Sock Blank Update

This is part of my Sock Blank blog series

If you missed the first post about Sock Blanks - click here.

A few days ago I dyed my two sock blanks. I ended up using things I already had in the kitchen, which was food colouring, white vinegar, water and the microwave!

My long thin blank is a mixture of purples and greens:

PIN FOR LATER

The second blank I made wide, and did my best to keep one half a magenta, and the other half a rainbow mix. This one had a few dropped stitches in the middle, but I don't think it will present a problem. I have seen some other sock blank makers use dropped stitches to mark out the centre, which would be good for those who want to dye their blanks more precisely than I did. 

My process was first soaking the blank in a mix of water and vinegar, then painted food colouring on. If you don't want the colours to bleed into each other, it might be best to miss the first step. I wanted the watercolour look, though. 

I left the blanks for a while (I didn't time anything) then rinsed out excess colour. 

Then, in a microwave safe bowl, I microwaved for 1 minute (about three times each) to help set the colour. Then I hung outside to dry, and I left overnight.

Next day, I gave each 2 more minutes in the microwave (they were still damp) If they were dry, I probably would have skipped this step. 

At this point, no colour has come off on my hands, but I will most likely rinse out once more before using. 

Each blank has 'waste' yarn on either end, but next time I may secure it better 

Hopefully next time I post, I'll have the start of some socks! 

Happy crocheting,

Emma