I raise Icelandic sheep and so have many different shades of natural colors in my fleeces and yarns. I often dye over tans, browns, pearly gray or even a dark charcoal, and find that I get colors I just can't get on white. I opened a box of yarn from the mill once and was originally disappointed that it was a darker gray than I had hoped for. But when I started to overdye, I was thrilled with the results. Using a mix of Navy and Royal with a drop of Scarlet (chem. dyes), the charcoal came out of the pot as a complex and exciting indigo. With both warm and cool yellow, Royal and Navy, the charcoal became a rich, subtle green somewhere between pine and marine. Even the darkest yarns will still pick up the dye and give you something interesting that would be otherwise difficult to impossible to make.
I have found that the tans and moorits give me reds that I just cannot get on the white, and in fact almost all of my reds are now made with tan or moorit yarn. If I dye over a heathered mix, even a simple hue becomes rich in varied tones. I can't imagine using the dye pot without my colored yarn, and I was so surprised to read that anyone would say that you cannot dye over natural colors. Barbara in Massachusetts Barbara Webb Jager Farm Icelandics www.jager-icelandics.com [EMAIL PROTECTED]
