A cardigan for the Norwegian summer / I dye for the first time

Actually this project was started in April and finished in May. I signed up to be a product tester for Minerva Crafts early this year and this is the project I made for my first review.

I chose to test out the yarn I made this cardigan from, but my review only went live on the 15th of August. To be honest I was hoping that Minerva people refer to it on Instagram like they do with pretty much everything that they post on the blog or bloggers network, but the people that were published before me came on IG...the people published after me came on IG...but my cardigan was nowhere to be seen...A week and a half later I gave up and will announce it myself 😄

So here it is! My first product review for Minerva Crafts is now live and can be read here.

I chose this cardigan pattern from my usual place for crochet/knitting patterns: verena.ru. It's crocheted apart from the elastic bands for cuffs and around neckline/center front. I just followed the instructions as they are. The only thing I did different is using more stitches on the neckline and center front elastic knitting trying to make the hem end of it stop curving up so much...partially succeeded.

It's a very cozy thing and I've been using it often enough, it feels so nice to wrap it around me and relax in the fluffiness 😊

What I did do recently though is trying to dye garments in my washing machine. I had two pairs of jeans, both black. One skinny pair that I bought years ago and that basically just faded with use. The other is the flared pair I made myself (blogged in part 1 and part 2) which got faded streaks after the first wash. Very disappointing.

Before

The one brand of dye that is in pretty much any DIY shop in Norway is Dylon, so I bought me a box for machine dying in Velvet black. I've been snooping around these dyes before and I knew you needed the dye and special salt (that sets the dye in?), so was pleasantly surprised to find out this one had it already mixed in.

It does say on the box that it's enough for one pair of jeans, but it did my two pairs just fine! The process is really easy but extremely time consuming. You set the washing machine to a cotton cycle at 40 degrees, then:
- Run it once to wash the clothes you want to dye.
- Run it again with those clothes, no detergent and the dye.
- Run it a third time with the dyed clothes and detergent to get rid of extra dye.
- Run it a fourth time empty but with detergent to clean the machine of any possibly remaining dye.
That's like 10 hours of washing 😐
The most important thing though! USE RUBBER GLOVES when you open the bag with the dye powder, pour the powder into the machine and throw away the plastic bag. This thing starts dying instantly! I ended up with some blackness on my fingers but I was quick to wash my hands before it set. As someone who died their hair for over 10 years, I should've known better!

After

The result? I'm so impressed! My jeans look new! Both pairs! I'm wearing the skinny ones in the photos here so you can judge for yourself. I will be using Dylon again in the future.

Pattern: Bat sleeve cardigan from Mini Diana 6/2016 on verena.ru
Yarn: Sirdar Tiny tots in color 932 from Minerva Crafts
Photos taken in my back garden in Asker, Norway