I have meant to weigh in on this one but have just found time.
Whether or not you soak any fiber to go in any dye is irrelevant in terms of getting dye to take. You can put all fiber or yarn in dry and it will dye. It might take a bit longer for yarn especially as it has to soak in. Factors that might affect this are the twist of the yarn. A highly twisted yarn will take a while. In other words the presoaking facilitates the wicking of the dye into the yarn or fiber.
The other reason to presoak, especially with yarn, is if you want a very even level dye strike. In this case you might presoak, gently wring the yarn, and place it in a cool dyebath. You would gently stir while bringing it up to temperature. This produces the most even dyeing. Along with this is the dye liquor ratio. The higher the ratio - say 30:1 or 40:1 the more even the dye.
That being said it is unlikely that you need to dye raw fiber evenly. Therefore it is not necessary to use large amounts of water in the pot. Just cover it and make sure you won't boil out the water. In fact make sure you won't boil the pot period.
As far as water temp when you enter the fiber, first do not add wool or any other protein fiber to hot water. The dye will strike immediately which might be fine but you might also damage the fiber and felt it slightly. It can certainly be warm but not hot. Just remember the warmer the water the faster the strike. Again that is probably not a problem with fiber but depending on what you want yarn to look like you need to adjust. If its space dyed no problem.
There is a book Color by Accident- Low Water Immmersion Dyeing by Ann Johnston. I have not read it but some of you might be interested.
And finally if you are painting yarn or roving it is usually helpful to presoak and wring before laying it out to paint. Again the wicking factor. There is nothing more frustrating than having the liquid dye sit on top of the fiber. It will soak in very nicely if the fiber is wet but not holding alot of water. Wring well or spin in the washer.
I am not a fan of using dry dye to sprinkle on anything. There are alot of ex-dyers out there that developed respiratory problems including asthma as a result of dry dye powders and assistants. Soda ash used with fiber reactive dyes is horrible. Use a respirator. The dyes are not good either. Put in solution before painting with them. If it is going straight in a pot- get it there quickly and consider a dust mask available at the hardware store.
Enough for this AM.
Jane Brigid's Farm
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