Quite often I want to create a color from the Earthues dyes, but until I am sure I have acheived it, I find dyeing small swatches the best way to do the tests. Just take a quart sized canning jar and place enough water in it to cover the goods to be dyed. Place the jar in a canning pot or stainless pot (used soloely for dyeing) as shown on the stove with enough water in the pot to allow the water in the canning jar to heat up; like a double boiler of sorts. Because I mostly dye wool, I use natural colored wool strips as shown to the right of the dye pot. If you work with silk or cotton, do the same with the fabric. Mordant them first and let set at least a few days after, wet and cool. Then measure the dyes, based on your weight of goods. It is tricky when the goods weigh an ounce or less, but working in gram weight helps as does a good eye for fractions. Then just simmer at the temp required and you will have swatches to refer to if you like the recipe. You can do up to 4 colors at once in four separate jars. I was looking for the color of a dye sample I have from a 5-step gradation, the sample in back of the swatches. It matches the one sample pretty closely. I used Madder at 8% and Logwood Purple at 2% and if I reduce the Logwood Purple just a smidge, I'll have that color!
