Scenting my work/dying cotton thread.

[Kimblee]

My cousin was playing with my yarns. (What can I say, fiteen and she still wats to play ith string....) and she mentioned that my orange yarn shoudl REALLY smell like a cream pop.

 

It was a weird moment, but it made me think... scent is a pretty powerful thing... so...

 

Would any of you know how to make something I culd spray on my work to make it smell nicer... the cotton yarn smells kinda weird, and acrylic smells liek plastic....

 

Also... what would you recomend dying cotton with... and should it be dyed before or after making the project?

[sonnets_and_stitches]

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54470

 

In the thread I linked above, Jimbo suggested coloring white yarn with markers. You could use scented markers.

 

It would be very labor-intensive, but that's the first thing I thought of!

 

~ Joy

[sonnets_and_stitches]

Ooo - or you could enclose the yarn with something scented, like a strong-smelling floral soap or a bundle of incense or a teabox. It might take a while for the scent to "take," but hey! At least you won't be up to your elbows in markers!

 

~ Joy

[Kimblee]

Ooo - or you could enclose the yarn with something scented, like a strong-smelling floral soap or a bundle of incense or a teabox. It might take a while for the scent to "take," but hey! At least you won't be up to your elbows in markers!

 

~ Joy

 

Hmm... I was wondering more like a bottle of scented water... like linen spray or something like that.

 

Markers? That'd be kinda hard to do for an entire scrubbie....

[Shellymoo]

Hi Kimblee

 

I spray my afghans with a mix of Lavender or Eucalyptus Oil and water. The sent tends to stay in the rugs for awhile and they smell divine. Also, I add it in my final rinse of a handwash.

I make sure that just before I give my crochet gifts away I spray them and the new owners love it.

 

Not sure how you could keep the sent in yarn permanently but I would be keen to find out if there is a way.

 

Cheers

Shellymoo

[darski]

As more and more people are experiencing Scent Allergies, you have to be careful if the items are not for your personal use.

 

It is interesting Shellymoo as I have a friend who specifically cannot be in a room with eucalyptus. I made her an expensive grapevine floral swag once and just about did her in.

 

I have to admit that I am becoming more sensitive to scents myself these days.

 

 

Just a word to the wise.

[JoBug]

I put in my WIP bag a wonderful sent bag, of clean linen I got from my swap partner, and my yarn smells heavenly, the project is for me of course..lol

[Kimblee]

Hi Kimblee

 

I spray my afghans with a mix of Lavender or Eucalyptus Oil and water. The sent tends to stay in the rugs for awhile and they smell divine. Also, I add it in my final rinse of a handwash.

I make sure that just before I give my crochet gifts away I spray them and the new owners love it.

 

Not sure how you could keep the sent in yarn permanently but I would be keen to find out if there is a way.

 

Cheers

Shellymoo

 

Well, I;d just want something light and airy for when I'm selling them.... they're scrubbies, so they're not going to keep their scent long....

[WendyLee]

Here is a site that shows dying yarn with Kool-Aid

http://www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/basic-howto.html

[Feederofthepack]

Some bath and body companies make spray for your sheets. Should work on yarn. I send gifts with one of those potpourri envelopes enclosed you see around the check outs of some stores. Jo Anns had some this spring. They can be a little strong.

[Empress Busy Bee]

As more and more people are experiencing Scent Allergies, you have to be careful if the items are not for your personal use.

 

It is interesting Shellymoo as I have a friend who specifically cannot be in a room with eucalyptus.

That's about what I was going to say including a friend who is allergic to eucalyptus.

 

Scenting your work is fine for you but not if you are sending it out. Either wash it or don't spray it.

[CDBear]

I use Febreeze......the lightest scent they make. I can't think of the name at the moment..... I lay the finished project out, give it a light spray, and let it dry. Smells great!!

[ArielManx]

As more and more people are experiencing Scent Allergies, you have to be careful if the items are not for your personal use.

 

I couldn't agree more. I have to use the unscented laundry detergent, unscented dryer sheets, unscented shower soap, unscented lotion, etc, and never wears perfume. My allergies, asthma, and migraines can all be triggered by scents. And honestly, the things that do me in the worst are scented dryer sheets and Febreeze. I know to most people those things smell wonderful, but they can make me quite sick. (I was once told that people who are sensitive to scents need to 'just get over themselves' Trust me, I don't like being this sensitive to the stuff, but there's not much I can do about it!)

 

If you know the person you're making something for can handle scents, go for it. But if there's any doubt at all, I wouldn't try to scent anything.

[Lucki721]

I think theme scented yarn is a great idea! How interesting a concept! Like purple can be lavender (or grape, depending on the demographic you are aiming at). Like a Yankee Candle in yarn form!! Red can be strawberry or apple, autumn colorway can be like pumpkin pie! White can be vanilla..wow, I can go on and on!! I'm all about aromatherapy, so I'd be more inclined to buy scented stuff than not, lol!

 

 

[ErinLindsey]

As a person who is seriously scent allergic and also has chemical allergies, I wouldnt do it.

 

Not only could the scent trigger the allergy, whatever chemical you used to apply the scent could trigger an allergic reaction on the skin of someone who's got chemical allergies.

 

I didnt realize I was sensitive to some dyes until I started working at WalMart in 2001. They gave me one of those horrible blue jacket/smocks to wear. The dye that's used in the smock triggered a MASSIVE case of hives on me pretty much immediately. I had huge hives going up and down both my arms, and then the hives started to migrate to other places. It was horrible.

