From Fleece to Dye Pot – Preparing & Dyeing the Base for This Purple Gradient

Today has been one of those wonderful, full studio days.  I’m still winding skeins, measuring, and gently dipping fibre into the dye pot.

Work has officially begun on this new colourway: a rich, velvety deep purple that gradually softens into lilac, lavender, and the most delicate mauve hues. (That’s the hope, at least as the yarn always has the final say!)

One of my favourite sources of colour inspiration is Sarah Renae Clark’s Colour Cubes. I can spend ages flipping through them, just soaking up the palettes. They spark ideas not only for yarn but for quilting fabrics, weaving threads, and even little sketches in my notebook.

Because I dye wool (a protein fibre), I use acid dyes, which need two key helpers: acid (usually white vinegar or citric acid) and heat. The acid opens up the fibre structure so the dye can bond deeply, while heat helps set the colour permanently. It’s a small chemical dance, but the results never cease to amaze me.

The other crucial calculation is OWG — On Weight of Goods.

This is simply the percentage of dye relative to the weight of the yarn. The manufacturer recommends 2% OWG for a “true” deep purple on this base.

That means:

-           For 100 g of yarn → I need 2 g of dye

-           For 250 g of yarn → (250/100) × 2 g = I need 5 g of dye

Last week while experimenting, I accidentally doubled it to 4 g on 100 g yarn, so 4% OWG instead of 2%. The result? An incredibly intense, jewel-like deep purple that I immediately decided to keep as the darkest end of this gradient. Happy accidents are part of the joy!

To create the smooth fade from deep to soft, I’m scaling down from that true 4 g baseline in even steps:

- 100% (deepest) → 2.0 g dye = 2.0% OWG

- 80% → 1.6 g dye = 1.6% OWG

- 60% → 1.2 g dye = 1.2% OWG

- 40% → 0.8 g dye = 0.8% OWG

- 20% (softest) → 0.4 g dye = 0.4% OWG

These are very basic starting points, just enough to get consistent, controllable fades. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share more advanced tweaks (like adjusting dip times, exhaustion levels, or blending in tiny amounts of other shades), but this is a gentle entry point for anyone curious about dyeing at home.

I’m putting together a simple, printable OWG Gradient Checklist with these steps and space to note your own experiments. I’ll make it available as a free download in the shop soon; perfect for your own mini-skein tests or larger projects. If you’d love a copy when it’s ready, just let me know in the comments!

Through all the measuring, stirring, and waiting for pots to heat, I keep reminding myself to love every single step. The science, the surprises, the slow reveal of colour on fibre, it’s all part of the quiet magic that makes Piglet & Squid feel so personal.

Have you ever tried acid dyeing, or are you tempted to give it a go? What’s one colour or technique you’d love to experiment with? Drop a comment or send me a message. I genuinely love hearing your dyeing stories.

With purple-tipped and sometimes hot fingers,

Jenine @PigletandSquid

Melbourne, Australia