Today is a good day to dye

Okay. I'm going to try dying as a part-time job. Introducing my latest Etsy endeavor - DyeFi!




I've really taken to dyeing and I want to take it even further. Setting up a store dedicated to it is a good way to give me incentive to do just that.

I'm going to sell my dyed yarns and wool rovings, the dyeing kits from craftlings, and custom niddy noddies (contraptions for wrapping yarn into skeins).

Here's what I'll have to do to make it work:

I'll have to attempt repeating batches of dye lots. I have never tried to do this because I couldn't. I don't write down what I do. I'm like a mad scientist who has powders and droppers and color all over the place. But I really would like to start a catalogue of what works and what I like so I could make more of something if I wanted to.

I'll have to get proficient using real acid dyes. I have them, and I've been experimenting with them a little bit, but I need to get a lot more hands on experience with them. I have ordered a color chart that has 93 colors on it. When that gets here, then I can really get serious about colors!

I'll have to find plastic paints in the colors I want to paint my noddies. I can find some colors, but mostly boring colors. I want pink, dang it!

I am also hoping to add, if I'm feeling ambitious enough, hand-spun yarn (spun from my hand-dyed rovings) to the lineup, but probably not. I only know how to spin on a spindle and I'm not very good at it yet. I can't imagine I would be able to make it worth my time to sell handspun. However, I rarely make a profit on my creations. Selling what I make is more like a way to feed the need for more supplies.

Even though I'm not making any money from crafting, I am breaking even which creates a nice balance in my life. Enough to keep me going happily. I'm hoping dying is just the thing to push me over the borderline and into the profit margins!