Ice Dyeing Cotton Embroidery Thread or Yarns

Create one of a kind colorways for embroidery, mending, crochet, weaving and more. We'll show you three variations on how to get some fun splits on threads/yarns.

Shopping list:

• Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes - We used: #207 Black Ice, #208 Warrior Princess, #209 Avalon
• Embroidery Floss
• Soda Ash
• Dharma Dye Fixative
• Dharma Dyers Detergent
• Ice - we used a couple sizes and shapes: Pucks (use old dye jars/solo cups - fill ~ 1 inch with water and freeze), Bagged ice cubes
• Extra old dye jars and bottles to make gravity stands
• Old squeeze bottles or similar to make a gravity stand

Let's get started!

Make sure your thread/yarn skeins are tied in at least 3-4 spots with figure eight ties to keep the threads organized and prevent knotting during the dye process.

Pre-soak thread with Dyers Detergent - add a teaspoon of detergent to a gallon of hot water and soak threads.

Soda Ash Soak thread. Mix 2 cups of soda ash to a gallon of hot water, mix until dissolved. You can save any leftover soda soak for future projects or make a smaller amount at the same ratio if you are only going to do a couple skeins. Soak threads for at least 15 min. If the thread is clean but dry, soak for 1 hour as it can take a while for the finer threads to wet out fully.

Ice Puck Variation

This works easiest in a cup or jar with some space to set the yarn in the cup but you can also just coil the yarn and then place the ice puck on top.

Sprinkle Dye on the surface of the ice puck in the jar, use a spoon or gloved hand to roughly coat the surface, perfection is not required. Use ~¼ to ½ teaspoons of dye.

Coil the skein into the jar and then invert the whole jar, you end up with the dye under the ice and the jar/cup will keep the thread all held together. You can invert it on a rack or into a container for 'in the muck' it is up to you.

Ice Cubes DOI in the Muck Variation

Fold or roll skein and put into an old dye jar. We did basic accordion folds without any rubber bands. Cover with ice cubes and then sprinkle dye over the ice.

Gravity Ice Puck Variation

Tie Up Skein into 'Mop/Wig'- to do this we used three ties around the skein.

Our Gravity Stand was made by turning a squeeze bottle upside down into an old dye jar. The soda soaked thread was then draped over the top to hang over the sides of the bottle.

Sprinkle dye at the top of the skeins and then place a dye puck on the top. Cover with plastic and allow the ice to melt.

Washing Out Your Threads- Threads/yarns should be hand washed to avoid tangles. Because of this we HIGHLY recommend the Dharma Dye Fixative to reduce/prevent bleeding in the future when you use your threads in projects. It is a great idea to treat commercial dye embroidery threads as well before use.

Rinse under cold running water to remove any left over soda ash. Keep rinsing until the water is completely clear. Use 1 teaspoon Dyers Detergent to 2 gallons of HOT water and swish skeins for ~5 min, then rinse. In a gallon of fresh HOT water, add ~1 oz of Dharma Dye Fixative and soak skeins for 15 min. Wash once more with Dyers Detergent, some Dharma Textile Softener can be used in the rinse if desired. Allow threads to air dry.

All three of these were dyed with #208- Warrior Princess but the different variations have given very different results. Left to Right - Ice Cubes DOI, Ice Puck, Gravity with Ice Puck.

#209 Avalon Ice Cubes DOI and Ice Puck