually richer than pictured with more distinct color tones.

The dye used for both samples is Black Cherry Kool-aid. Dye concentrations, fiber amounts vinegar added, etc. are the same. The difference in the color is the starting fiber.

If you look closely, you will see reds, pinks, grays and blacks in the sample on the left, and very little color variation in the sample on the right. The color variation and richness in the overdyed gray is very nice.

In this second picture, you can see the natural gray fiber and the overdyed gray fiber prior to carding. The red colors appear darker than in the carded batts above, and this is partly due to dye penetration. If you look closely at the dyed fiber on the right, you will see some gray areas. The dye did not penetrate perfectly, so some grayer areas were left in the fiber. This had the effect of lightening the fiber in the carding process. In my opinion, it doesn't harm the appearance of the final roving one bit.

Thanks to Pugknits for posting the comments. We invite the rest of you to post away as well.