wool staining or variegation

[Rx2000]

I've got one of these on order as well. Hasn't arrived yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the blotching looks like on it, and what you folks decide to do with yours.


ren

[unaspenser]

A gentle hand-wash might be a good first try, as others have said. Yarn shops and specialty stores usually sell some kind of sweater wash/wool wash specially made for delicate garments. Woolite or the like will work in a pinch. As a knitter and spinner, though, what I honestly use the most is shampoo without any sulfates or silicones in it. It's made to be especially gentle on hair, and seems to work very well for washing delicates. Just fill the bathtub with cold water, add in the wash, and let it soak for a while. Squeeze the soap through, but don't wring or scrub. Rinse with cold water, squeeze out what you can, and roll the kilt in a towel to get out whatever is left.

As for dye, wool is very forgiving, and absorbs dye better than other types of fiber. Rit is good, and available in lots of colors. A yarn store I favor, knit picks, sells Jacquard dyes in lots of colors. (here's the link: http://www.knitpicks.com/accessories...__L300508.html ) You could experiment with those... they offer a sampler where you can get small amounts of colors to try, and they lend themselves to mixing. Maybe you could get some kind of fabric to test it on before you try it on the kilt. The site also had tutorials on dyeing yarn that would apply just as well to dyeing a garment. The real key is just to use enough dye to avoid any color variation.

Anyway, let us know how you get on! It's a fantastic kilt, even with the staining.

[CDNSushi]

Ok, I got an e-mail answer back from Jerry on this. Here's what he wrote:

Hi, discoloration/fading might be a better term, I do not really know what the cause is. From what I understand, saffron dye is not always stable. Could be heat fading from pressing the kilt. It might be possible to re-dye the entire kilt.

Let me know how it goes. [etc]...

So, I guess there's no definitive answer from his end... Looks like I'll have to start by taking it in to someone and asking what they think... I'll keep the rabble posted with my progress.

[The Wizard of BC]

I've seen something like this before with Kilts sent from the Middle East. The dyes used on some of the darker colored kilts are not color fast and if packed next to a lighter colored kilt the dark colors will bleed over.

Try this...lift the right apron edge and see if the discoloration ends in a straight line where the apron was. If this is the case you probably have dye bleed.

The best thing to do in this case is to gently wash the kilt in cold water and a cup of Woolite, or hair shampoo. Gently squeeze the water through the pleats and watch the water. If you see the water changing color the dye is coming out. Continue to wash with fresh water until the water no longer changes color.

Then allow the kilt to drip dry.

[Pleater]

Dyeing evenly is a real skill which many attempt but few perfect.

If faced with this on a made up kilt - particularly if on wool with a real question mark over its washability, I would most likely accept that it is simply a property of the dye and the dyeing process which might or might not reduce with age.

With saffron you could declare it is a natural dye and subject to such things - though if you were talking to anyone who knew the real cost of dyeing with saffron that might be steering too close to the wind.

Overdyeing sometimes increases the variation if the original colour has a different chemical base to the staining. It is quite usual to strip out all colour from a garment before redyeing it, in order to get an even colour.

If you can rinse the kilt in a large amount of water - I'd advise room temperature rather than cold - I'd maybe try that, just the water at first, with perhaps a few drops of detergent so as to make it wet the fabric more easily rather than to work on it.

If there is no trace of dye coming out of the fabric after a few minutes then I'd take the kilt out and pour in more detergent - I usually use a cheap hair shampoo - swish the water around to mix it in and then replace the kilt.

Gently moving the kilt to work the detergent through the layers should not have drastic consequences - felting/shrinking requires heat, soap and agitation, and is difficult at room temperature.

If there is no alteration in the colour then at least you end up with a nice clean kilt.

I usually rinse things three times, and for wool alter the pH with a cup of white vinegar in a final rinse - it prefers to be slightly acid, and detergent is alkaline.

I know that a lot of people use Cool Aid, the drink powder, to dye wool and other fibres.

