Mum's Christmas socks. She has finally received them, late in May.
They started out as perfectly nice cream cabled socks in soft Patonyle. Just a basic toe-up method, improvised design.
I had chosen cream with dyeing in mind, but I did really like the way they looked undyed so asked Mum to choose. She threw caution to the wind and said go ahead and dye them!
Even so, I started out careful and subtle.
After my previous experiment with dyed effects on knitted fabric, I said I was going to try applying the dye to the wrong side. That's why these are inside out in these photos. Oh and damp, so the powdered dye starts to take and spread a little even before they are rolled up in the jar and more water added.
I can't really remember what they looked like after this step - it was ages ago and I didn't take photos, but in any case, I wasn't satisfied. I know I did something much bolder in the next round, with 'wine' coloured dye. And when I was done they looked like socks someone had bled onto, a lot!! I think then I did a soak in run remover to tone them down. After that I still wasn't happy and I left them to have a think about themselves for several weeks. Finally I decided I had to do something and so I made up a small dyebath and 'painted' stripes (using an old toothbrush!) onto the cabled sections, to try to make the whole thing look more coherant and deliberate.
Now I don't know what to think. Overall I don't think this direction is turning out to be very fruitful, but no regrets about trying.
I do still like the surprise bits of other colours you get - see those messy unprofessional blue dots below.
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