Sometimes, I crack myself up. “Bella Dyed”…get it? Heh.
Dyeing cotton turned out to be a little more complicated then I expected. I did some asking around and was lead in helpful directions but I realized pretty quickly that maybe the dyeing process is not for me. I have TONs of patience for knitting but when you use words like chemicals and stabilizers and bonding my brain starts to cloud and I flash back to high school chemistry and my face starts to look like I’ve had a drink of bad milk. I am not good with the science. And I learned something this weekend, dyeing is all science. It is like a crazy lab experiment complete with stainless steel cauldrons and slow heating. See:
I think it is funny how I look like I know what I am doing (and that I have triple chins when looking down). Thankfully, I had help with the dyeing part. A new work friend is experienced with dyeing and offered to help. Thanks to her, I was able to turn this:
Into this:
It’s magic! We used a brown color at half strength for the overdye which reacted with the existing colors to give it kind of a peachy brown color. I am super pleased.
Project Stats:
Pattern: Bella Blouse
Source: Interweave Knits, Summer 07 free web project
Yarn: Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton, overdyed
Needles: Size 6 and 7 Knitpicks Options Circulars
Size: Somewhere between 38 1/2 and 34 1/2
Mods: I added about 3 inches to the total length of the sweater by adding 3 more decrease row sections. I did this in order to 1. have a longer sweater, and 2. make the size fit better around my arms and shoulders while still being bg enough for my hips and bust.
Notes: Bella is a knit that has taken me an extraordinarily long time to finish. I started it months ago, back when I lived in another state and had a different job. It was put on pause for a while due to my insane schedule these past few months. However, if you are in a more stable time of your life, this is a pretty fast knit. The lace parts go fast and the rest is a pretty straightforward A-line shape. I think it is one of those tops that would suit a lot of body types. I was drawn to it because I thought it looked kind of classic/vintage-y. Just wearing it makes me feel like I should eat some crumpets. Indeed.
The following 56 comments were originally left at blogspirit:
Brilliant! It is gorgeous.
awesome! You certainly turned that Bella into a gorgeous piece!
I think it turned out AWESOME! The color is perfect for you. It looks like it’s going to be fun to wear now.
Wow! what a difference a dye job makes. It looks completely different… and much improved.
You total star. That top is absolutely gorgeous. I felt for you when you first showed it and you’ve transformed it. Another beautiful knit. Well done you.
Wow. That is much better. What an amazing transformation with a little colour change :0)
Hehehe! That’s a good one. ;0) I am sitting here goof-ily laughing along with you…
It looks amazing! Really, really amazing. You did such a kick-ass job with the over-dyeing. Yeah, and all that math and science involved in dyeing- doesn’t it rock? My favourite subjects at school were maths and science, no joke. I thought everyone loved that sort of thing. ;0)
Wow, I love how the sleeves and bottom edge came out slightly darker so you still have a semi two-tone effect.
That is so much better after being dyed, it is lovely now but i was rather unsure of it before. Well done!
PERRRFECT! Excellent choice and good work on saving Bella. Now you can enjoy her and you have a good story to tell.
Yeah, I like Bella better after she “dyed,” too. Great job, and the color is great on you!
Oooh, I LOVE it! Hooray for dye! I definitely saw what you were going for with the two-tone thing and wa sad that it didn’t work out–but you’ve totally daved the day and have a super cutey-cute new top!
Excellent! It turned out exactly as you’d planned.
Dyeing was the right thing for Bella. It looks perfect! I love it. That work friend was a lifesaver, eh?
Your dye job turned out great! It looks really good.
It looks beautiful in the new brown – so glad that you were able to turn it into some spectacular!
It turned out amazing! And you have some of the different shades for the collar and sleeves, but it ’s not so drastic as before it was dyed. Excellent job!
What a great idea. I love this brown color on you – very flattering!
Bella came out perfectly! The color is great, and I really like the subtle difference between the lace and the body. I’m so happy it worked out for you.
Awesome! It came out great, and was totally worth the chemical-induced frustration.
very pretty!! i love the whole before and after shots… what a difference a dye makes! also I agree – dying is not something i would want to do – give me the knits any day and twice on sunday
It turned out just the way you wanted it to ~only in a different color. The contrast is beautiful with the over dye.
so effective in that colour — I like the mods to the pattern, preferring the slightly longer length myself.