For wool it requires only a vinegary bath to work in, so as long as it is all dissolved before the kilt is immersed it might help to disguise the variation, and it could be done a little at a time, trying different colours, then steamed later on to set the dye.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[CDNSushi]

Holy cow, ladies & gentlemen of the rabble. Here's the first update of what certainly may be a few. Let me preface this by saying that right now I look like I was involved in some Hawaiian mud wrestling, as that is what color I am.

I averaged the advice given by some people on the thread, in particular Pleater and unaspenser. I filled the tub halfway with cool-ish water with a few measures of shampoo mixed in. As soon as I dumped the kilt in the tub, the water immediately turned a dark, saffron color. It was as if though I put in a package of dye, but I didn't.

I let the kilt sit for about 15 minutes, then gave it a gentle wash as best I could, and started rinsing it. And rinsing. And rinsing, and rinsing. I don't think there really is a way to make the water run clear here, folks. Well, I've since taken the kilt out, squeezed out the water, and wrapped it in a towel to wick out some of the moisture. Now it's hanging up to dry. Impossible to tell the fate of the color variations -- it all looks one color now that it's wet. Time will tell. Stay tuned for episode 2....

BTW, here's what I learned today:

- A wool kilt is bloody HEAVY when it's wet
- Thank goodness for basting stitches.
- My arms look jaundiced
- Use old clothes when doing projects like this
- Everything is orange. Even the white basting thread has been dyed.

[Bugbear]

It's like denim from a fabric store.

[CDNSushi]

Okay, 14 hrs later and the kilt is drying nicely (albeit slowly). I moved it outside so it can dry a little quicker... Nevertheless, I was able to snap a few "After" shots to compare with the "Before" shots on page 1.

First observation: the staining/variegation is improved probably by 90%. There are still signs of discoloration, but it's a lot less noticeable than before, as you can see. Is it enough to be happy with? I'd probably say "yes."

Second observation: the kilt changed hue after washing. Although I wouldn't compare colors between the "before" and "after" pics that I posted due to lighting differences and so on, if you think the kilt looks more beige/brown now, it's because it is. It definitely lost some of the "redness" in the wash. The flashes which came with the kilt no longer match... It's not a HUGE difference, but enough. (Nothing that washing the flashes wouldn't resolve though). Am I happy with the color change? No, not really. I prefer the redder hue, but my understanding is that saffron can range in color -- is there really such a thing as a "standard" saffron hue?

At this point, once the kilt dries, I'll press it and remove the basting stitches. I think I can wear it now without being too concerned about the color variances being noticeable. I may at some point consider trying to redden the kilt a bit more, but honestly, I could nitpick for a long time and never get it 100% right for my own tastes. I've got a new kilt pin on order, especially for this kilt. Can't wait to inaugurate the new outfit in the near future. Pix will surely follow.

No more updates on this issue from me until (and unless) something significant prompts me to do so... For now, I'd call this matter just about resolved.



This is a better closeup of the large spot on the front apron:

[ForresterModern]

Might want to be careful the first few times you wear it that there isn't further color transfer from the kilt to your shirt tucked into it, especially light colored ones. I wouldn't wear it with a shirt I either really liked or that was expensive until I was sure about it. If there is a good line all the way to the waist band you will probably be okay.

[MacBean]

Can you explain the provenance of the saffron kilt please? If Asian, I suspec the "saffron" was actually safflower. In that case, searching the web for ways to make safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) permanent might be more helpful than ways to make saffron permanent. It seems that safflower contains a yellow and a red dye which behave rather differently in terms of permanence (sounding familiar yet?). I found the following site interesting: https://www.reconstructinghistory.co...0&e=&a=197&w=7

It seems there has been a fair bit of research out of Greece on these topics, including enzyme pre-treatments (I think trypsin for wool as trypsin is proteolytic). I have no experience with dyes, but was trained in botanical chemistry and ethnobotany. Tell us where what you have came from and what you are trying for, and perhaps we can help more?