This is of little interest to anyone who doesn't dye, but I have discovered that when I am calculating dye quantities and mixing dye for formulas that I have to almost double my depth of shade for the same color when I am handpainting vs. immersion dyeing.  Maybe it has something to do with how the dye molecules attract in a bath vs. direct application, but when I am attempting these formulas I am getting the proper color but much to pale of a shade in my handpainting than what I would mathematically expect.

This isn't too hard to compensate for, but I need to do a set of color values for handpainting so I can better predict my results, which takes a good deal of time.

I test the colors of any mix by microwaving them and letting them cool for a few minutes... this makes the color attract quickly and gives me a good idea of my proper tone.  But I am microwaving with yarn in a little cup of the dye, so I am getting my immersion dyeing tones while trying to figure out colors for handpainting - and thus you can see the issue.  I am thinking of trying to saturate a piece of yarn in the dye and then stick it in a plastic baggie to nuke it, as that would better predict handpainting results, but we'll see.  If all else fails I will just have to steam small quantities of yarn, but since I check my colors as I am making them it saves a great deal of time to not have to steam up a sample before knowing what I am getting.

But this may be a case of a shortcut not yielding the correct answer for this situation, in which case I must ditch the shortcut.  We'll see.

The reason this comes up is because I am involved in the Phat Fiber Project, which is a set of sample boxes from dozens of different fiber artists from Etsy and around the web, that introduces people to our companies and what we make.  It is wonderful exposure, especially since we JUST learned today that Amy Singer of Knitty will be doing a Cool Stuff feature on us in the next Knitty issue.  That is an amazing amount of publicity and I am so thrilled I was asked to be involved in these boxes.

So I was testing colors for my February Box sample colorways.  I love my shades, but we'll see if the depth of shade (DOS in dyer-speak) is as dark as I'd like on some of the richer colors.

I have my nuked samples and the yarn will be steamed in a few minutes, so I will take a few pictures to show the contrast between the two and see how I can correct the color issues, if need be.

Anyway, lots of dyeing going on right now, and while none if it is going into the shop I HIGHLY recommend any spinners and knitters grab a phat fiber box if they can. I will have coupons in there for custom colorways as well as my samples and those of many other artists.  The January Box sold out within a few hours of being offered, and with the number of clickthroughs on Knitty I imagine it may be even more of a scramble to get your box of fibery goodness.  Either way it is a GREAT project and heaven for those with an affinity for the fluffier side of life.  I can't believe some of the amazing artists my fiber and yarn will be right alongside, and I urge you all to check it out.