New Bear - Amani

This is Amani. She is the result of the beetroot dying experiment in an older post. She has turned out beautifully. She's not perfect, one eye does seem to look in the wrong direction, and the colouring is not completely uniform etc etc - i don't think any of my bears ever are 'perfect'. But as a friend once said, ' We're not perfect, or completely symmetrical, or proportioned, so why expect the bears to be?'

Dying mohair with beetroot

ok, so this is something i've been wanting to try for ages. But i didn't have any pieces of white mohair big enough to make it worth while. Then i got my new mohair supplies, and figured now is as good a time as any to give it a go.

Every thing i'd read seemed to suggest that the results would be disappointing. And that the colour would wash out (of clothing) after a few times in the washing machine - even if set with an alum. I figured, however, that seeing as the fabric i want to dye won't be washed, i might be able to get better results.

So i cut out my pattern. Chopped up the beetroot. Popped it all into a pot with some boiling water and salt. This is the mohair freshly placed in the pot.


I let it simmer for about an hour, then sit overnight (approx 8hrs).


This is the beautiful rich crimson red that greeted me.


The is the colour left after a quick squeeze of excess liquid. (getting a little less exciting now...)


And this is the colour after I had rinsed it under the tap.


And these are the pieces all rinsed and drying. The colour isn't too bad. Its kind of a cross between apricot and salmon pink. But it's still wet, so we'll see if it changes as it dries...