# Black Bean dyeing



## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

Dyed some yarn today with the juice from soaking black beans for 2 days for canning. There is a very long thread on Ravelry about this, if you want more details (will take you DAYS to read!)

I put alum and cream of tartar right in the black bean juice, then added 4 different skeins of yarn.

It came out PURPLE!! :shocked: Not what I wanted - I was hoping to get blue, but it's pretty anyway...











I experimented a bit: added vinegar to make the solution more acidic, and ammonia to make it more basic. 
The picture on the left is the vinegar (acid), the one in the middle is just the black bean juice, and the picture on the right is ammonia (base). 










I dipped on end of a skein in an ammonia afterdip, and it made the color more of a blue/gray that is hard to see in the picture.

I used to do a lab with red cabbage with my students - acid color would turn the cabbage juice pink, neutral would be purple, and a base would turn it green. Fun lab! So is this 

Off to the folks for the game. What game? I'll be knitting the whole time :hobbyhors


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing how you did it. I love the color.
Tell me, the pink color on the left, did you try using it, if so what color did you get?
Once I master spinning, and cleaning and prepping my own fleece,I'll tackle dying. So cool!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Oh it's BEAUTIFUL!!!! It's also my favorite color and I love black beans  This could be a win win for me. Soak and cook some beans then soak some wool and have dinner. Wow, who would have thunk it.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I never would've dreamed! What a gorgeous colour!

:must grow black beans:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh how cool!
Thanks for sharing the pics too.
What a fun science project.

I wonder how well the dye will last or if it will fade with time?


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## Mrs. Homesteader (May 10, 2002)

Love it!! Better to color some yarn instead of splashing it on my clothes and coloring them!!


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

All I can say is what a gorgeous result! Whatever you use the yarn on, it will be lovely.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Yes,it is Beautiful!


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

That is soooo pretty. I'll tell you, a person could get a serious inferiority complex around here, except for one thing...everyone is so encouraging and helpful.

Beautiful yarn, and I would never have thought you could dye with black beans. Onion skins, yes, but black beans? Amazing. Hope you share what you end up making. 

stef


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## PKBoo (Apr 10, 2008)

hercsmama said:


> Tell me, the pink color on the left, did you try using it, if so what color did you get?


I have not tried it yet - I'll have to add a bunch of vinegar so the whole solution turns pink, then plunk some yarn in.

I did dip the yarn into vinegar water, but it didn't turn pink. The end I dipped in ammonia water turned gray! I could really tell the difference today.

GAM - I have read that black bean dye is not lightfast, and will fade to gray. I need to start a thread on Ravelry and ask what happened - the whole thread is about 2 years old...

I think I'm going to make a pair of black mittens with Fair Isle colorwork (have never done that) - if it fades to gray, it'll still look good


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## alpacaspinner (Feb 5, 2012)

I read that whole long thread just the other day. It sounds really fascinating, and some of the colors were gorgeous! I will most likely be trying it, even if the colors aren't light fast. *Trying to think of something that I would only wear in the dark; hmmm ... but no, I don't think I want a knitted nightgown*


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