How to Solve the Dyelot Problem Prettily

The first time I had a dyelot problem I remember clearly. Years before I had bought way too much of a dark green Persian wool. Being devoted to stitching from stash, I decided the color would be perfect for the background of a traditional piece i was making.

I had one problem though, I had lots but not enough to stitch the background.

I turned the problem into a pretty background by buying more of the same color number which, being a different dyelot, was a slightly different color.

I solved this by making wide stripes.

I still have the pillow and my “problem” background looks better than the background I had planned.

Since then I’ve encountered the dyelot problem often and I’ve developed many lovely ways to solve it.

Over the next several months I’ll help you with many different ways to solve the problem. These ways will make your needlepoint sing; they’ll give you confidence that you can handle this problem.

This week we’ll learn about what a dyelot is and why there can be a problem and the most important thing to remember to solve this problenm. Future columns will not appear on a regular schedule, but there will be an index at the end of each linking to the articles so far.

Come along with me and learn how to solve the dyelot problem prettily.

What is a dyelot?

Quite simply a dyelot is one batch of one thread dyed at the same time in the same dyebath. Just as we expect all the thread in a single skein to be the same color, we can reasonably expect that all thread from the same dyelot will be the same color.

Many companies identify the dyelot with numbers that appear on the package. This makes it easy to match dyelots.

Other threads do not have dyelot information on them. Even so all thread has dyelots.

Depending on the thread the change from dyelot to dyelot may be non-existant or quite large.

Why are there dyelot problems?

Dyeing is a complex interaction of water, thread, dye, and possibly mordant. If any one of these things changes then the color of the final product can also change.

To make matters worse all of these things are out of the thread company’s control; they buy them from other companies or from the local water company.

Dyers are very good at what they do, they have to be. It’s in the dyeing process that these companies strive to create skeins as close as possible to the reference skein for the color. They do not always acheive this, hence dyelot changes.

You can minimize the likelihood of problem by buying enough thread for your project, plus 10-20% over to take care of mistakes. When buying thread ask for the same dyelot. Shops are used to this and appreciate your asking.

Even with the best of intentions dyelots differences happen. If you just kept happily stitching, you would have lines in your needlepoint where the change occurred. These solutions will keep that from happening most of the time.

Good & Bad Solutions

The Jack o”Lantern Face, above, has two dyelot problems. From it you can see why finding pretty solutions to the dyelot problems makes a difference.

Can you spot them both?

You’ll certainly see one. The matte thread stripe on the right is a clearly different color. This is what happens when you don’t plan the change. I thought I had enough thread. I didn’t. The last stripe I had to do was in a different color. If I had done two stripes in this dyelot, one on each side, it would have looked planned. As it is it looks as if I ran out of thread.

A dyelot problem.

In the last sparkly stripe on the left I also ran out of thread. But I knew I wouldn’t have enough to finish. So I could plan. I made the Diagonal Scotch in one dyelot and the Cashmere in another. Even though the dyelot change here is subtle, because it was planned, the stripe looks good and fits in with everything else.

A dyelot solution.

The most important thing about dyelots

Stop stitching and decide what you will do as soon as you know there might be a dyelot change.

The sooner you stop, the more options for what to do you will have. Most of the solutions in this book will work if you know there is a change from the beginning. Others help you deal with the problem if you run out partway through.

But if you continue to stitch until nothing is left of your original thread, there will be nothing you can do, you will have a noticeable dyelot change.

Come with me and find new solutions to this problem.