How to Fix Dye Bleeding in Finished Projects (or Hand-Dyed Yarns)

From time to time, you may come across a skein of yarn that just won’t stop bleeding dye. You might notice it when pre-washing the skein, or after finishing a project. 

In this video tutorial, Charlotte Lee explains how to fix this so you can enjoy your yarn or project without worrying about the colour running. This tutorial focuses on protein fibres dyed with acid dyes. Written instructions are included below the video.

Chapters

  • Colour bleeding 00:00
  • Materials 01:40
  • How to fix 02:32
  • Reviewing 05:07
  • Rinsing 06:40

Use the chapters function on the video player to jump to any place in the video!

Fix Bleeding Yarn or Project

For this tutorial, Charlotte uses a woven scarf made from hand-dyed wool yarn, along with the leftover yarn in skein form. These pieces had already been washed three to four times before being sent to Charlotte. She tested both the scarf and yarn by soaking them in cool water. The water turned slightly pink, showing that the dye was still bleeding.

Bleeding project water
Project water prior to fixing.

Materials

  • Bleeding yarn or project
  • Citric acid or white vinegar
  • pH test strips
  • Basin or bucket
  • Hot water* (from a kettle).
    *The water should be very hot but not boiling, as we are not cooking the yarn.

Getting Started

Remove the scarf and yarn from the cool water. Do not wring them out. Gently squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Lay the items flat in the basin and add enough hot water to cover them.

Checking pH and Adding Acid

Check the pH of the water first to know its starting point. Add citric acid, then test again. The water should be around pH 4–5.

Test pH
Testing the pH of the water.

Wait 30 Minutes

Let the items sit for about half an hour, or leave them until the next day to cool and set. In the video, Charlotte shows a side-by-side comparison of the cool water and the hot, acidic water. You can already see an improvement after only a couple of minutes.

If the water is still bleeding, repeat the process. Make sure the water cools to room temperature between acid baths. If you do not allow it to cool and set, the bleeding will continue.

Rinsing off the Acid and Dye Residue

Now it is time to rinse the project. Move the project into clean water that is the same temperature as the water it just came from. This prevents shocking the yarn, which could cause felting or fulling, depending on the wool.

Gently swish the yarn and project in the water, squeezing to remove excess acid and any dye still sitting on the project or yarn. This also brings the pH back to neutral.

Do a second rinse and let it soak for 15 minutes. Dry the project or yarn. Done!

Project soaking
Rinsing the project.

More About Charlotte  Lee

Water colour after final rinse
Water after final rinse.

Do You Have Questions About Yarn or Projects Bleeding Dye?  

Join our community!

  • At the School of SweetGeorgia, we’ve built a vibrant and welcoming community of fibre-loving makers, passionate instructors, and dedicated staff. Whether you’re looking for guidance on a new technique or just need a little creative encouragement, we’re here to support you every step of the way.
  • Not yet a member of the School? We invite you to come and see what it is all about! Use the code: EXPLORETHESCHOOL to save 15% on an All-Access monthly membership!
  • We welcome you to join us in our SweetGeorgia Community. This is where we share projects that inspire, have fibre-filled conversations, host make-alongs, and participate in a variety of virtual meetings! We discuss all things knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, machine knitting, and more! 
  • Want to stay in the loop? Subscribe to our newsletter! It’s a simple way to stay updated on what’s new at SweetGeorgia and the School of SweetGeorgia, catch up on the latest articles, watch new SweetGeorgia YouTube videos, and be a part of our community without any pressure to post. We value your presence, no matter how you choose to connect with us!

Original publication: November 10th, 2023. Refreshed: December 9th, 2025

The post How to Fix Dye Bleeding in Finished Projects (or Hand-Dyed Yarns) appeared first on SweetGeorgia Yarns.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joining Crochet Granny Squares – It’s Easier Than I Imagined!

Image
I recently learned how to continuously “join as you go” (JAYG) for crochet granny squares and I LOVE this technique. And so on today’s Taking Back Friday video , I want to share an update on my Jethro Cardigan project and how I joined the granny squares. As I shared in a previous vlog episode , I’ve been making crochet squares out of three different sets of our Superwash DK Party of Five mini-skein sets. I finished making the 36 granny squares needed, which no two are identical. However, after crocheting all of the squares, I was stuck on how to join them together. They simply sat finished in a pile for a couple of weeks. Luckily, Tanis provided resources with her pattern and one of them was for the “Join as You Go” tutorial. It was fantastic. I’m so proud and excited that I’m almost done. I love how it is turning out, and playing with colours has been the most fun part of this project. If you’re interested in making your own Jethro Cardigan, I want to give you some encouragemen...
Read more

Plying Tips for Handspun Yarn Success

Image
WHAT is Plying? Plying is when bobbins containing handspun singles are removed from the wheel, placed on a lazy kate, and then subjected to more twist.  To achieve a balanced yarn, more twist is added in the opposite direction of the first twist. This is not always the case, however. Some designer yarns add the second twist in the same direction as the first twist. This article is a review of some of the key aspects of plying handspun for balanced yarns using a spinning wheel. Transforming handspun singles into multi-ply yarn offers numerous benefits. WHY Ply? Many factors come into play when choosing whether or not to ply my singles. To give you some food for thought, here are just a few considerations I use in my own practice: Give a Yarn Strength The more plies, the stronger the yarn. Unless I want a dense fabric, I usually weave with singles or 2-ply yarns. Multi-ply yarns are good for strong rug warps or fabrics requiring densely packed weft yarns. One way I...
Read more

Crocheting Granny Squares for the Jethro Cardigan

Image
Crochet Granny Squares are just so much fun to make! Just… one… more round… one more square… For today’s Taking Back Friday episode, I talk about the crochet granny squares I have been making at every possible moment for this past month. I’ve recently been inspired by the Jethro cardigan design by Tanis Lavallee from Tanis Fiber Arts. The Jethro cardigan combines both knitting and crochet in one project. You start by crocheting a bunch of classic granny squares, and then join them all together. Then, you pick up for knitting the sleeves and trim. It’s a really fun and easy way to play with colour, especially with making your own palettes and colour combinations. Mini-skein sets work perfectly to allow for fun colour play with these granny squares The goal of making these granny squares is to play with colour, but I didn’t want to go and buy 6 to 10 full skeins of DK-weight yarn in order to get enough of each colour. And so, I feel like the answer here is DK-weight mini-skeins . ...
Read more