Well, it seems that I finally got my Red Scarf Project submission to stop running. How? Three separate soakings in Synthrapol with rinsing and drying inbetween. Then an overnight soak in Synthrapol and vinegar. Yet each rinse water just turned red, red, red. After allowing it to dry I tried a new tactic. I got out my dye pot to cook it. Then things got weird. I filled the pot with lukewarm water and a good glug of vinegar then immersed the scarf. And the water stayed clear! Perfectly Clear! Suspicious, I heated it up anyway, brought it to a simmer and it still didn't run. After it cooled back down, I had to remove the strong vinegar odor, so I emptied the water, refilled with fresh water and a squirt of lavendar eucalan. Added the scarf and goddamn it the water immediately turned pink! I put it back on the heat, brought to a simmer, left it simmering for an hour and the water was still pink. But from my dye experiences, I know that sometimes the dye only fully sets during the cooling phase. Sure enough, when the water had cooled it was clear.
The scarf is still beautiful, the yarn held up well with all the washing and cooking. But it is not the scarf I made. The photo below shows the scarf with a swatch that has not been washed. For another comparison, check out this entry in
Norma's photo gallery. The third scarf is also a Mountain Colors in Ruby River. Different yarn composition (she used 4/8 wool and I used Twizzle, a merino silk blend) so there is some inherent difference in the colors, but still. sigh.
