An Experiment

I decided to look online to see if the local Hancock Fabrics carried cotton cord that is slightly larger in diameter than what I bought. As I was looking through, I came across some DMC Color Infused cotton cord. I thought it would be fun to use, but realized it was way too small in diameter to actually make anything of size, but...I have cotton cord...I have dye...why not try it.

It is not really white, so using a light color probably wouldn't look great, but I have some variegated thread that I could use to zig-zag the bowl together, and can be used for color inspiration,  so let's see.

First, take the "skein" of cord apart and make it into a large loop, as if it was yarn that was going to be dyed.

Then, soak it in soda ash to make sure it is totally saturated. Mix the dye (I used Dharma Cerulean and Clear Yellow) and lay the cord out on a bit of plastic

Use a veterinary syringe to put the color on the cord.

Roll the cord up in the plastic.

Microwave on 40% for 4 minutes, checking every 30 seconds to see if it's warm yet.

Let it batch for an hour, and then see what we see.

I'm at the "Let it batch..." point, so I'll post pictures when it comes out and I rinse it.

I think this might be fun. If it works, I'll have to try a rainbow like Melody Johnson (Fibermania) did for sock yarn on 9 November, 2009. Take a look, it's gorgeous!

OK, how fun is this. No patience today, I had to see what it would look like so didn't wait the full hour (probably should have waited at least 3-4 hours, but couldn't today). I know it will be lighter when it is dry, so will be a pastel bowl. I might have to get some different thread to sew it together. If the bowl works, I'm definitely going to try dyeing cord again!

Here is the cotton cord, dry. I will definitely try this again. I have some thread for sewing that I think will work better, but I don't have much of it. I think I'm going to find another spool and use it for this bowl.

Fun times!

I almost forgot, if you want to get inspired by what other people are doing, check out Judy's Patchwork times.