 

And the stupid management told me to put up with it.

 

They also didnt believe me when I said that I could not do anything in the potpourri aisle (just walking past that aisle can trigger a weird coughing attack)

 

Unless you know anyone you're going to gift the scented yarn creation to is a potpourri addict and loves anything that smells "pretty", I'd hold off on adding any scents to your yarn.

[losingmymind2]

I agree with only scenting things for your personal use or if you know the friend can have the scent. If my outdoor allergies are bad, things that normally don't bother me can put me over the edge. Like right now..something gave me hives so badly I had to have a steroid shot in the rump and a 9 day prednisone taper! So even though I like the lavender linen spray from Bed, Bath and Beyond; it's not good for me to use on my bedsheets right now.

[stitchgirl]

Scents are wonderful and I do believe in aromatherapy, but only for some of us. Others, like my sister, really can suffer from this kind of thing. I don't think I'd opt for scented yarn - seems to me that adding a scent to it and then later when the scent gets old could make the end result even less pleasing than what you started with. Don't kill me - but I kinda like the smell of some yarns.

[faerygirl]

'K I'm annoyed now!

 

I understand scent allergy/sensitivity however, I do not think it's fair to make a blanket statement like "don't do it".

 

The portion of the population that suffers with sensitivity/allergy is relatively small here in North America.

 

There are alternatives to chemical scent. In fact I only use natural scent and I use it on every piece I make/sell. I have several customers with scent issues and their feedback has been positive.

 

IMHO tolerance means room for all, not seperation.

 

Thanks (just my 2 cents)

[Empress Busy Bee]

I don't think anyone was making a 'blanket statement' and saying don't do it at all. They, myself included, suggested going for it for yourself. Just to be careful when giving things away.

That's tolerance. Knowing that there are people different (with and without allergies).

 

The portion of the population that suffers with sensitivity/allergy is relatively small here in North America.

You're actually pretty wrong. Just look at how many replied to this thread alone, that either has allergies or knows someone with them.

 

 

[Feywalker]

for the sake of devil's advocate - the amount of people who responded to the thread with allergies or know someone with them is probably do to this affecting them so they're more likely to post. Just logic.

 

Now that said, I'm honestly not trying to offend - I swear. Here's a thought, if you are selling stuff, you could always do scented and unscented. Keep them stored seperate so the unscented don't get contaminated. That way everybody's happy. Plus you get the sales of the people who love things that smell pretty. Just a thought. I do tend to agree that if you're giving a gift it wouldn't hurt to see if scent bothers the person. That's usually not too hard to do though.

[sammimag]

I don;t care for much scented stuff myself.

 

If you want to dye cotton yarn I recommend fiber reactive dyes, specifically procion dye that binds with the celluose fibers of cotton. I would dye the yarn first.

[Addey]

I'm one of those sent-sensitive people, so yeah, I wouldn't buy something sented myself, but I could see why you'd want to. I like scents, but not the flowery ones. I use vanilla all the time, mint is also nice or fruits.

My advice is go ahead and scent, but with something like citrus, or vanilla or fruit scent. Maybe use a 'body spray' or like someone suggested, a spray for sheets. Just don't over spray, that's what gets a lot of people. I can handle stuff, but in small doses (don't get me started about the flight atendant on my flight Tuesday morning that must have been wearing an entire bottle of something flowery... ugh!)

Also, the make some of each is a neat idea too...

[Jozzie]

Sorry, gotta disagree.... I am allergic to most scents - sends me into serious sinus problems, bronchial problems - and I live in North America! If you want to scent your things for your use, that's fine. Please don't assume that EVERYONE can tolerate (physically tolerate) these odors.

 

...and why would it make you annoyed? No one is saying you can't scent your items. If you were showing at a craft fair, though, and I looked at your things and my nose started prickling, I would bypass your items very quickly! I can "tolerate" your "right" to make your items smell, but you must "tolerate" my "right" to get away from the odors!

 

BTW, I cannot even have "real", "natural" flowers in my house, because those beautiful scents get my sinus/lungs going.

 

 

 

 

 

'K I'm annoyed now!

 

I understand scent allergy/sensitivity however, I do not think it's fair to make a blanket statement like "don't do it".

 

The portion of the population that suffers with sensitivity/allergy is relatively small here in North America.

 

There are alternatives to chemical scent. In fact I only use natural scent and I use it on every piece I make/sell. I have several customers with scent issues and their feedback has been positive.

 

IMHO tolerance means room for all, not seperation.

 

Thanks (just my 2 cents)

[Shellymoo]

Hi All

 

Sorry if I've stirred up the bee hive!!!! I must admit, my family and friends don't have any allergies BUT I do ask before I do this....

It was just a suggestion......and they sent doesn't really last that long.

 

I think it may be best to ask first.

Senting the yarns sounds like a cool idea....I'll keep a look out for any tips!!!!

 

Cheers

Shellymoo

[iamnichole]

you can get linen spray at the dollar tree (for a dollar, of course; as opposed to walmart for almost $4 for the same thing). I use clean linen and its really nice. the rose linen spray smells amazing as well. i spray my closet with it frequently and it does pretty well. also, maybe you could put the linen spray in your iron and steam the object, that might make it stay longer.