Now go, eat crumpets, you definitely deserve them
The overdye looks great. I love the sweater design too – it’s very flattering.
I’ve been reading too much Harry Potter, because the first thing I thought when I saw the first photo was “Potions Class!”
But more importantly, the dye job is SUCH a success! The top was nice to begin with, but I think you really improved it with the new color, it’s gorgeous!
It looks fantastic! And a very vintage-looking color.
ya ya! Bella is revived. (haha…i crack me up too)
I LURVE the color, eres-bears. It is a perfect vintage-y rust. Well played. The sweater is just gorgeous.
What a cool idea! You did a fabulous job.
Great job on the overdyeing. It looks superb!
The dye job is great, and your Bella looks wonderful! I just started mine — and I too am moving to a different state. I picked Bella because it looked like an easy knit for the trip, but I imagine I’ll be putting it away until I’m more stable. Great job!
this blouse is all kinds of fabulous. the overdye job looks great and there is still a slightly different hue between the two yarns, it’s excellent!
i love the last picture too, so model-y.
I just caught up on your posts and I want to say: 1)congratulations to your sister and her new husband! You all look beautiful! 2)don’t feel bad about the TdF KAL. I was one of the hostesses and am only on row 8 of my project (will post about that shortly) 3) Your comments about 5 or 6 posts back re: you clean your place before you move, and move into a filthy place — I can SO relate and totally agree 4)Bella looks great! I’m so glad the overdyeing saved the project for you. 5)Chester looks great too, despite the difficulties. He looks like a fun shopping companion.
No WAY! It looks amazing! Great job, and very inspiring. Is it in your contract that you must only make & wear beautiful knits??
Now that’s my kind of chemistry! It turned out really well. I’ve been considering knitting this in Cotton-Ease in just one color (no contrast).
What a difference! It looks amazing! I’m a little nervous about the whole sciency aspects of dyeing, too.
Wow! Dyeing may have been fussy work, but the results are wonderful. The colors are great! Very cute.
I can’t believe how well Bella turned out–either you ARE very skilled at dying (wait–is that how it’s spelled? eeeew) or you’re just incredibly lucky. And I thought you’d used up all your luck for this year. Hmmm. You must be livin’ right, friend.
I love this whole post, and the sweater turned out so well! Mind if I link to it?
Fantastic makeover!
It turned out fantastic! I love the color it came out.
Now that is gorgeous — the perfect amount of contrast between the trim and body colors! Awesome job!
Your look spectacular! Great job, the color you picked to overdye worked out wonderfully! I love the look on your face in the first photo!
So pretty! I love that rusty peach color.
Yay! It turned out absolutely beautiful. I love the color. Miss you tons. I was so sad to learn that I missed your last day in SLC. It’s great that you’re doing so well in CO. Way to take the plunge.
so i talked to you mama today and she said you are boston bound soon? don’t think you can come to my state without hanging out with me.
love you!
WOWZA! That looks totally awesome! You’ve inspired me to try some dyeing of my own.
WOW. Before, it was kinda “meh” for me – but now! Gorgeous! Cotton dyeing is more fiddly than dyeing wool, if that helps…
You were so brave! It turned out wonderfully.
The colors came out great! I love that you rescued an otherwise disappointing project. I probably would have frogged it, or thrown it into a corner and forgotten about it.
It’s fantastic! At first, I thought the shading would still be noticeable, but the color seems pretty seamless! Job well done! And it looks so great! Get some summer time wear in!
Wow. That turned out great! Love the color.
Hey Erin – Is that your corset pullover featured on Knitting Daily? If so, congrats on getting your corset pullover featured! So cool!
Hey Erin – Is that your corset pullover featured on Knitting Daily? If so, congrats on getting your corset pullover featured! So cool!
much better! looks great!
Hey, famous grrl, I saw the shot of you trying on that sweater on Knitting Daily.
We in Salt Lake miss you and I’ll be thinking of you when I make guacamole for tomorrow night, but I’m really happy you found your place!
How lovely! great results!