Dyeing with Red #3

After many frustrations with hot pink pots, spoons, wash water, and eventually fading pink yarn, I finally figured out how to dye with that tricky red #3 - a beautiful bright watermelon pink that also makes the violet lovely as well.

It's all because red #3 dyes at a lower acidity than the rest of the colors, so here's how I did it....

I added a washed & soaked skein of Paton's Classic Merino to a 4 qt. pot filled with 3 qts. of cool water w/ 1 tsp of Wilton's violet (red #3 & blue #1) dissolved in it. Hint: Wilton dissolves faster in a little hot water, then add to the dyepot.

I started with 2 tbsp of vinegar, and heated to almost boiling, then turned it down to the lowest temp, just below simmer. I let that sit for about 30 minutes, then the water turned blue as the red absorbed, but the blue didn't. Then every 20 minutes or so, I added 2 more tbsp of vinegar, until I was up to 10 tbsp, when the water finally turned clear as the blue completely absorbed.

I let the whole thing cool overnight in the pot - I hear that makes the dye set better. I washed and rinsed the whole thing the next morning, and though the yarn was slightly varigated with different hues of purple, not a speck of pink residue was left behind.